The President of the Parliament of Canada, Antoine Rotagave up his post this Tuesday the 26th, amid criticism he received inside and outside the country for honoring the veteran who served in a Nazi unit in 2nd war. The controversy ended up marking the visit of the Ukrainian president Volodmir Zelensky at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce late last week and was also explored by Russia.

After apologizing, Anthony Rota decided to resign, which will take effect from this Wednesday. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” he told Parliament, announcing that he would step down from his post “with pain in my heart” and expressing “deep regret.”

Last Friday, during Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky’s visit to the House of Commons, the lawmaker paid tribute to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, also present in Parliament.

The veteran was introduced by Anthony Rota as a “Ukrainian and Canadian hero” who, in his words, “fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians” during World War II. Yaroslav Hunka received a standing ovation during the session attended by the Ukrainian leader and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

However, shortly after the tribute, Canadian Jewish organizations revealed that the veteran hailed as a hero was in fact a member of the 14th SS Grenadier Division, a unit made up of ethnic Ukrainians founded by Heinrich Himmler, a prominent member of the Nazi Party. Germany.

“This was a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well documented,” said the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global Jewish human rights organization that studies Holocaust.

Russia of Vladimir PoutineWhat repeatedly accused Ukraine of “neo-Nazism” in an attempt to justify the war against kyiv, took advantage of the impact of the affair. Moscow criticized what it called “scandalous” the presence of the former Nazi officer.

In the midst of the crisis, the legislator took his responsibilities by emphasizing that no one other than him was aware of the tribute in advance. “No one, including my colleagues in Parliament and the Ukrainian delegation, was aware of my intention,” Anthony Rota said this weekend.

At the time, he apologized “sincerely to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world,” saying he regretted the tribute when he had more information about the affair. But pressure for his resignation continued, supported by different political parties in Canada.

This Tuesday, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, joined the chorus. “It is an embarrassment for the House and for Canadians, and I think the president should listen to the members of the House and resign,” urged the minister, who described this tribute as “unacceptable”.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had already said he was “extremely upset”. Trudeau, who appears in footage of the session applauding the Nazi unit veteran alongside Zelensky, was also the target of criticism from the opposition. Although the Speaker of Parliament claimed that no one other than him knew about the salute to Yaroslav Hunka, opponents of the government did not spare the Prime Minister and said that he should have analyzed the salute better. winner.

Questioned by journalists, Trudeau regretted the episode. “This is deeply shameful for the Parliament of Canada and, by extension, for all Canadians,” lamented the Canadian Prime Minister./AFP and EFE