LSE Lecture on EU/Africa interrupted

The LSE, to its credit, is not afraid of engaging in discussions on all manner of subjects, be they controversial or not. Some may recall that last term a lecture by Sir Richard Dearlove, the former director of MI6, was interrupted on many occasions by protesters and hecklers who accused him of being a war criminal (you can see a YouTube video of the event here), and later confronted at the reception of the POLIS lecture that he was delivering on Halloween.

The boisterous crowds have returned again to the LSE, this time with the European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, on the receiving end of hecklers. Michel was delivering a lecture entitled “Europe-Africa, the Indispensable Partnership” last night and had gotten through his presentation when, during the Q&A, a small group began hollering at him (there is a video posted on YouTube here that catches at least part of the incident) prompting the chair to draw the event to a somewhat premature conclusion.

Certainly the LSE shouldn’t shy away from inviting controversial speakers, and likewise it should not  prevent people of all opinions from attending lectures. Still, one does sometimes wonder if anybody gains from these kinds of engagements that degenerate into yelling and shouting. Frankly it’d probably be preferable that each side had an opportunity to air their grievances and respond to criticism, rather than drowning out conversation by screaming at the folks on stage and posting the results on the web.