Title: Canadian Speaker Resigns After Praising Ukrainian Veteran with Nazi Ties
Date: [Insert Date]
Ottawa – The speaker of Canada’s parliament, Anthony Rota, tendered his resignation on Tuesday amidst a major controversy surrounding his public celebration of a Ukrainian veteran with Nazi connections during World War II.
Rota’s resignation comes just days after he praised an elderly Ukrainian immigrant from his district who turned out to have served in a Nazi-linked military unit. The incident occurred during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the Canadian parliament last week, wherein Rota’s speech prompted a standing ovation for the veteran.
The revelation about the veteran’s Nazi affiliations sparked growing pressure for Rota’s resignation. Acknowledging the intensity of the situation and expressing remorse, Rota informed lawmakers from the parliamentary floor, “It is with a heavy heart that I rise to inform members of my resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons.” He further expressed his profound regret for the pain he caused to Jewish communities both in Canada and globally.
The controversy surrounding Rota’s support of the Ukrainian veteran is likely to fuel Russia’s narrative, which accuses the Ukrainian government of embracing Nazi ideologies. Interestingly, President Zelensky himself is of Jewish descent and has family members who perished in the Holocaust.
During the event, Rota paid homage to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, referring to him as a “Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians” and hailed him as both a Ukrainian and Canadian hero. However, it was later discovered that Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit responsible for horrific crimes against humanity during the Holocaust, as documented by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group, condemned the incident as “shocking” and “incredibly disturbing.” They argued that the incident compromised all 338 Members of Parliament and handed a propaganda victory to Russia, overshadowing what should have been a significant display of unity between Canada and Ukraine.
Following the revelations, several political parties in Canada demanded Rota’s resignation. Rota, who has been a Liberal lawmaker since 2004 and assumed the role of speaker in 2019, issued an official apology on Sunday. He expressed regret for his remarks about Hunka, stating that he had become aware of additional information which had led to his change in stance. Rota underlined that the initiative was solely his own and extended his deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and worldwide.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Rota’s remarks as shameful and questioned the lack of proper vetting by the Trudeau administration regarding Hunka’s invitation.
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Canada aimed to garner international support and included addresses to the United Nations and a meeting with US President Joe Biden. During Zelensky’s visit, Canada pledged further aid to Ukraine, a country that has been devastated by warfare.
With the second-largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world, Canada has played a significant role in supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression. In his speech to the Canadian parliament, Zelensky expressed his gratitude for Canada’s backing as Russian troops crossed Ukrainian borders in February 2022.
While Russia has accused Ukrainian leaders of being “neo-Nazis” and justified its war with the need to “denazify” its neighbor, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deemed the incident as an outrageous display of forgetfulness.
In Poland, Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek even raised the possibility of seeking Hunka’s extradition. Czarnek stated that he had tasked the national historical research institute to investigate if Hunka is wanted for crimes against Poles or Polish Jews, expressing his intention to pursue possible extradition.
Note: This article has been published as received from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by NDTV staff except for the headline.