Canada | The speaker who invited the Ukrainian SS soldier to the parliament resigned

Canada’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Anthony Rota resigned from his position on Tuesday due to the uproar of the last few days, reported AFP and The Guardian.

On Friday, Rota invited a 98-year-old war veteran who had fought against the Soviet Union in the Second World War to the galleries of the Parliament. President of Ukraine to Volodymyr Zelensky In connection with the visit to Canada, Rota called the Ukrainian-Canadian veteran a hero and instructed the parliament by his own example to give him a standing ovation.

There was an uproar about the matter two days later, when a Jewish human rights organization said that he was 98 years old Jaroslav Hunkan having fought in the Second World War in the Waffen SS division. The corps was a volunteer division of Western Ukrainians, formed in 1943 to fight against the Soviet forces.

Members of the division have been accused of extreme atrocities, including the killing of Polish and Jewish civilians.

When Hunka’s background became public, Rota rushed to apologize for what he had said. He said he was solely responsible for inviting Hunka to the parliament.

“Since then, I have received more information that makes me regret my decision,” Rota commented along with his apology.

Despite the apology, many members of the Canadian Parliament are calling for Rota’s resignation.

For example, the foreign minister Melanie Joly called the situation “deeply reprehensible” and “shameful” in his speech on Tuesday. He said that Rota should act honorably and leave his position as speaker of the House of Representatives.

A few hours later, Joly’s wish was answered, and Rota, representing the Liberal Party, announced that he would resign from the position of speaker. He told about it in the parliament session hall and said that he was “deeply sorry for his mistake”.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly demanded that the speaker resign from his post. Picture: Timothy A. Clary/AFP

According to Rota, the applause given to Hunka caused pain, for example, to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.

Prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Rota’s blunder was extremely embarrassing for the Parliament of Canada and by extension all Canadians. However, he did not demand Rota’s resignation.

The applause given to the former SS soldier was also seized in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the invitation of a former SS soldier to the galleries of the Parliament “outrageous”. He also claimed that a generation has been raised in Western countries who know nothing about the events of World War II or the threat of fascism.