Parliament Speaker Anthony Rota paid tribute to an SS veteran during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the House of Commons.
After honoring a former Waffen-SS soldier in the Canadian Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked for a pardon. “It was a terrible violation of the memory of millions of people who died in the Holocaust,” said the head of government on Wednesday. Parliament Speaker Anthony Rota paid tribute to an SS veteran on Friday last week during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the House of Commons.
He called 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant Jaroslav Hunka a “Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran” who fought for Ukrainian independence against Russia. Hunka was present in the chamber and received thunderous applause.
However, Rota did not mention that, according to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), Hunka served in a Waffen-SS unit during World War II. The SS, which was classified as a criminal organization at the Nuremberg Trials after the end of the war, had national associations in many occupied countries that were involved in war crimes.
“Error that deeply shamed Parliament and Canada”
“All of us who were in Parliament on Friday deeply regret having stood up and applauded, even if we didn’t know the context,” Trudeau said. “It was a mistake that deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada,” Trudeau said. Rota was solely responsible for inviting and honoring the SS veteran. After harsh criticism from deputies and members of the government, the president of Parliament resigned on Tuesday.
Trudeau also apologized for the situation the incident put Zelenskiy in. “It is very disturbing that this error is being used by Russia and its supporters to spread false propaganda about what Ukraine is fighting for,” Trudeau said. To justify its 19-month war of aggression, Russia has repeatedly tried to portray the Ukrainian government as “neo-Nazi”. (APA)