A photo taken of Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland at a Ukraine rally over the weekend caught her holding a red and black scarf representative of the Bandera movement, a far-right Ukrainian nationalist group linked to neo-Nazism.
Freeland, a Ukrainian Canadian, posted the photo with the scarf to social media but then deleted it. She reposted the same message with a different photo that did not include the red and black scarf.
“Sanitized for your enjoyment,” Canadian musician Dan Boeckner wrote on Twitter, sharing a side-by-side comparison of Freeland’s posts.
Sanitized for your enjoyment pic.twitter.com/CAaAMaoXdq
— Jabroni and the Air-rifle (@DanBoeckner) February 28, 2022
The rally Freeland attended in Toronto also had red and black flags waving. Red and black have historically represented the Bandera movement, which was started by Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian politician during World War II who has been accused of war crimes against Jewish and Polish people.
A huge crowd has gathered in downtown Toronto to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Footage by @PuffinsPictures pic.twitter.com/t3IJHApa8T
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 27, 2022
CAPITOL FACE MASK REQUIREMENT LIFTED IN TIME FOR BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION
The image of Freeland is raising questions about her loyalties and connections.
Where’s the other banner? https://t.co/WJQkpccEV2
— Cool Puzzles 🧩 (@vita_corpore) February 28, 2022
An iPolitics profile piece on Freeland mentioned Bandera and noted her Ukrainian heritage and influence in Canadian policy against Russia, “inspired by pro-Bandera lobbyists.”
The Ottawa Citizen reported that Freeland’s grandfather was the editor of a Nazi newspaper during WWII.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified the invasion of Ukraine, in part with the goal to “de-Nazify” the country. The True North reported concerns over how Freeland’s photo plays into the hands of Putin.
Hey whats that flag in the background? pic.twitter.com/X42IRhFA1i
— Vanishing (@CautionMariah) February 28, 2022
“Freeland can scrub her own social media to her heart’s content, but her photo holding the red and black banner is making the rounds on social media and is being used on other news sites, including NPR,” True North’s Candice Malcolm wrote. “This is a significant misstep by Freeland. Let’s see if anyone in the media notices or reports on it.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The image of Freeland holding the red and black scarf comes just weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau equated the “Freedom Convoy” truckers to Nazis who protested with “the inherent violence of a swastika on the street corner.”
