Omnibus Russia Ukraine crisis

[spaminator]

Head of Ukrainian-Canadian group defends man who fought for unit created by Nazis
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Sep 29, 2023 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 4 minute read

The president of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada is defending a Second World War veteran of a Nazi unit who was recently lauded as a hero in Canada’s Parliament.


Jurij Klufas has not met 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka but says the veteran is being treated unfairly. He says Hunka was fighting for Ukraine — not Germany — and that countries, including Canada, have cleared his division of war crimes.


“If you’re a soldier doesn’t mean you’re a member of a certain party from the country,” Klufas said Friday in a phone interview. “In this case, the senior gentleman here was a soldier, in his understanding, fighting for Ukraine.”

Hunka received a standing ovation in the House of Commons on Sept. 22 after being introduced by the Speaker as “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero” during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Ottawa.

The incident drew widespread international criticism after it was revealed Hunka was a member of a mostly volunteer unit created by the Nazis to fight the Soviet Union. The revelation forced the resignation of Anthony Rota as Speaker and an apology on behalf of Parliament by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.


Ivan Katchanovski, a Ukrainian-Canadian political science professor at the University of Ottawa, says the actions of Hunka’s Waffen-SS Galicia Division have been “whitewashed” in Canada.

He says supporters have tried to present the division as a patriotic Ukrainian force despite the fact it collaborated with Nazis and was involved in a variety of atrocities, including the killings of Jews, Ukrainians and Poles.

“They represent this division as fighting not for Nazi Germany, but fighting for Ukrainian independence, even though there was never any opportunity to fight for any Ukrainian independence,” he said. “They were fighting under German command until the end of World War II.”

He said the heroic interpretation is particularly prevalent in Canada, where many of the division’s members immigrated under a controversial process that was opposed by Jewish groups.



as they went through a security screening.

A 1986 commission report on war criminals living in Canada found there were about 600 former members of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division living in Canada at the time.

But Justice Jules Deschenes, who led the commission, said membership in the division did not in itself constitute a crime, and that “charges of war crimes against members of the Galicia Division have never been substantiated, either in 1950 when they were first preferred, or in 1984 when they were renewed, or before this commission.”

Jewish groups have noted the existence of at least two Canadian monuments to the division, in Oakville, Ont., and in Edmonton.


In response to questions about Hunka, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said Thursday that the people of present-day Ukraine, including its Jewish population, suffered successive occupations by “foreign empires and colonizers” going back centuries.

“There are difficult and painful pages in the shared history of the communities who made their home in Ukraine,” congress CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn said in a statement. “The UCC acknowledges that recent events that brought these pages to the forefront have caused pain and anguish.”

Frank Sysyn, a history professorat the University of Alberta, says it’s accurate to say that Hunka was not a Nazi, despite fighting for Nazi Germany, because non-Germans weren’t allowed to join the party.


He said Canada’s choice to allow veterans of the unit to live out their lives in the country ultimately came down to a decision that membership in the unit was not reason enough to prosecute someone, if there was no proof they committed individual crimes. Ukrainians, he added, are far from the only group of postwar immigrants to benefit from such an approach.

“Most of our Italian immigrants of the 1950s, if they were men of a certain age, had probably been in the Italian army and fought for Fascist Italy,” said Sysyn, who is a member of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

John-Paul Himka, a University of Alberta professor emeritus and the author of a book about Ukrainians and the Holocaust, said many of the young men who joined the Galicia division in 1943 were motivated by the atrocities they witnessed under Soviet occupation, including the murder of thousands of political prisoners and mass deportations to labour camps.


“So for the people in this region, the Soviets were the nightmare and the Germans were relatively tolerable,” he said. “So that, I think, explains why so many of them thought that what they were doing fighting against the Soviets was patriotic.”

He said some Galician units did participate in atrocities, including murders in Polish villages. The division had an antisemitic newspaper and accepted into its ranks “policemen who had been very important in the Holocaust, who had rounded up Jews for execution and sometimes executed Jews themselves,” he said.

He blames the Ukrainian community for failing to fully acknowledge and grapple with the country’s Second World War history, including Nazi ties. However, he said many Canadians are guilty of not learning enough about the truths of the war on the Eastern front, including the rapes and murders perpetrated by the Soviets on the Allied side.

Klufas blames the branding of Hunka as a Nazi on “Russian disinformation,” adding, “the fact that he was a soldier does not mean that he was a Nazi.” He also said there was nothing wrong with Parliament applauding a man “who fought for his country.” However, he conceded that it “maybe wasn’t correct” in the circumstances, given that the people there didn’t fully understand the issue.

Head of Ukrainian-Canadian group defends man who fought for unit created by Nazis

Jurij Klufas has not met 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, but said the treatment the veteran is getting is unfair.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Head of Ukrainian-Canadian group defends man who fought for unit created by Nazis
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Sep 29, 2023 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 4 minute read

The president of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada is defending a Second World War veteran of a Nazi unit who was recently lauded as a hero in Canada’s Parliament.


Jurij Klufas has not met 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka but says the veteran is being treated unfairly. He says Hunka was fighting for Ukraine — not Germany — and that countries, including Canada, have cleared his division of war crimes.


“If you’re a soldier doesn’t mean you’re a member of a certain party from the country,” Klufas said Friday in a phone interview. “In this case, the senior gentleman here was a soldier, in his understanding, fighting for Ukraine.”

Hunka received a standing ovation in the House of Commons on Sept. 22 after being introduced by the Speaker as “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero” during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Ottawa.

The incident drew widespread international criticism after it was revealed Hunka was a member of a mostly volunteer unit created by the Nazis to fight the Soviet Union. The revelation forced the resignation of Anthony Rota as Speaker and an apology on behalf of Parliament by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.


