MINSK, Belarus: Belarus has condemned in the strongest terms, an incident in which the House of Commons of Canada paid tribute to a veteran of the punitive Nazi military unit.
In a letter dated 13 October 2023 from the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations Secretary-General, the Belarus envoy conveyed a statement by the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on the incident involving the Parliament of Canada paying tribute to a member of a Nazi military unit.
“I would appreciate it if you could kindly circulate the present letter and its annex as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 69 (a).,” the letter pleaded.
It said, “The Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus condemns in the strongest terms an incident in which the House of Commons of Canada paid tribute to a veteran of the punitive Nazi “Galicia Division” on 22 September 2023”. “We are outraged by this egregious event, which brings disgrace upon Canadian parliamentarians and the Canadian authorities, and share the indignation of all those who did not treat it lightly. This incident is a clear example of how the tragic pages of the history of the Second World War have become a bargaining chip for certain politicians in the pursuit of populism and ratings”.
The letter further said that Great Patriotic War is an open wound for Belarus. “We remember the atrocities committed by the German fascist invaders and their accomplices on our long-suffering land: the old people, women and children who, by the thousands, were burned, tortured, hanged, buried alive, drowned in wells, used for unbearable slave labour in death camps or starved to death; the blood and organs taken from children; and the sadistic medical experiments that were performed”.
One in three people living in Belarus died during the Second World War. The legacy of the genocide of the Belarusian people still has an impact on the demographic situation. Towns and villages were razed to the ground, taking decades and vast resources to rebuild.
Canada’s parliamentarians and all those who cynically elevated a Nazi to a “hero” should repent and publicly apologize to the entire international community in memory of the many millions of victims of the Second World War, the letter demanded.
“We emphasize that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations. Perpetrators of atrocities will be held accountable under the law and prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction. As the country that suffered the most during the war, Belarus has exerted and will continue to exert the utmost efforts to bring the guilty parties to justice. The great feat accomplished by the Soviet people in the fight against fascism will never be forgotten!,” the letter held.
Belarus called on interparliamentary and international organizations, including the United Nations and its human rights mechanisms, as well as parliamentarians and all people of goodwill, to take a principled stand against the incident in which the Parliament of Canada paid tribute to a member of a Nazi military unit and to oppose, in the strongest possible terms, any attempts to glorify Nazis and their accomplices.
