Manila bars UN official

Manila bars UN official

MANILA (DPA): The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has barred a special envoy of United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan from attending a workshop sponsored by a leftist organization, organizers said on Friday.

According to the Ecumenical Commission on Displaced Families and Communities (ECDFC), Francis Deng, Annan's representative, was invited to attend a three-day workshop on internally displaced persons held last month in Manila.

But the DFA did not issue Deng a clearance to visit the Philippines as a UN official, said Ditas Go-Zurbano, executive director of the commission.

Go-Zurbano said government representatives were also discouraged from attending the workshop, which according to a DFA memorandum would only "incite or agitate the public against the government".