Ivan Katchanovski, a Ukrainian-Canadian political science professor at the University of Ottawa, says the actions of Hunka’s Waffen-SS Galicia Division have been “whitewashed” in Canada.

He says supporters have tried to present the division as a patriotic Ukrainian force despite the fact it collaborated with Nazis and was involved in a variety of atrocities, including the killings of Jews, Ukrainians and Poles.

“They represent this division as fighting not for Nazi Germany, but fighting for Ukrainian independence, even though there was never any opportunity to fight for any Ukrainian independence,” he said. “They were fighting under German command until the end of World War II.”

He said the heroic interpretation is particularly prevalent in Canada, where many of the division’s members immigrated under a controversial process that was opposed by Jewish groups.



as they went through a security screening.

A 1986 commission report on war criminals living in Canada found there were about 600 former members of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division living in Canada at the time.

But Justice Jules Deschenes, who led the commission, said membership in the division did not in itself constitute a crime, and that “charges of war crimes against members of the Galicia Division have never been substantiated, either in 1950 when they were first preferred, or in 1984 when they were renewed, or before this commission.”

Jewish groups have noted the existence of at least two Canadian monuments to the division, in Oakville, Ont., and in Edmonton.


In response to questions about Hunka, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said Thursday that the people of present-day Ukraine, including its Jewish population, suffered successive occupations by “foreign empires and colonizers” going back centuries.

“There are difficult and painful pages in the shared history of the communities who made their home in Ukraine,” congress CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn said in a statement. “The UCC acknowledges that recent events that brought these pages to the forefront have caused pain and anguish.”

Frank Sysyn, a history professorat the University of Alberta, says it’s accurate to say that Hunka was not a Nazi, despite fighting for Nazi Germany, because non-Germans weren’t allowed to join the party.


He said Canada’s choice to allow veterans of the unit to live out their lives in the country ultimately came down to a decision that membership in the unit was not reason enough to prosecute someone, if there was no proof they committed individual crimes. Ukrainians, he added, are far from the only group of postwar immigrants to benefit from such an approach.

“Most of our Italian immigrants of the 1950s, if they were men of a certain age, had probably been in the Italian army and fought for Fascist Italy,” said Sysyn, who is a member of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

John-Paul Himka, a University of Alberta professor emeritus and the author of a book about Ukrainians and the Holocaust, said many of the young men who joined the Galicia division in 1943 were motivated by the atrocities they witnessed under Soviet occupation, including the murder of thousands of political prisoners and mass deportations to labour camps.


“So for the people in this region, the Soviets were the nightmare and the Germans were relatively tolerable,” he said. “So that, I think, explains why so many of them thought that what they were doing fighting against the Soviets was patriotic.”

He said some Galician units did participate in atrocities, including murders in Polish villages. The division had an antisemitic newspaper and accepted into its ranks “policemen who had been very important in the Holocaust, who had rounded up Jews for execution and sometimes executed Jews themselves,” he said.

He blames the Ukrainian community for failing to fully acknowledge and grapple with the country’s Second World War history, including Nazi ties. However, he said many Canadians are guilty of not learning enough about the truths of the war on the Eastern front, including the rapes and murders perpetrated by the Soviets on the Allied side.

Klufas blames the branding of Hunka as a Nazi on “Russian disinformation,” adding, “the fact that he was a soldier does not mean that he was a Nazi.” He also said there was nothing wrong with Parliament applauding a man “who fought for his country.” However, he conceded that it “maybe wasn’t correct” in the circumstances, given that the people there didn’t fully understand the issue.

Head of Ukrainian-Canadian group defends man who fought for unit created by Nazis

Jurij Klufas has not met 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, but said the treatment the veteran is getting is unfair.

torontosun.com

To get the true perspective of who this man is you need to know who the Lemko, Boyko and the history of the Rusyn (Pronounced Roo seen) or Ruthenian (in English) people of Karpatia.

Lemkowszczyzna (Polish) Lemivshchyna (Ukrainian) or Lemkovyna (local). At the beginning of the twentieth century it was inhabited by a little-known micro-ethnic group of East Slavs called Lemko.

These Lemkos, living north of the Hungarian border in the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, spoke an east-Slavic language which was heavily influenced by Polish and Slovak. These people were Greek Catholics, that is, members of a Byzantine-Slavonic Rite church which recognizes the Roman Pope as its religious leader. Living in remote mountain valleys, their pastoral and agricultural ways of life were relatively little affected by changes going on in the outside world. However, as the twentieth century progressed, pressures to change and to conform to the requirements of one or another larger national community forced these people to political and nationality choices they were little prepared to make. Religious conflicts (Orthodoxy versus Greek Catholicism), linguistic struggles (selection of a literary language, which would determine political orientation -- Russian, Ukrainian, Rusyn, Slovak, Polish) and World War I created mutually-opposed camps supporting the various alternatives.

A certain historical drama was played out amongst these Carpathian slavs in the twentieth century. They began to develop feelings as Russians, as the Lesko part of a Carpatho-Rusyn people, or, perhaps, as part of the Ukrainian nation. Prof. Paul Magocsi of Toronto University has already written an extensive monograph about this process in the sub-Carpathian (south slope) region. The pre-Carpathian Lemkos were under different influences from those of the sub-Carpathian Rusyns in that they lived in the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary and had not experienced the 1,000 years of Magyar domination found south of the Carpathian crest.

More below.

