Police break up anti-ASEAN protest in Manila

MANILA, NOV 24: Philippine riot police used water cannon to break up a rally by Left-wing demonstrators here on Wednesday after a securit...

MANILA, NOV 24: Philippine riot police used water cannon to break up a rally by Left-wing demonstrators here on Wednesday after a security breach at the venue of an upcoming Southeast Asian summit, leaving several protesters slightly injured. About 50 student activists and trade unionists chanting slogans against summit host President Joseph Estrada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN caught authorities by surprise when they slipped a security cordon surrounding the Philippine International Convention Center.

They were stopped about 100 meters from the heavily guarded seaside center, allowed to speak for about an hour, and finally dispersed by riot police backed by three firetrucks after refusing to leave.

They carried banners and placards that read, 8220;No to ASEAN sell-out8221; and 8220;Junk ASEAN8221;. A number of protesters, including several women, fell to the ground and were hurt after police warded them off with batons and shields. Taunting police with names like 8220;imperialist lapdogs8221;, protesters fought back using placards and grabbed at policemen, but were eventually repelled.No arrests were made, but Manila police director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Aglipay warned authorities would not allow future protests at the summit venue.

Aglipay, who personally led the dispersal and joined policemen shoving away protesters, told AFP he had a 8220;man-to-man8221; talk with leaders of the group Tuesday night and that they promised him protests would be made elsewhere.

8220;They reneged on their promise and we have to preserve peace and tranquility, and that is a fair warning to them,8221; Aglipay said of the protest break-up. The dispersal 8220;was not violent8221;, Aglipay said, stressing that only water cannons were used. 8220;We have to protect and secure the conference,8221; he added, while appealing to militant groups to cooperate with authorities to help 8220;put the summit in Manila in the books for being peaceful and memorable8221;.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon, speaking at a press forum elsewhere in the capital, said he had been assured by the police and armed forces that 8220;the situation is under control8221;. He said that in every international meeting, groups with 8220;different grievances8221; would seize the opportunity to grab the limelight.

The demonstrators denounced the 10-member ASEAN as a tool of 8220;US imperialism8221; and opposed the economic liberalisation agenda of the grouping, whose leaders will also meet with counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea on Sunday. The security breach came one day after Philippine authorities said they had put in place all precautionary measures against possible saboteurs. The military said it would deploy more than 2,000 troops as part of heightened security for the summit.