Canada’s House speaker apologises after MPs applaud Ukrainian Nazi war veteran
The speaker of the Canadian House Of Commons has apologised after MPs applauded a Ukrainian who fought for the Nazis in the Second World War.
Politicians in the Ottawa chamber gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, 98, after speaker Anthony Rota hailed him as a war “hero”.
It came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the chamber on Friday thanking Canada for its assistance in the war against Russia.
Hunka was a member of a unit in the Waffen-SS, a military branch of the Nazis that murdered Jews and others “with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable,” according to Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.
Following Mr Zelensky’s remarks, Mr Rota praised Hunka, who was seated in the gallery, for fighting for Ukrainian independence against the Russians.
Hunka received two standing ovations from those gathered while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was alongside Mr Zelensky in parliament.
In a statement calling for an apology, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said: “At a time of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, it is incredibly disturbing to see Canada’s Parliament rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a unit in the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military branch responsible for the murder of Jews and others.
“An explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation.”
Thousands of Ukrainians fought on the German side during the war, but millions more served in the Soviet Red Army.
In a statement, Mr Rota took responsibility for what was characterised as an oversight, calling the initiative “entirely my own”.
“I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision,” he said, adding his “deepest apologies” to Jewish communities.
“No one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them.”
The First Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit under the command of the Nazis.
Division members are accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians, but the unit has not been found guilty of any war crimes by a tribunal.
In the war sparked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces last February, Russia has sought to characterise the Ukrainians as Nazis.
Russia’s ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, as saying that the embassy will write to Mr Trudeau and the Canadian foreign ministry over the incident accordig to Russia’s RIA state news agency.
“We will, of course, demand clarification from the Canadian government,” Stepanov said.
Michael Mostyn, Canadian CEO of international Jewish human rights group B’nai B’rith said it was outrageous that parliament had honoured an ex-member of a Nazi unit.
He said Ukrainian “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who volunteered for the Galicia Division “dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing”.
A spokesperson for Canada’s Conservative Party said it was not aware of his history at the time.
“We find the reports of this individual’s history very troubling,” said Sebastian Skamski, adding that Mr Trudeau’s Liberal Party must explain why Hunka was invited.