 

[petros]

In seeking a larger national identity and an answer to the question "who are we?" -- beyond the obvious "we're from here" ("tutejszy," in Polish) response -- some Lemkos decided for the "Russian" solution. In simple terms this meant that the Lemkos were part and parcel of the Great Russian Nation whose territory stretched from the Carpathians to Kamchatka. This united/undivided people had several attributes: all spoke some version of Russian, all were orthodox christians dependent on Moscow and the Holy Synod and all recognized one great and holy leader, the Appointee of God, the Tsar of All Russia. As reality did not conform with this great "Russian idea" (Rusakaya Idea), Lemkos were Greek Catholics, in the Austria-Hungarian Empire (with an Emperor in Vienna) and the Lesko language was not comprehensible to a Moscovite and vice versa -- reality had to he changed.

In the 19th century, the so-called "Starorusin idea" slowly evolved from vague Pan-East Slavism into a strong Pro-Moscow tendency. In the Lemko territory (where ideas arrived with a rather considerable delay), by the 20th century, the intelligentsia and the active peasantry were in good part engaged in the Russophile movement.

The origins of this movement were several. First a very strong influence came directly or indirectly from Moscow -- or more precisely from St. Petersburg. After the defeat in the Crimean War, Russian foreign policy focused, in part, on punishing Austria for lack of assistance. Here was a country (Austria) which the Russians had saved as an Empire in 1849 when Tsarist troops selflessly defeated the Hungarian rebels on behalf of the Habsburgs. Six years later, in the Crimean Crisis, the Austrians stood aside as neutrals and Russians could not forgive this ingratitude. Beyond that, in Russian Political-Religious circles there developed the idea of pan-Slavism which in its lesser phase included the East Slavic people of the Austro-Hungarian State, in its middle-sized form all the Orthodox Slavs and in its grandest phase all Slavs whether Orthodox, Catholic or even Moslem.

More below

 

[petros]

Beginning in the 1870s, the Tsarist regime began to take action. The first group to feel the pan-slavic pressures was the East-Slavic people of Austria-Hungary (we will not discuss here the other grander ideas of Pan-Slavism). At the same time in the self-same area the Ukrainian idea was taking root. While in the main Ukrainianism succeeded in Galicia, the same cannot be said to be true in Lemkovyna.

In direct action the Tsarist regime funded newspapers and agitators and positions for Lesko youth in Russian Orthodox seminaries. The attempt was made to develop a base amongst the intellectuals and the general peasant population for the reception of Orthodox propaganda and, more importantly, for the reception of a trained (Russian) orthodox clergy that just started to emerge from orthodox schools at the beginning of the 20th century. Let us note clearly here, that -- whatever one's personal religious feelings (or lack thereof) -- to join the Orthodox Church meant, for all practical purposes, that one declared oneself as a "Russian" and thus it was a strong "political" declaration. The magnetic pull of Russophilism was felt also among the Greek Catholic clergy, so much so that some priests entered orthodox service when the chance for such action arose during the Russian invasion of W.W.I.

A very powerful indirect influence on Lemkovyna came from North America where the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church sent missionaries. While it is true Russian Orthodoxy had old religious roots in Alaska and along the Pacific coast, the new missionaries came not to those areas but rather to the immigrant communities from Galicia and the Carpathians. These people felt themselves under attack from the hostile Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches (the local Roman Catholic bishops were particularly adverse to the Byzantine-Slavonic rite and a married clergy, perceiving such things as not being true "Catholic") The Russian church, on the other hand, accepted these long-lost brothers, priests and laymen alike, with open arms. The Tsarist regime was pleased and happy to fund clerical stipends and church buildings. This feeling of having found a home was reflected in correspondence with the old country and in attitudes of the re-immigrants in their old communities. Beyond that, money and publications supporting orthodoxy and Russophilism began to flow in from North America.

More below

 

[petros]

These Russian efforts began to bear fruit just before W.W.I when Orthodox quasi-parishes began to crop up in Lemkovyna and a pro-orthodox (Russian) newspaper, Lemko, began publication in Gorlice. However, all came to naught with the outbreak of the Great War. The Austrian Gendarmerie knew exactly who was a Russophil and who was not and, acting on orders issued under martial law conditions, the Austrian police and military security arrested, beat (killed), and shipped off to an internment camp in the village of Thalerhof near Graz in Stelrmark, all Russophils that could be caught. This is not the place to discuss the horrors of Thalerhof, but suffice to say that thousands died amongst the internees (who were aged from newborns to 90 years old) and that for the rest treatment was brutal. While there were a sprinkling of Ukrainians, Jews, Russophil Poles and even prostitutes the vast majority of internees were of the Russophil persuasion.

After the devastation caused by acts of war and the interments Lemkovyna slowly returned to some semblance of normality. However, in the 1920s and 1930s the Russophile Orthodox movement returned in full force.

The feelings of wrong done to the Lemko people during W.W.I, the aforementioned Tsarist preparations in the area and two previously occurring but now more strongly felt feelings, anti-Greek Catholic and anti-Ukrainian, caused a strong resurgence of the pro-Russian (orthodox) movement. Starting in 1926, 40 villages went over officially to orthodoxy and perhaps upwards of half the Lemko population, at least informally, joined this flow.

More below

 

[petros]

That some of the movement was not exactly pro-Russian or even in an exact sense pro-orthodox should be expanded on here. The aforementioned anti-Ukrainianism and anti-clericalism (anti-Greek Catholic Clergy) was based upon perceptions that the "Ukrainians" helped the Austrians in pointing out "Russophils" during W.W.I and that Ukrainians treated the Lemkos as a lower cultured Ukrainian "tribe" with a "spoiled" language (with "foreign" influences and a constant accent, not a movable one like literary Ukrainian). With joining or being part of a Great Russian culture, some Lemkos could reject Ukrainian accusations of Lemko separatism by Lemko-Russian accusations of Ukrainian separatism. Further, the exactions of the Greek Catholic clergy for religious services were quite high (and in some few cases, rapacious) for a basically farming population living on the edge of poverty. The local Greek-Catholic priest also frequently administered a large piece of land, and perhaps a mill, which belonged to the parish but from which the priest derived income. This caused, no doubt, feelings of jealousy further enhancing anti-clericalism. Orthodox priests accepted little or no money for services.

