Canadian MPs have been left red-faced after unwittingly giving a standing ovation a Ukrainian ‘hero’ who had served in a Nazi unit during the Second World War, according to the BBC.
The applause for Yaroslav Hunka, 98, who was sitting in the gallery of the Canadian Parliament during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit last week, was prompted by Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, Anthony Rota.
Rota said in his apology: ‘I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision’ to acknowledge Hunka as a ‘hero’.
He said that ‘no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them. This initiative was entirely my own ….’
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the invitation ‘deeply embarrassing’, adding: ‘It’s extremely upsetting that this happened. The Speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologized. But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians.’
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the incident as ‘outrageous’.
He added: ‘Many Western countries, including Canada, have raised a young generation that does not know who fought whom or what happened during the Second World War. And they know nothing about the threat of fascism.’
According to the BBC, Canadian Jewish group CIJA said it was ‘deeply troubled’ that a former member of a Nazi division that participated in the genocide of Jews had been celebrated.
[Image: Michel Rathwell, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70250545]