Two Richmond residents asked city council to fly both Russian and Ukrainian flags at city hall, or to not fly either.
Mustafa and Michael Siddiqui said flying the Ukrainian flag – in support of a conflict that is thousands of kilometres away – isn’t welcoming to the many people of Russian descent in Richmond.
City council decided to raise the flag shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022.
The brothers posed these questions to Richmond city council on Monday, saying official government buildings shouldn’t fly flags “in support or against international conflicts.”
“But if city hall is adamant, please fly the opposing flag as well,” Mustafa Siddiqui said. “Doing that will show you stand with peace and not a certain country prevailing in victory.”
Canada has unequivocally supported Ukraine since the invasion two years ago, supplying arms and money to the country.
When it launched its military action two years ago, Russia claimed it was going to root out Nazis in Ukraine.
Since then, the war has become entrenched and has been described as being similar to the First World War, which was largely fought in the trenches.
Michael Siddiqui noted, as elected politicians, city council should be making sure everyone in the community feels safe.
He compared the situation to the Israeli/Palestinian war currently taking place in the Gaza Strip.
“I know you guys are not going to fly a Palestinian flag or an Israeli flag just because of how much that would anger the population and how that would show you pick a side in a military conflict,” Michael said.
He noted there are many people of Russian descent living in Richmond, and he questioned how they must feel when city council has chosen to fly a Ukrainian flag.
“Would that make them feel represented? Would that make them feel safe, that their city council is choosing to represent a country that is against them,” Michael said.
He claimed there are “very horrible things” being done in the war by Russia as well as by Ukraine.
“I don’t think there’s any qualification that you guys have for this job that lets you determine who is right and who is wrong in a military conflict in eastern Europe,” Michael said.
In his presentation to city council, Michael recounted how he had a Russian flag on his car and someone, he claimed of Ukrainian descent, ripped it off. When he told Richmond RCMP about the incident, he claimed police brushed it off.
“That did not sit right with me, and I firmly believe you guys flying a Ukrainian flag supports this kind of behaviour, this sort of environment that you are setting,” Michael said.
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