Immigration to deport foreigner protesters during ASEAN meetings

MANILA (AP) - Foreign activists who join rallies during next week's meetings of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila will be arrested and deported, Philippine immigration authorities warned Thursday.

"Foreigners have no business joining rallies here as it is tantamount to interfering in our country's domestic political activities," Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said in a statement.

His comments came after dozens of foreigner activists joined Filipinos on Monday as they marched in the capital against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's State of the Nation address in Congress.

Some were interviewed on TV, prompting Libanan to threaten them with deportation. But no action was taken.

Libanan said the foreign activists are admitted as tourists and are not allowed to take part in political activities. Aside from being deported, they can be banned from re-entering the Philippines, he said.

Immigration intelligence chief Faizal Hussin said government operatives will be deployed in strategic areas across Manila to monitor foreigners who take part in protests during the meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, starting this weekend.

Gani Abunda, a spokesman of the Free Burma Coalition, said several activists from Myanmar are expected to join Filipinos for a rally near the venue of the ASEAN meetings at Manila Bay to press for the release of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Military-ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a member of ASEAN.

The Bureau of Immigration has in the past barred some foreign nationals who had taken part in protests from returning to the country. Among them was an American labor activist who wanted to join demonstrations during an ASEAN summit in the central city of Cebu in January.