Students disrupt Panebianco classes for second day

(ANSA) - Bologna, February 23 - Bologna University students on Tuesday disrupted a class being held by a political science professor and top editorialist at leading Corriere della Sera daily, saying his views make him a 'warmonger'.
    This was the second day protesters from the self-styled leftist Autonomous University Collective (CUA) disrupted Professor Angelo Panebianco's class by deluging him with questions and playing sound recordings of war bombings, among other tactics.
    Panebianco has editorialized that Italy has relied so long on United States military protection that it finds itself unprepared to defend itself against current threats, such as the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) insurgency in Libya.
    "The 'good' pacificist sentiments we developed - not only the entirely healthy idea that everything possible must be done to avert war, but also the sick notion that one must not equip oneself for self-defence - are a luxury we have been able to afford thanks to (U.S.) protection," Panebianco wrote in a February 16 op-ed in Corriere della Sera titled 'Will We Ever Be Ready in Libya?' Panebianco on Tuesday declined to comment on the incidents.
    Emilia Romagna Governor Stefano Bonaccini from the center-left Democratic Party (PD) expressed solidarity for the beleaguered professor.
    "Such gestures have no place here because they have nothing to do with freedom of opinion and of expression," the governor said.
    This was echoed by PD Senate whip Luigi Zanda, who said Panebianco was the "victim of violent bullying and intolerance, which takes us back to very painful times of our history".
    "This is undemocratic behavior, and certainly not leftist (behavior)," Zanda said.