On Thursday (5th October), Russian President Vladimir Putin dubbed Anthony Rota, as an ‘idiot’ for inviting Nazi war criminal Yaroslav Hunka to Canada’s Parliament and accorded him a standing ovation. Rota is the former Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada.
While speaking about the matter, Putin emphasised, “We relate to Canada no matter what with respect, especially to the people, but if he (Anthony Rota) doesn’t know that during the war Hitler and his henchmen fought against Russia, then, he’s an idiot. Well, it means he just didn’t study at school. “
“(He) has no basic knowledge but if he knows that this man fought on Hitler’s side and calls him a hero of Ukraine and a hero of Canada, then, he is a villain. Either this or that.”
🇷🇺‼️Based description of the Hunka incident.
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) October 5, 2023
I agree fully! pic.twitter.com/kh1XMiFjI3
On 22nd September this year, the Canadian House of Commons gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a World War II veteran who fought for “Ukrainian independence” against Russian aggressors. This is how the then speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, introduced him.
The 98-year-old soldier, however, was a member of a SS unit established in 1943 by the Nazis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also present during the occasion.
The First Ukrainian Division, originally named the 14th Waffen-Grenadier Division der SS (Ukrainische Nr 1), also known as the “Galicia” Division, was created during World War II in the western part of Ukraine. Soon after Hunka’s links to Nazi SS were revealed, Canada faced criticism worldwide.
The parliament of Canada gives a standing ovation to a 98-year-old Ukrainian Nazi collaborator, Yaroslav Hunka, during Zelensky's speech.
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) September 25, 2023
Canada cannot be a safe haven for Nazis! This is unacceptable. #Antisemitism pic.twitter.com/YM5ThgnQyN
On 26th September 2023, Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, resigned for making a ‘mistake’. Interestingly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all the Canadian MPs threw Rota under the bus.
This was despite the fact that Canada has a long history of housing Nazi war criminals. In the meantime, Trudeau blamed ‘Russian propaganda’ after Canada’s parliament faced global shame for celebrating Nazis. He called the incident deeply embarrassing but somehow managed to blame Russia for the goof-up his government did by celebrating the Nazis.
“I think it’s gonna be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda and disinformation and continue our steadfast and unequivocal support for Ukraine as we did last week by announcing further measures to stand with Ukraine in Russia’s illegal war against it,” Trudeau claimed.