In 1924 the newly formed Polish Autocephalic Orthodox Church began a mission in Lemkovyna which yielded the previously mentioned results. This church and its clergy was initially made up of Russians, strictly speaking, and the church was under very heavy pressure to conform to Polish reasons of state and in areas, other than Lemkovyna, it found itself in sharp conflict with the ruling authorities. However, in the Lemko lands, Polish Government and Orthodox goals coincided. In payback to the Catholic church for propagating the Neo-Unia amongst orthodox believers in Bielorus regions, the Orthodox church counterattacked in Lemkovyna bringing into the orthodox church probably as many souls as it lost to the Neo-Unia. On the other hand, the Polish government using all the means at its disposal to break the Ukrainian movement, was pleased to support Orthodoxy in the Lemko territory, viewing it, rightly so, at that time, as an anti-Ukrainian movement.

More below

 

[petros]

World War II completely changed the issue, however. The destruction of the war, the "evacuations" of 1940 and 1944-1946 to the Soviet Ukraine and finally the resettlement/exile of the surviving Lemko population to the Northern and Western lands of post-W.W. II Poland, shattered the Lemko people. What there is left of a pro-Russian movement, cannot be detected. Among Lemkos today, we may detect two general national directions, a Lemko Carpatho-Rusyn one and a Ukrainian one. The religious issue, as far as Ukrainians are concerned, is more or less resolved, the Orthodox church (at least in the Przemysl-Nowy Sacz diocese), despite having a predominance of Bielorus clergy, accepts the Lemkos as Ukrainians, while the Greek Catholic church now calls itself the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The only echo of the Russophil movement is found among descendants of Lemko immigrants. It is estimated that 75% of the adherents of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America can trace their roots to the Carpathians (both sides) and Galicia.

Now that is how "Ukrainian Nazis" came into being. They were persecuted Lemko Rusyns.

Canada is loaded with "Nazi" Lemkos who think think they are Ukrainian just because of the language.

 

[spaminator]

Mixed emotions in Ontario city home to soldier in Nazi unit that visited Parliament
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Fakiha Baig
Published Sep 30, 2023 • 4 minute read
Hirsh sat on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., as he pondered the mixed emotions he has been feeling since his northern community made international headlines for harbouring a man who was honoured as a hero in Parliament before details emerged that he fought with a Nazi unit.
Hirsh sat on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., as he pondered the mixed emotions he has been feeling since his northern community made international headlines for harbouring a man who was honoured as a hero in Parliament before details emerged that he fought with a Nazi unit.
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Allan Hirsh sits on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., pondering the mixed emotions he’s been feeling since his community made international headlines.


The northeastern Ontario city is the current home to a man who was honoured with a standing ovation in the House of Commons during a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but whose presence in Parliament later caused global outrage and embarrassment when details emerged about his past as a Nazi soldier during the second World War.


Hirsh says he can understand the pain many are feeling after Yaroslav Hunka’s reception in the House, noting his own ancestors fled persecution by the Russian Empire for practising Judaism in the early 20th century and many of his loved ones lost relatives and friends during the Holocaust.

But Hirsh and other city residents say they are shocked to hear their long-time Member of Parliament Anthony Rota resigned as House Speaker over his choice to invite and recognize Hunka, questioning why he has faced sole blame for the debacle.


“I always think about that history and the Holocaust and everything that happened there always makes me emotional,” the 75-year-old retired psychotherapist said in an interview.

“But … am I angry at Anthony Rota? No. This is not something that he did intentionally. …Oddly enough, it’s Anthony that I’m feeling for.”

Hirsh says Rota is well-known in his community after spending 16 years as MP for the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding where North Bay is located.

He was first elected in 2004 and has served ever since except for a four-year break when he lost his seat in 2011, and Hirsh has been among those that voted for him.

Rota became House Speaker in 2019 and cemented a reputation for fairness and integrity across party lines.


But on Sept. 22, shortly after Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament, Rota introduced Hunka as a Ukrainian Second World War veteran who lives in his riding.

Rota described the 98-year-old as both a Ukrainian and Canadian hero, prompting a standing ovation from members of all parties. It later emerged that Hunka had fought the Soviet Union in Ukraine with the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit created by the Nazis that Jewish groups say “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”

Calls for Rota’s resignation as House Speaker poured in from all sides, including some senior Liberal cabinet ministers, and Rota stepped down from the role effective Wednesday.


Hirsh and other residents feel their MP was “thrown under the bus.”

“We were so proud of his career when he became a speaker. He’s done, I thought, a good job. He serves his constituents. He apologized for that mistake. To see this happen to him, it’s really, really sad,” Hirsh said.

Since then, the Conservatives have brought a motion to the government operations committee to summon the RCMP, parliamentary security and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office to study how Hunka made his way from North Bay to Ottawa.

Hirsh isn’t the only one processing complex feelings dredged up by the week’s events.

Karrie Emms, a local business owner, says she has been thinking a lot about when and how the city she has been living in for 35 years welcomed someone like Hunka.


“We know that we never know a true or full story for somebody so I would be interested in finding out what (Hunka’s) story actually is,” she said.



“I want to know more but not necessarily to hold them accountable … Mr. Rota is very well known and everyone knows he is from North Bay so it’s going to be a bit of an issue to overcome.”

She, too, questions why Rota has borne sole responsibility for the scandal.

