Canada Honoring Nazi Veteran Can Be Seen as 'State Crime' - Nicaragua

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) Lenka White - The incident involving the honoring of Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka in the Canadian parliament can be viewed as a state crime, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada told Sputnik.

Last Friday, the 98-year-old Hunka, who fought in the ranks of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS during World War II, was given a standing ovation by the entire Canadian legislature. The honoring of Hunka happened as the then-House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota was giving introductory remarks prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to the Canadian parliament.

"The fact that states and governments officially pay tribute to such individuals can be seen as a kind of a state crime," Moncada said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that just finished in New York.

Nicaragua's position is to condemn the aspects of history that were terrible and painful for humanity, such as the period in the 20th century involving Nazism, Fascism, and Hitlerism, which sought to conquer the world under the guise of proclaiming some people to be a "superior race," the minister stressed.

Russia and its people played an "exceptional role" in repelling Nazi Germany's aggression and preventing the catastrophic and destructive ideology of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler from dominating the international arena, Moncada emphasized.

"Consequently, it is necessary to reject or condemn any government that supports such a policy, unsuitable for humanity, which truly threatens the peace, security and stability of all peoples. Not only of Russia, but the whole world," the minister stated.