Rindi Salsabila, CNBC Indonesia
Thursday, 09/28/2023 10:30 WIB
Photo: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers questions during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday, September 18, 2023. (AP/Sean Kilpatrick)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized after a man who served in a Nazi unit during World War II was honored in Parliament.
In his statement, Trudeau said the tribute was a “terrible mistake” that damaged the lives of people who suffered during the Holocaust.
“On behalf of everyone present in this room, I would like to express my most sincere apologies for what happened on Friday,” Trudeau said in French in the House of Representatives (DPR), Wednesday (27/9/2023) afternoon local time , quoted Al Jazeera.
“Paying tribute to this individual without knowing who he was is a terrible mistake and violates the memory of those who suffered as a result of the Nazi regime,” Trudeau continued.
Last week, Yaroslav Hunka, 98, received two standing ovations in the House of Representatives during a special session attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Ottawa to ask for support in countering a Russian military attack.
After the incident, Jewish community groups reported that Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS military unit during World War II and they asked for an explanation and apology.
On the same occasion, Trudeau also apologized to Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation who came to Canada to participate in the parliamentary session. He said it had strengthened Russian “propaganda”.
“It’s deeply worrying to think that this very serious mistake is being politicized by Russia and its supporters to spread false propaganda about what Ukraine stands for,” Trudeau told reporters during a news conference before speaking in Parliament.
Russia is said to have described the decision to honor Hunka as “extraordinary”.
“Many Western countries, including Canada, have raised a generation of young people who have no idea who fought against whom or what happened during World War II. And they know nothing about the fascist threat,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities have justified their continued attacks on Ukraine as part of Kyiv’s “de-Nazification” efforts. However, Kyiv and its allies have rejected the claims and accused Moscow of trying to grab territory.
Trudeau’s office and senior members of his Liberal government have said they had no prior knowledge of Hunka’s invitation to Parliament.
Trudeau insisted that the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, was “entirely responsible” for the admission.
“All of us in the House on Friday deeply regret having stood up and applauded, even though we did so without knowing the context,” Trudeau said.
In the aftermath of this incident, Rota announced his resignation after various enormous pressures arose which pushed him to resign.
“I would like to repeat my deep regret for my mistake in admitting an individual to the Council,” said Rota on Tuesday (26/9/2023) local time.
However, Trudeau continued to face criticism from his political opponents, with the head of the opposition Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, alleging that the Prime Minister failed to carry out adequate screening of Hunka.
“This is far greater than the damage to Canada’s diplomatic reputation that has ever occurred in its history and that happened under Justin Trudeau’s government,” said Poilievre, Wednesday (27/9/2023) local time.
New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh also said that “real damage has been done – real damage to the Jewish community, real damage to the war effort in Ukraine, and real damage to Canada’s reputation.”
“What will [Trudeau] do something concrete to clean up this mess?” Singh asked in the House.
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2023-09-28 03:30:00
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