“I know they’ve apologized but nobody else has lost their jobs over it that I know of,” she said, referencing the apology Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered on Wednesday. “I find that a little disheartening.”


Emms, who works with youth, says there is one silver lining — Canadians of all stripes, including young people in North Bay, are now taking time to educate themselves on eastern European history.

Fellow city resident George Maroosis says he was shocked to learn that Hunka lives in North Bay.

“It’s very unfortunate,” he said while working at his downtown North Bay business.

“My big question is if the Jewish community knew who this guy was and what his background was, where was our so-called intelligence agency that could have warned as to what the situation was with this particular individual.”

After inquiring about Hunka at an assisted living home in North Bay, a Canadian Press reporter was asked to leave the property immediately, and one employee said they were prepared to call the police.

Another employee later said Hunka had lived at the home, but has since moved in with his family.

Hirsh says as political parties try to determine more details of Hunka’s visit to Parliament, he hopes the discourse remains respectful.

“(We need to look into) the nuances of everything that happened,” he said.

“It’s messy. There’s nothing black and white.”

Mixed emotions in Ontario city home to soldier in Nazi unit that visited Parliament

Allan Hirsh sits on a lawn chair in North Bay, Ont., pondering the mixed emotions he's been feeling since his community made headlines.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Open letter to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
We are sorry, and deeply apologize, that you were embarrassed during your recent visit to Canada

Author of the article:Warren Kinsella
Published Sep 30, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

Dear President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,


It is unlikely that you will ever read this open letter from a newspaper columnist in far-away Canada. It is unlikelier still that it will achieve its purpose. But I, we, will try, just the same, to say this: We are so, so sorry.


We are sorry, and deeply apologize, that you were embarrassed during your recent visit to Canada, and your appearance in our nation’s supreme legislative chamber, the House of Commons.

While you were there – as you, and the entire world know by now – you were asked to stand and applaud a man who had been a proud member of the Nazi Waffen SS during the Second World War. A man whose compatriots slaughtered untold numbers of Polish civilians and Jews and others. Fascists, who killed innocents.




As someone who is presently leading a country that is literally fighting fascists for its survival – as a man who is a proud Jew – we say: Words cannot properly express the depth and magnitude of our embarrassment and shame. Words cannot do that.

But words, sometimes, are all that we have. And words expressing regret – and the sincerest of apologies – have not been heard by you. You have not heard them, we are told, by the one man who has an ethical and moral obligation to offer them.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

You are engaged in an existential battle for the survival of your people, so it is unlikely you have paid close attention to Mr. Trudeau and apologies. He is quite good at them, having offered up dozens over the years – for the misdeeds of others. But for himself, and for the misdeeds of his own government? He is not very good at that.


He always makes certain to be photographed with you, to be hugging you, to be singing your praises. But when a grave moment arises like this one – when he, personally, needs to account for providing the Russian propaganda machine with fodder they will use over and over against you – he disappears. He is nowhere to be found.

We know this, because we checked. My colleague Brian Lilley got in touch with his office on Tuesday to ask if Justin Trudeau had called you, personally, to apologize. Brian was curtly informed that a “read out” – in effect, an official document that summarizes the content of calls and meetings between important government officials – had not been issued. Ipso facto, no call had taken place.

This writer checked again on Friday. Mr. Trudeau’s office was asked “whether the Prime Minister had spoken to the President of Ukraine regarding the presence of a former Waffen SS member in the House of Commons, subsequent to his appearance there.”


A functionary in PMO eventually responded with this: “Our government has remained engaged with President Zelenskyy’s office and the Ukrainian government. We have also remained in close communication with Jewish groups throughout the week.”

“Office.”

Notably absent, there, is clear confirmation that Canada’s Prime Minister has spoken to Ukraine’s president. Silence on that part.

And silence is what you have heard, too. Five long days passed between the appearance of the aging SS member in the House, and Mr. Trudeau’s statement – in which he actually said all of us Canadians had an obligation to “push back against Russian propaganda.”

Given that Mr. Trudeau leads the government that literally gave Russia its biggest propaganda victory of the entire war, we Canadians found that statement a bit much. For Mr. Trudeau, however, it was standard operating procedure: take no personal responsibility, ever, and bleat that his own misdeeds represent a “learning moment” for everyone else.

But we digress, and you are busy with more important matters. You are fighting for actual survival.

Here, all good and decent Canadians – and there are many, recent evidence notwithstanding – regard you as the Churchill of our times. We see you as the leader of the free world. We see you as the man who represents perhaps the last and best hope for democracy over tyranny.

As such, we say again: We are so sorry. We apologize.

And, yes, you should instead be hearing those words directly from the Prime Minister of Canada. But, as you have seen this week, he is less of a man than you.

Sincerely,

Many Canadians

KINSELLA: Open letter to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Dear President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, we are sorry, and deeply apologize, that you were embarrassed during your recent visit to Canada.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Mixed emotions in Ontario city home to soldier in Nazi unit that visited Parliament
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Fakiha Baig
Published Sep 30, 2023 • 4 minute read
Hirsh sat on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., as he pondered the mixed emotions he has been feeling since his northern community made international headlines for harbouring a man who was honoured as a hero in Parliament before details emerged that he fought with a Nazi unit.
Hirsh sat on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., as he pondered the mixed emotions he has been feeling since his northern community made international headlines for harbouring a man who was honoured as a hero in Parliament before details emerged that he fought with a Nazi unit.
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Allan Hirsh sits on a lawn chair on a cool fall evening in North Bay, Ont., pondering the mixed emotions he’s been feeling since his community made international headlines.


