- A prominent Jewish group in Canada is calling for a hate-crimes
investigation after a former national native chief publicly applauded Adolf
Hitler for the six millions Jews "fried" in the Holocaust. Keith
Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, suggested the Saskatchewan
government should consider criminal charges against David Ahenakew, a former
leader of the Assembly of First Nations, the country's most prominent native
organization.
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- "There's no doubt that the police should be looking
into this," Mr. Landy said. "These statements cannot be made
with impunity." In an interview with a Saskatchewan journalist after
a public speech before a provincial native group, Mr. Ahenakew was quoted
as saying that the genocide Hitler ordered against Jews and other ethnic
groups was an attempt to "clean up the world." "That's how
Hitler came in," he told the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. "He was
going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany and Europe.
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- That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know.
Jews would have owned the goddamned world. And look what they're doing.
They're killing people in Arab countries." Mr. Ahenakew, 68, who headed
the AFN in the 1980s and remains a prominent native statesman, had been
invited to speak before a meeting of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian
Nations, a group he once led. The subject of the meeting was new Health
Canada policy requiring natives to sign consent forms releasing medical
information before they can obtain services. In his speech, the Star Phoenix
reported, Mr. Ahenakew said that while he served with the Canadian Army
in Germany in the 1950s, the Germans had told him the Jews started the
Second World War. Asked by a reporter to clarify his statement, he said
he agreed with the Germans, and in reference to the Holocaust, responded,
"How do you get rid of a disease like that, that's going to take over,
that's going to dominate?"
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- When it was pointed out to him that the Nazis had committed
genocide, he said: "I don't support Hitler. But he cleaned up a hell
of a lot of things, didn't he? You would be owned by Jews right now the
world over." Mr. Ahenakew told the gathering that he has warned provincial
officials "40 years down the road, we're going to be taking over [because
of population growth among Indian people]. We're going to be the government.
You [non-Indians] are going to be the Indians, and we're going to be the
bosses. And you [the government] better start preparing right now."
He also complained about bigotry in city schools. "My great-grandson
goes to school here in Saskatoon.
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- These goddamned immigrants ÷ East Indians, Pakistanis,
Afghanistan, whites and so forth ÷ call him a dirty little Indian.
He's the cleanest of the old goddamn works there. That's what I'm saying.
It's starting right there, at six years old." Mr. Ahenakew could not
be reached for comment Sunday, but he was expected to meet Monday with
the chief of the Saskatchewan native organization, Perry Bellegarde, to
discuss his statements. Native leaders have made efforts to distance themselves
from his comments. A spokesperson for the AFN stressed that the national
association does not share his views. Mr. Bellegarde, who was not at the
meeting, called the comments shocking and pointed out that Mr. Ahenakew
is no longer an elected member of the federation. As a former provincial
leader, he holds the honorary title of senator. He has a reputation for
bold talk; most recently, he was quoted in July warning of an impending
"physical confrontation" over native issues that neither the
police nor the army would be able to stop. "We respect David,"
Mr. Bellegarde said Sunday.
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- "But his views on the Holocaust are his own personal
views. His language and train of thought must have gotten off track. We
don't try to push people apart and burn bridges."Mr. Bellegarde said
he plans to send letters of apology to Canada's Jewish organizations. "I
have to extend my hand," he said. Members of the Saskatoon Jewish
community met Sunday to decide what action to take. Susanne Kaplan, president
of the congregation Agudas Israel, said that she now plans to wait to hear
from native leaders. "We'll see what they have to say." A criminal
charge under the country's hate laws would require the consent of Saskatchewan's
Attorney-General. The offence, defined as advocating and promoting genocide,
carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Mr. Landy said his
group will review the process for filing a complaint and gather input from
other Jewish representatives in Saskatchewan. "One has to question
what is the motivation and how deeply held are these views," said
Mr. Landy, who wants to hear from the native community. "This is the
time for good people to speak up."
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- Another former head of the Assembly of First Nations,
Phil Fontaine, called Mr. Ahenakew's comments intolerable, but declined
to comment on whether they constituted a hate crime. "[Aboriginals]
have been subject to all kinds of similar experience with racism; I don't
know why we should turn around and inflict that on other people. You can
imagine if it was directed at us as first nations people; there would be
a great hue and cry."
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