- The unintended cheering of Yaroslav Hunka has been apologized for by Trudeau.
- Zelensky was in Canada and present in parliament when Trudeau also offered an apology to him.
- Rota resigned and took responsibility for the invitation and recognition of Hunka.
The unintended cheering of Yaroslav Hunka from Ukraine in parliament, which sparked outrage throughout the world, has been apologized for by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Speaker Anthony Rota, who invited Hunka, resigned on Tuesday. Volodymyr Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, was in Canada and present in parliament when Trudeau also offered an apology to him. A “horrendous violation of the memory of the millions who died in the Holocaust” was committed by the incident.
Justin Trudeau
Hunka, a World War Two veteran who fought alongside a Nazi regiment, was applauded and hailed as a Ukrainian and Canadian “hero.”
He participated in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, a voluntary organization dominated by Ukrainian nationals and commanded by the Nazis. Although the division has not been adjudged guilty of any war crimes by a court, it is accused of murdering Polish and Jewish citizens.
Rota resigned and took responsibility for the invitation and recognition of Hunka, for which she was exclusively accountable. Pierre Poilievre, the head of the Canadian opposition, has not, however, stopped Trudeau’s attacks.
The affair was dubbed by Poilievre as the “biggest single diplomatic embarrassment” in Canadian history. Rota’s resignation has been lauded by Canadian Jewish organizations, but the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies has expressed concerns about the manner of Rota’s resignation.