The northeastern Ontario city is the current home to a man who was honoured with a standing ovation in the House of Commons during a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but whose presence in Parliament later caused global outrage and embarrassment when details emerged about his past as a Nazi soldier during the second World War.


Hirsh says he can understand the pain many are feeling after Yaroslav Hunka’s reception in the House, noting his own ancestors fled persecution by the Russian Empire for practising Judaism in the early 20th century and many of his loved ones lost relatives and friends during the Holocaust.

But Hirsh and other city residents say they are shocked to hear their long-time Member of Parliament Anthony Rota resigned as House Speaker over his choice to invite and recognize Hunka, questioning why he has faced sole blame for the debacle.


“I always think about that history and the Holocaust and everything that happened there always makes me emotional,” the 75-year-old retired psychotherapist said in an interview.

“But … am I angry at Anthony Rota? No. This is not something that he did intentionally. …Oddly enough, it’s Anthony that I’m feeling for.”

Hirsh says Rota is well-known in his community after spending 16 years as MP for the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding where North Bay is located.

He was first elected in 2004 and has served ever since except for a four-year break when he lost his seat in 2011, and Hirsh has been among those that voted for him.

Rota became House Speaker in 2019 and cemented a reputation for fairness and integrity across party lines.


But on Sept. 22, shortly after Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament, Rota introduced Hunka as a Ukrainian Second World War veteran who lives in his riding.

Rota described the 98-year-old as both a Ukrainian and Canadian hero, prompting a standing ovation from members of all parties. It later emerged that Hunka had fought the Soviet Union in Ukraine with the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit created by the Nazis that Jewish groups say “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”

Calls for Rota’s resignation as House Speaker poured in from all sides, including some senior Liberal cabinet ministers, and Rota stepped down from the role effective Wednesday.


Hirsh and other residents feel their MP was “thrown under the bus.”

“We were so proud of his career when he became a speaker. He’s done, I thought, a good job. He serves his constituents. He apologized for that mistake. To see this happen to him, it’s really, really sad,” Hirsh said.

Since then, the Conservatives have brought a motion to the government operations committee to summon the RCMP, parliamentary security and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office to study how Hunka made his way from North Bay to Ottawa.

Hirsh isn’t the only one processing complex feelings dredged up by the week’s events.

Karrie Emms, a local business owner, says she has been thinking a lot about when and how the city she has been living in for 35 years welcomed someone like Hunka.


“We know that we never know a true or full story for somebody so I would be interested in finding out what (Hunka’s) story actually is,” she said.



“I want to know more but not necessarily to hold them accountable … Mr. Rota is very well known and everyone knows he is from North Bay so it’s going to be a bit of an issue to overcome.”

She, too, questions why Rota has borne sole responsibility for the scandal.

“I know they’ve apologized but nobody else has lost their jobs over it that I know of,” she said, referencing the apology Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered on Wednesday. “I find that a little disheartening.”


Emms, who works with youth, says there is one silver lining — Canadians of all stripes, including young people in North Bay, are now taking time to educate themselves on eastern European history.

Fellow city resident George Maroosis says he was shocked to learn that Hunka lives in North Bay.

“It’s very unfortunate,” he said while working at his downtown North Bay business.

“My big question is if the Jewish community knew who this guy was and what his background was, where was our so-called intelligence agency that could have warned as to what the situation was with this particular individual.”

After inquiring about Hunka at an assisted living home in North Bay, a Canadian Press reporter was asked to leave the property immediately, and one employee said they were prepared to call the police.

Another employee later said Hunka had lived at the home, but has since moved in with his family.

Hirsh says as political parties try to determine more details of Hunka’s visit to Parliament, he hopes the discourse remains respectful.

“(We need to look into) the nuances of everything that happened,” he said.

“It’s messy. There’s nothing black and white.”

Mixed emotions in Ontario city home to soldier in Nazi unit that visited Parliament

Allan Hirsh sits on a lawn chair in North Bay, Ont., pondering the mixed emotions he's been feeling since his community made headlines.

torontosun.com

Doesn't anyone give a fuck about the Holodomor...why just Jews? Ukrainians shouldn't have fought their oppressors at any cost? Were there not Jew Nazis? There were certainly Jew Soviets that took part in starving 10 Million Ukrainians.




That's my wheat BTW.

Holodomor
Famine

The Holodomor, also known as the Great Ukrainian Famine, was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union. Wikipedia
Location: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
End date: 1933
Start date: 1932

 

[spaminator]

Edmonton Jewish Federation renews call to remove two Nazi-linked monuments
The monuments commemorate Ukrainians who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War

Author of the article:Cindy Tran
Published Oct 02, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
St. Michael's Cemetery monument is made up of a half circle of concrete and a giant metal cross on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Edmonton.
St. Michael's Cemetery monument is made up of a half circle of concrete and a giant metal cross on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Edmonton. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
Edmonton’s Jewish Federation is renewing its call to remove two monuments in the city commemorating Ukrainians who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War.


The call to action comes on the heels of Parliament’s controversial recognition of Yaroslav Hunka who was honoured by former Speaker Anthony Rota and parliamentarians with a standing ovation in the House of Commons during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Canada. It was later revealed the 98-year-old veteran fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.


Steve Shafir, past president of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, said he is hopeful but pessimistic about the renewed calls to remove the monuments. Shafir said another option they are hoping for is the relocation of the monuments to somewhere where they can be used for educational purposes.

“What this really underscores to members of our community is the importance for Holocaust education, the importance of knowing what happened in the past so that we are properly honouring those who should be honoured,” said Shafir.


Last week, the Jewish Federation of Edmonton called for the removal of the memorial to the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS at St. Michael’s Cemetery and a statue of Roman Shukhevyh’s bust on display outside the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex in north Edmonton which has been on display since the 1970s.

