During the visit of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, The Canadian House of Commons mistakenly honored a Nazi veteran, former member of the SS, which provoked indignation from the Kremlin and an apology from the president of the legislative body.
This is Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old man, who last Friday was among those invited to the Parliament session Canadian in honor of Zelensky’s visit.
The Ukrainian leader was in Ottawa to arrange new support from Western allies in the war against Russia.
Just after the Ukrainian president gave his speech, the speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division. Those present, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, applauded the honoree.
“We have in the chamber a Ukrainian Canadian, a veteran of World War II, who fought for the independence of Ukraine against the Russians and continues to support the troops even at 98 years of age,” Rota declared.
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🇺🇦🇨🇦Scandal in Canada. During Zelensky’s visit, parliament gave honors and ovations to a veteran of the Nazi Waffen-SS Galizien division. Yaroslav Hunka was introduced as “a World War II veteran who fought for the independence of Ukraine against Russia” pic.twitter.com/kW0dEkbdvX
— Deciphering War (@descifraguerra) September 25, 2023
After the ceremony, The Russian news agency Sputnik pointed out that Hunka was “a former member of the Galizien volunteer division of the SS, formed by Ukrainian nationalists, and not only fought against the Red Army, but above all was noted for the atrocities committed against Jews, Poles, Belarusians and Slovaks.”
The tribute sparked outrage and criticism from the Kremlin. “It is a careless attitude towards memory, and memory must be preserved in relation to the Nazis, no matter how old they are, these crimes do not prescribe (…). Such negligence, of course, is outrageous. It is outrageous,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Sputnik.
The spokesperson added that Western countries have already educated a young generation that is unaware of the history of World War II, which can lead to new manifestations of fascism.
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The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskyi, during his visit to Canada.
“This is fraught with the fact that fascism will appear here and there. And now we see how it is practically trying to get its footing in the center of Europe, in Ukraine, which is what we are fighting against,” Peskov concluded.
For her part, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajarova, pointed out that the ceremony to honor a Nazi in the Canadian Parliament is a farce that will end in a tragedy on a global scale. She added that “the entire Western world now utters these same Nazi chants (…). So far it is a tragic farce, but everything is heading towards a catastrophe and a global tragedy.”
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After the events, The speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, issued a statement apologizing. “In my speech after the speech of the president of Ukraine, I honored a person on the platform. I have subsequently become aware of more information that makes me regret my decision to do so,” he wrote.
“I deeply regret having offended so many with my gesture and my words,” he declared this Monday in the Lower House. Rota added that his intention was not to offend anyone and that she was unaware of the past of Yaroslav Hunka, who lives in the Canadian town of North Bay.
Following Rota’s apology, one of the opposition groups, the social democratic New Democratic Party (NPD), requested his resignation as president of the Lower House.
![Zelensky](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/uploads/2023/09/25/6511e56e07c82.jpeg)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) was applauded after addressing the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office also said in a statement that Rota had apologized and accepted full responsibility for inviting Hunka. and for recognition in Parliament. “This was the right thing to do,” the statement said. “There was no advance notice to the prime minister’s office, nor to the Ukrainian delegation, of the invitation or recognition.”
The First Ukrainian Division, also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the 14th Waffen SS Division, was a volunteer unit that was under the command of the Nazis.
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On September 22, in the House of Commons, I recognized an individual in the gallery. I regret my decision to do so, and accept full responsibility for my actions. Read my statement here: https://t.co/Hd9chtHFNJ
— Speaker of the HoC (@HoCSpeaker) September 24, 2023
The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Canadian Holocaust Studies issued a statement reminding parliamentarians that the honored Waffen-SS Division “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with an unimaginable level of brutality and malice.”
“An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and World War II veteran who fought against the Nazis, and an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of the Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation,” the statement said.
THE NATION (GDA)
AMERICAN DAILY GROUP
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