Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

Trudeau torched as ‘embarrassment,’ Canada’s House speaker faces growing calls to resign for honoring Nazi

Published

on


Canada’s House speaker is facing a growing chorus of opposition lawmakers demanding his resignation after a Nazi fighter was honored during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament last week, as Prime Minister Justice Trudeau is also being torched by conservatives over the «massive diplomatic embarrassment and shame.» 

In Ottawa, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre blamed Trudeau and the Liberal government for creating a «massive diplomatic embarrassment and shame» for not properly vetting Yaroslav Hunka, a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II. 

«The prime minister is responsible,» the Conservative leader said. «Will he take responsibility for his latest embarrassment?»

Just after Zelenskyy – who is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust – delivered an address in the House of Commons Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave the 98-year-old Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the 1st Ukrainian Division. 

CANADA UNDER FIRE FOR APPLAUDING ‘LITERAL NAZI’ IN PARLIAMENT DURING ZELENSKYY VISIT

Trudeau touches his forehead to Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau embrace during a news conference in Ottawa, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The 1st Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

Rota, who issued a written apology Sunday and repeated it in the House on Monday, did not immediately resign.

In his apology, Rota said he alone was responsible for inviting and recognizing Hunka. 

«I am deeply sorry that I have offended many with my gesture and remarks,″ he said.

«No one – not even anyone among you, fellow parliamentarians, or from the Ukrainian delegation – was privy to my intention or my remarks prior to their delivery.»

Issuing a statement Sunday, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies was the first to publicly clarify the Waffen-SS Galicia Division «was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.»

CANADIAN CLERGY REBUKE TRUDEAU FOR INVOKING EMERGENCIES ACT, OTHER ‘TYRANNICAL ACTIONS

Addressing the incident on camera to a reporter, Trudeau acknowledged it was «embarrassing,» but also separately warned against Russian propaganda and «disinformation.» 

«Obviously 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 all Canadians,» Trudeau said. «I think particularly of Jewish MPs and all members of the Jewish community across the country who are celebrating… commemorating Yom Kippur today. I think that it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast and unequivocal support for Ukraine as we did last week with announcing further measures to stand with Ukraine in Russia’s illegal war against it.» 

Peter Julian, the New Democratic Party House leader, and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet both said Rota should step down.

«For the good of the institution of the House of Commons… I don’t believe you can continue in this role,» Julian said. «Regrettably I must respectfully ask that you step aside.»

Canadian House speaker shakes hands with Zelenskyy

Anthony Rota, the speaker of the House of Commons, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

In a statement written in French, Blanchet said Rota had lost the confidence of the House.

House government leader Karina Gould said the incident «hurt all of us in Parliament.»

«It’s been deeply embarrassing for Canada, and I think it was deeply embarrassing for the president of Ukraine,» said Gould, who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors.

Gould said it was Rota’s decision to invite Hunka. 

«Neither the government of Canada nor the delegation of the Ukraine had any knowledge of this,» she said.

Zelenskyy receives standing ovation from Canadian parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of Parliament after addressing the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on Sept. 22, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said it was «outrageous» that Hunka received a standing ovation during a visit to Ottawa. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said memory of the Nazis must be preserved. He said Canada is among the Western countries that have raised a young generation who don’t understand the threat of fascism. «Such a sloppy attitude toward this memory is, of course, outrageous,» Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has painted his enemies in Ukraine as «neo-Nazis,» despite Zelenskyy’s background.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 



Source link

Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

Hezbollah fires heavy rockets at northern Israel after deadliest day of Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Published

on


BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired rockets with heavy warheads at towns in northern Israel, saying it used the weapons against civilian targets for the first time Thursday in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes the night before that killed nine, including what the group said were several paramedics.

There were no reports of Israelis hurt in the rocket attack, local media said. The Israeli military did not immediately offer comment on the rocket attack.

ODDS OF ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR ‘INEVITABLE,’ EXPERTS FEAR: ‘TOTALLY PESSIMISTIC’

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7, concerns have grown that near-daily clashes along the border between Israel and Lebanon could escalate into a full-scale war. Airstrikes and rocket fire Wednesday killed 16 Lebanese and one Israeli, making it the deadliest day of the current conflict.

Lebanon Hezbollah Prayer Controversy

Spanish U.N. peacekeepers stand on a hill overlooking the Lebanese border villages with Israel in Marjayoun town on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. A war of words that has unfolded in Lebanon show longstanding schisms in the small country over Hezbollah, now amplified by the militant groups role in the Lebanon-Israel border clashes and by fears that an already crisis-hit Lebanon could be dragged into an all-out war.  (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israel had killed 30 Hezbollah militants in the past week and had destroyed dozens of Hezbollah military sites in an effort to push the Iran-backed group away from the border.

The recent increase in violence has raised alarm in Washington and at the United Nations.

«Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden and for the administration,» White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters, saying the U.S. is closely monitoring developments. «We’ve also been very, very clear: We do not support a war in Lebanon.»

Kirby said the U.S. is working to halt the fighting through diplomatic efforts. This needs to be a top priority for Israel and Lebanon, he said, and would allow displaced civilians to return home. Tens of thousands of people on both sides have fled the fighting.

At around sunset Thursday, a barrage of Katyusha and Burkan rockets was fired toward the Israeli village of Goren and Shlomi, a statement from Hezbollah said. Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said the group had not previously fired Burkan rockets at civilian targets, but was now responding to the recent spate of Israeli airstrikes.

Lebanon’s state media reported that 10 paramedics were among those killed Wednesday. The Israeli military said it struck targets for Hezbollah and an allied Sunni Muslim group.

Hezbollah has frequently used Russian-made portable anti-tank Kornet missiles in recent months. More rarely, it has launched Burkan rockets which, according to the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, can carry a warhead that weighs between 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds).

Hezbollah says its attacks aim to keep some Israeli divisions busy and away from Gaza, and Nasrallah says attacks on the border will only stop when Israel halts its offensive in Gaza.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon known as UNIFIL said it was imperative that «this escalation cease immediately.»

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

«We urge all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution,» UNIFIL said. It added that the peacekeeping force remains ready to support that process in any way it can.

The fighting has killed nine civilians and 11 soldiers in Israel. More than 240 Hezbollah fighters and about 50 civilians have died in Lebanon.

Source link

Continue Reading

LO MAS LEIDO

Tendencias

Copyright © 2023 - NDM Noticias del Momento - #Noticias #Chimentos #Politica #Fútbol #Economia #Sociedad