Henry Kissinger heckled at New York University speech
New York,Oct 19: New York University students heckled and disrupted an appearance by Henry Kissinger on Tuesday, accusing the former US Secretary of State of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Kissinger, now 95, was wheeled into NYU’s Stern School of Business on Tuesday evening, where he appeared as part of the school’s speaker series ‘In Conversation with Mervyn King.’
Meanwhile, protesters – some of them members of the International Socialist Organization – gathered outside to denounce Kissinger’s checkered history of bloody foreign policy positions, including his support for Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s, under whom some 80,000 political opponents were jailed and at least 3,000 executed.
Inside, Kissinger was repeatedly interrupted by left-wing protesters, with the first shouting “Henry Kissinger, on behalf of the International Criminal Court, you are a war criminal, you have committed genocide against the people of the world!”before being escorted out by security.
Comrades at NYU disrupting Henry Kissinger’s talk at the Stern School of Business. #NoWarCriminalsAtNYU pic.twitter.com/FbgkmXGbY3
— Esor? (@EsorFas) October 16, 2018
“Henry Kissinger, you have blood on your hands,” another protester piped up. “What about the people of Chile? LIve with the results of what you’ve done.” Like the first interruptor, the second was removed, as the crowd’s boos and jeers became louder. The same thing happened when a third protester spoke up.
“You deserve to answer to war crimes!” another shouted, before telling the venerable statesman “You deserve to go to jail and then rot in hell!” Heckling and chanting continued as Kissinger departed the event later that evening.
Throughout Kissinger’s long diplomatic career, he was lauded for easing US relations with the Soviet Union and China, as well as negotiating the end of the Vietnam War. However, he has also been criticized for orchestrating a US-sponsored coup in Chile, giving the Argentinian junta free rein to commit mass murder and human rights abuses after the 1976 coup, and supporting Pakistan’s genocide against Bangladesh in 1971.
Kissinger also oversaw the escalation of the Vietnam War into Laos and Cambodia, which devolved into a four-year bombing campaign that killed as many as 100,000 civilians. Worse, it cleared the way for Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge to take power in Cambodia’s ensuing power vacuum, and commit genocide of an estimated 1.5 million people.
Several student groups had called on NYU to cancel the invite-only event, writing: “When this man is publicly celebrated as a wise sage of diplomacy, national security, and foreign affairs, his despicable hawkishness is implicitly endorsed.”
The university responded that “The free exchange of diverse ideas and viewpoints is a fundamental value at NYU. As such, an invited speaker should be able to be heard without disruption.”
courtesy : rt.com
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
