A planned debate event at the University of Copenhagen escalated into chaos on Tuesday, complicating the situation for the responsible organizers. The Faculty of Law had made a great effort to have Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen as the guest of honor at the meeting, which was supposed to address Europe’s current situation in light of the upcoming parliamentary elections. However, the event took an unexpected turn when a group of protesters showed up with a different agenda. Their main focus was the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and they wanted to ensure that this issue was brought up. The protesters chose to interrupt Lars Løkke Rasmussen by shouting, triggering visible frustration from the minister. In a recording from the meeting, Lars Løkke Rasmussen states: “This is not leading anywhere. You come here and start shouting at me,” and continues: “I begin by saying that I have been invited to talk about Europe. I say that is fully prepared, one cannot talk about that without also talking about the war in Gaza.” However, the protesters’ shouts became even louder when one of them shouted: “It is not a war! It is genocide!” A moderator at the meeting pointed out that this was an opportunity for a dialogue with the foreign minister, but he too was interrupted. One protester screamed: “He has had seven months to act – for seven months, this genocide has been going on. There is no dialogue now. There is action.” The chaos continued without any resolution, and video recordings show a discussion primarily happening through shouts and interruptions. Finally, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was escorted out of the room by the police as a security measure, due to the tense atmosphere. According to information from B.T., the foreign minister was not in direct physical danger.

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