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by Grace Gottschling
October 17, 2018
from
CampusReform Website
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Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was
heckled Tuesday as he delivered a speech at New York
University.
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Multiple protesters interrupted the former top U.S.
diplomat and one heckler even told him to "rot in
hell."
Multiple protesters heckled former Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger on Tuesday
while he delivered a speech at
New York University Stern School of
Business.
NYU invited Kissinger, who was celebrating the 45th
anniversary of receiving his Nobel 'Peace' Prize Award, as
part of a series entitled "In
Conversation with Lord Mervyn King."
Roughly 100 people gathered to protest Kissinger,
according to NYU News.
Some held signs calling
him,
a "war criminal"
while others shouted "rot in hell" and "hey, Kissinger, what do
you say? How many kids have you killed today?"
"He was the architect of programs which were responsible for the
deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, the destabilization
of several nations, and the enabling of brutal, genocidal
regimes."
Kissinger’s Nobel prize has been
widely criticized by those who say
that he participated in war crimes during the Vietnam war.
Protesters could also be seen holding signs reading,
"injustice must end"
and "you can fight imperialism with violence."
NYU students, as well as
local groups, organized the protest "No War Criminals," claiming
that,
"Kissinger is
regarded as criminal internationally, having formed imperialist
policy that caused human rights crises in South and Southeast
Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East."
The 27 groups involved in
organizing the protest were comprised, in part, of the,
The groups penned and
signed a letter (Letter
to the NYU Community on Henry Kissinger) urging the "NYU
community" to reconsider hosting Kissinger.
"Mr. Kissinger has
left a legacy of economic devastation, physical destruction,
violence, human misery, and death," the letter states.
"His greatest
contributions to U.S. history are those of illegal bombing
campaigns, failed military threats, direct involvement in coups
and support for dictatorships, and the elongation of
devastating, bloody wars for his own political gain."
"He was the architect of programs which were responsible for the
deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, the destabilization
of several nations, and the enabling of brutal, genocidal
regimes," the letter continues.
"He leaves behind a
legacy of decisions and policies so violent and horrific that
any acknowledgement [sic], or validation of him by NYU is an
indefensible act at odds with the values NYU claims to represent
and the values of the NYU student body and faculty at large."
"The event went forward as planned, but during the course of it,
there were a handful of brief interruptions; those who stood up
and shouted were promptly escorted from the room by our public
safety officers," NYU spokesman John Beckman told Campus Reform
on Wednesday.
"Our rules are clear: NYU values and respects dissent, but it is
impermissible for dissent to take the form of shouting down an
invited speaker," Beckman added.
"Those who do so make
themselves subject to sanctions."
A spokesman for Kissinger
declined to comment when contacted by Campus Reform...
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