The federation called for the removal of Shukhevyh’s bust, which was vandalized with the words “actual Nazi,” along with red paint smeared on the memorial in 2021. But actions did not follow.

The memorial that pays tribute to the 14th Waffen SS was the unit Hunka fought in. It was largely a volunteer division that recruited from Nazi-occupied Galicia, the region covering what is now southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. The division was a major topic at the 1986 Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, which controversially concluded former members were not collectively responsible for war crimes.


St Michael's Cemetery
St. Michael’s Cemetery monument made up of a half circle of concrete and a giant metal cross on Sept. 28, 2023 in Edmonton. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
Shukhevych, who commanded various military units including the German-backed Nachtigall Battalion and the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (which at various times fought both the Nazis and the Soviets), is a hero to many Ukrainians. In 2007, the Ukrainian government posthumously awarded Shukhevych the title “Hero of Ukraine” on the anniversary of his 1950 death fighting Soviet forces. And in recent years, the Ukrainian city of Ternopil renamed its largest stadium in Shukhevych’s honour.

“What we’ve witnessed over the past week in Parliament, together with the discovery of an endowment in the name of a Nazi at the University of Alberta and the presence of statues glorifying Nazis in Edmonton, is sickening to our community. It proves that there remains a great deal to learn about the Holocaust and Second World War. We call upon the Government of Alberta to mandate Holocaust education in the core curriculum,” said the statement.


“Honouring these individuals and glorifying them as heroes completely whitewashes the atrocities that they have committed. The presence of these statues as currently situated is offensive to members of our community, to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and their families and to the victims of the atrocities committed.”

Heather Coleman, professor of Russian history and director of the research program on religion and culture in the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, said the Ukrainian community is not united in honouring figures like Shukhevych. She said there have been “intense debates” in post-Soviet Ukraine.

“More Ukrainians’ dads and grandads fought in the Soviet army than against it. Here in Canada, where more people who came after the war came from the western part of Ukraine, many community leaders have fathers and grandfathers who were involved so it’s very personal for them,” said Coleman.

“They see these people as freedom fighters against both Nazis and Soviets, stuck in an impossible position and abandoned by the Nazis when it mattered.”

— With files from Jonny Wakefield



ctran@postmedia.com

twitter.com/kccindytran

http://ukrweekly.com/uwwp/local-governments-name-stadiums-after-bandera-and-shukhevych-provoking-protest-from-israel-and-poland

Roman Shukhevych honored as national hero on anniversary

The nation commemorated the 60th anniversary of the death of Roman Shukhevych, a Ukrainian military leader, on March… - Mar. 12, 2010. By Interns

kyivpost.com

Whitewashing The SS: The Attempt to Re-Write the History of Hitler’s Collaborators — espritdecorps

By David Pugliese Over the years some Ukrainian Canadians have staunchly defended the 14th SS Division Galicia. They have falsely claimed that Ukrainians who served in the division were conscripted, when in reality 80,000 volunteered and 13,000 were selected. Other apologists argue that the divisio

espritdecorps.ca

Edmonton Jewish Federation renews call to remove Nazi-linked monuments

Edmonton's Jewish Federation is renewing its call to remove two monuments in the city commemorating Ukrainians who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Russia's Vladimir Putin calls MP Anthony Rota an 'idiot' for recognizing Nazi
Author of the article:Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles, Postmedia News
Published Oct 06, 2023 • 2 minute read

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Former House Speaker Anthony Rota’s office has said, “Not at this time,” in response to a scathing attack on Rota from the Russian President.


Vladimir Putin has called the Liberal MP from Nipissing-Timiskaming an “idiot” if he didn’t understand that a veteran who fought against Russia during the Second World War, fought on the side of the “Nazi forces,” according to CBC.


He said if the Speaker did know and called him a hero anyway, “He’s a bastard,” according to the report.

Putin weighed in on the scandal that has led to the resignation of Rota as Speaker in the House of Commons.

Rota remains in the role as Nipissing-Timiskaming MP.

According to CBC, Putin, who spoke to a forum in Sochi, Russia, for more than three hours Thursday, said the incident shows “the kind of people we have to deal with … in certain Western countries.”

Rota found himself under fire and calls for his resignation over various social media sites last month.


This came after the Speaker of the House invited 98-year-old North Bay resident Yaroslav Hunka to the House of Commons.

Hunka received a standing ovation in the House of Commons during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ottawa.

Rota was quoted as saying, “We have in the chamber today a Ukrainian Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today at age of 98.”

Jewish groups claim that Hunka served in a Nazi military unit in the war.

Rota was re-elected as the 37th Speaker of the House at the outset of the 44th Parliament, on Nov. 22, 2021. He first was elected into the role in 2019. Rota represents the Northern Ontario riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming.

Prior to becoming a parliamentarian, Rota worked for the National Research Council and spent time on city council in North Bay.

Rota was succeeded in the Speaker’s role by Quebec Liberal MP Greg Fergus on Tuesday.

http://cbc.ca/news/world/putin-ridicules-canada-s-former-speaker-over-nazi-incident-1.6987849

Russia's Vladimir Putin calls MP Anthony Rota an 'idiot' for recognizing Nazi

Former House Speaker Anthony Rota's office has said, "Not at this time," in response to scathing attack on Rota from the Russian President.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Russian strike on village kills 51, Ukrainian officials say, as Zelenskyy seeks more Western support
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susie Blann
Published Oct 05, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian rocket struck a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.


Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine’s allies, denounced the strike in the village of Hroza as a “demonstrably brutal Russian crime” and “a completely deliberate act of terrorism.”


About 60 people were in the cafe, attending a wake after a funeral, said Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, who provided the death toll.

