Polish Minister of Training Przemyslaw Czarnek has signaled that he intends to hunt the extradition of a Ukrainian Nazi SS veteran who was cheered within the Canadian Parliament final week.
Czarnek was reacting to the controversy surrounding Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian who fought for the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also called the first Galician Division, fashioned by Nazi Germany from largely Western Ukrainians, that took half in atrocities in opposition to Russian, Polish, and Jewish civilians throughout WWII.
Hunka obtained a standing ovation throughout the ceremony within the Home of Commons after being launched by now-former Home Speaker Anthony Rota as “a hero… who fought for Ukrainian independence in opposition to the Russians.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky additionally attended the ceremony.
Writing on X (previously Twitter) on Tuesday, Minister Czarnek mentioned that “in view of the scandalous occasions within the Canadian Parliament,” he “has taken steps in direction of the attainable extradition” of the SS veteran to Poland. The minister additionally appealed to Poland’s Institute of Nationwide Remembrance to “urgently look at the paperwork whether or not Yaroslav Hunka is needed for crimes in opposition to the Polish nation and Poles of Jewish origin.”
Commenting on a possible extradition request from Poland, nonetheless, Canadian Lawyer Common Arif Virani mentioned he had not seen one. “What I’d say to you is that an extradition course of is a delicate matter,” he advised Politico. He refused to elaborate on the problem till the doc was produced for him, arguing that this “would jeopardize the investigation.”
The controversy sparked fierce worldwide backlash, particularly from the Jewish neighborhood. The Mates of Simon Wiesenthal Heart mentioned it was “appalled” by the celebration. On the identical time, The Heart for Israel and Jewish Affairs mentioned it “can’t keep silent when crimes dedicated by Ukrainians throughout the Holocaust are whitewashed.”
The Russian and Polish overseas ministries additionally joined the condemnation. The International Ministry in Moscow blasted Ottawa for abusing the reminiscence of victims of the Nazisms in addition to “unbridled Russophobia.” In the meantime, along with requires fees in opposition to Hunka, Deputy International Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk urged then-Speaker Rota to step down over a scarcity of diligence and historic information.
For his half, Rota issued a public apology and later introduced his resignation, whereas Trudeau admitted that the newest scandal was “deeply embarrassing” for Ottawa.
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