Canada’s publication of Nazi list would ‘help Russia’ – Ukrainian activists — RT World News
A list containing some 900 names of alleged World War II war criminals has been kept secret since 1986
Canadian archives have been advised not to release the names of suspected Nazi war criminals residing in the country, for fear that it would help “Russian propaganda” against Ukraine.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has received numerous requests to declassify the list of approximately 900 names compiled by a war crimes commission in 1986. After consultation with “multiple stakeholders”, she decided to postpone its publication.
A LAC report on these consultations indicated that many stakeholders were concerned about the implications “to associate Ukrainian names with the Nazis,” According to the Globe and Mail, the information confirms Russia’s claims about its military operation in Ukraine. The newspaper is among the organizations that filed a request for the names to be released.
Russia could use the list to “pursue these allegations or conduct disinformation campaigns in Canada,” which could affect public support for Ukraine, the LAC was reportedly told.
“Some stakeholders were concerned that the publication of the report could lead to further legal action (criminal prosecution, revocation of citizenship or otherwise) against individuals named in the report.” said a BAC memo published Wednesday by the Ottawa Citizen.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress appears to have been one of the unnamed speakers. The group’s CEO told the Globe and Mail that the list is expected to be released. “keep confidential” but anyone found guilty of war crimes must be prosecuted.
Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said they were excluded from the consultations.
“It appears that the government is putting the wishes of war criminals ahead of the right of Canadians to know the truth about the terrible crimes committed by those who lived quietly among us for so many years.” said the center’s senior director, Jaime Kirzner-Roberts.
The disclosure of names would be “the ethical thing to do”, says Per Anders Rudling, a historian at Lund University in Sweden who has researched Ukrainian SS veterans in Canada.
Among the alleged Nazi war criminals who immigrated to Canada after the Second World War were members of the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division “Galizien,” made up of ethnic Ukrainians. One of them was Yaroslav Hunka, who received two standing ovations in the Canadian Parliament last year during a visit by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The speaker of parliament was forced to resign following the incident, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the incident.
The list is included in the second part of the report of the 1986 Commission of Inquiry into War Criminals in Canada, chaired by retired Quebec Superior Court judge Jules Deschenes.
The LAC was due to publish the document later this month, but has suspended the process pending “full review in accordance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act,” said the Globe and Mail.
Russia has long criticized Ukraine for allowing public parades and other ceremonies to honor SS Galizian veterans. Moscow has also protested kyiv’s official policy of honoring nationalist organizations that collaborated with Nazi Germany in the early days of World War II.
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