Among the dead was a 6-year-old boy, and seven other people were wounded, said presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile. Emergency crews searched the smoldering rubble of damaged buildings. Ukrainian prosecutors released photos showing bloodied bodies.


Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is located in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The village and other parts of the region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022.

The village is only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy had visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that “Russian terror must be stopped.”

“Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world,” he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. “Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.”


“The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,” he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine’s power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on “joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation” in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow’s withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country’s ports.


The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

“Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea,” it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a “political storm” in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.


Zelenskyy called for “additional air defense system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia” to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine’s southern regions with drones. Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.


In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russia’s Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts. He also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses.

Russian strike on village kills 51, Ukrainian officials say, as Zelenskyy seeks more Western support

This comes as Ukraine’s president urges stronger Western support.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

 

[spaminator]

Durham police under fire for allegedly releasing personal information to woman's cyberstalkers
In late June, lawyer Michelle Bobb started receiving threats on X and filed a complaint to DRPS


Author of the articleavid Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Published Oct 10, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

A police force has come under fire for allegedly releasing personal information of a woman to the same cyberstalkers who have threatened her with sexual violence.


In late June, Toronto-area lawyer Michelle Bobb started receiving threats on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming she had supported individuals who had raised concerns about Mriya Aid, an Ottawa-based charity.

Mriya Aid raises funds and provides equipment to Ukraine and was started by Canadian Forces officers. But some Ukrainians, as well as former Mriya Aid volunteers, have raised concerns about the quality of equipment donated as well as other issues. Mriya Aid officials have denied any wrongdoing and have noted the charity is making a difference in Ukraine.

The anonymous accounts on X sent Bobb an image of a dildo wrapped in barbed wire with the message “No amount of lube can save them this time.”

Bobb filed a complaint to the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) about what she viewed as online sexual violence and threats.


But a month later Bobb started receiving new threats from the same cyberstalkers after the DRPS publicly released details of their ongoing investigation, including Bobb’s name. The release of records was in response to a freedom of information request submitted to DRPS, the police force confirmed to this newspaper.

Screenshots of documents from the DRPS investigation were posted on X with the demand from her stalkers that Bobb withdraw her police complaint or face more consequences. Bobb’s cyberstalkers boasted about receiving the records because of a freedom of information request made to police.

“I went to the Durham Regional Police for help and they ended up making the situation worse,” said Bobb.

Bobb said she was never warned by the DRPS they were releasing her personal information to another individual, nor did they consult with her as may have been required under Municipal Freedom of Information law. It is unclear how much of Bobb’s personal information was released by police and how much found its way into the hands of her cyberstalkers.


The anonymous X accounts called “exposeproxies” and “Cajun Fella” regularly attack Ukrainians and others who have raised allegations about Mriya Aid. Last year the individual behind exposeproxies boasted they had killed before and enjoyed it. The identities of those behind the accounts are unknown.

In a statement to this newspaper, Durham Regional Police confirmed the documents were released under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Because Bobb’s name was already known to the requestor, police said they proceeded to release the material about her complaint. The DRPS did not provide details on the identity of the individual who was provided with the police records regarding Bobb. It is unclear what relation that unknown person has to Bobb’s cyberstalkers.


Police said their statement that the information was released through the freedom of information request because it was determined there were no grounds for criminal charges as a result of Bobb’s complaint. “We believe the partial release of information was in accordance with MFIPPA and any concerns or complaints can be brought forward to the Information and Privacy Commissioner,” the DRPS statement noted.

But Bobb said she has received no notification from DRPS that her complaint has been closed. In addition, the documents published online on X note the investigation is still ongoing.

DRPS did not respond to a request for comment to clarify the discrepancy.

Mriya Aid officials did not respond to requests for comment.


But Canadian Forces Lt. Col. Melanie Lake, one of the founders of Mriya Aid, said she is “firmly opposed to any use of threats or online harassment. Everyone has the right to safety and security online.”

She said she cannot provide comment for Mriya Aid as she is no longer a member of that organization and has no knowledge of the threats Bobb has faced.

When Lake was chairperson of Mriya Aid she noted last year on social media that the charity was not involved in any way with the exposeproxies. But she also pointed out the exposeproxies account does defend Mriya Aid in online interactions by “highlighting the hypocrisy in the allegations of war profiteering against Mriya Aid.”

Donna Riguidel, who provides training to organizations on how to help survivors of sexual assault and misconduct, said the actions of the Durham Regional Police were not only unprofessional but have fueled more sexual violence against Bobb. “What police did was unbelievable,” Riguidel said. “It raises questions whether (sexual assault and misconduct survivors) can trust them to properly investigate future complaints.”


Julie Lalonde, an Ottawa-based women’s rights advocate, said the actions of Durham Regional Police highlight “how police remain willfully ignorant of what gendered harassment looks like in the 21st century.”

Another woman who has raised concerns about Mriya Aid also received the dildo image from Cajun Fella and exposeproxies. That U.S. woman did not want to be identified or quoted for this article because of the serious nature of the threats.

Bobb said she intends to file a complaint with Ontario’s privacy commissioner about the decision by the DRPS to release her private information.

Police force under fire for releasing woman's personal information to her cyberstalkers

Documents from the Durham police investigation were posted on X with the demand from her stalkers that she withdraw her police complaint.

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Incase you arent following....

Russia is getting their asses kicked hard.

Equipment and human losses have been staggering.

The above is the work of cluster ATACMS.

Dobra!

 

[petros]

Blyat!

 

[Taxslave2]

Blyat!

Looks like a direct hit on an amo dump.

 

[petros]

Looks like a direct hit on an amo dump.

It was an airbase hit with cluster bombs and drones.

 

[Taxslave2]

Even better.