Polish minister looks into extradition for Ukrainian nazi ‘hero’ in Canadian parliament

Education and Science Minister Przemysław Czarnek wants the country’s national remembrance institution to investigate whether there is a basis for a Ukrainian nazi – who controversially received a standing ovation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the Canadian parliament last Friday – to be extradited to Poland.

Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who served in a Nazi unit during the Second World War got a standing ovation in parliament after the Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, Anthony Rota, called him “a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero,” and thanked him “for all his service.”

“In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian parliament and honouring a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galizien formation in the presence of President Zelensky, I have taken steps towards the possible extradition of this man to Poland,” Czarnek wrote on X.

He attached a letter with a request to the head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Karol Nawrocki, to “urgently investigate in documents whether Yaroslav Hunka is wanted for crimes against the Polish Nation and Poles of Jewish origin,” adding that premises of such crimes warrant a request to Canada for his extradition.

During the Second World War, Hunka served in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, also known as the Galicia Division, a voluntary unit including mostly ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command.

On Monday, Rota apologised for inviting Hunka to Friday’s special parliamentary session, particularly extending his “deepest apologies” to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world and declaring to “accept full responsibility” for his actions, BBC reported.

In response to Rota’s statement, the Canadian Jewish group CIJA said it appreciated the apology and stressed that proper screening is essential to ensure that such unacceptable incidents do not happen again.

While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident “extremely upsetting,” he insisted that the speaker acknowledged his mistake and apologised for it.

“But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians,” he added.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)

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