In response to The Globe and Mail story, "Debate over war crimes gets heated," by Kirk Makin, 25 April 2005, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association has issued the following statement:
" Canada should not be a haven for any war criminals. There should be no statute of limitations on bringing any war criminals found here, or anywhere else, to justice. We have recently launched an international campaign asking Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, himself a second generation Holocaust survivor whose father was a prisoner at Auschwitz, to set up an official Commission of Inquiry on Soviet War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Ukraine.
We do not discriminate amongst war criminals on the basis of the alleged wrongdoer's ethnic, religious, political beliefs, or racial heritage, or the period or place where a war crime or crime against humanity was committed.
We hallow all victims of genocide, equally. We do not elevate the sufferings of the Ukrainian nation above all others nor do we insist that investigations aimed at uncovering those who were involved in the murder of many millions of Ukrainians before, during and after the Second World War be given priority over any other inquiries.
We believe that individuals are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, not their communities, and we reject as racist and prejudicial all attempts to stereotype entire peoples, faith groups, or nations as somehow being guilty of the crimes of a few.
Where evidence exists that might lead to the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of a war criminal we have consistently said that such persons should be tried in Canadian criminal courts.
We believe that all Canadians support us when we insist that any person who participated in war crimes or crimes against humanity should be brought to justice, without exception."
**********************
For more on UCCLA go to www.uccla.ca