Staff Reporter :
Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar strongly criticized Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s for her statement at the International Court of Justice.
The Nobel Peace laureate, speaking during three days of hearings at the International Court of Justice, challenged allegations in a lawsuit brought by Gambia last month accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The case is being followed closely by more than 1 million displaced Rohingyas, who are now living at the sprawling camps in Cox’s Bazar, close to Rakhine state border in Bangladesh.
As they watched Suu Kyi defend Myanmar’s case on television, some refugees shouted “liar, liar, shame!”.
“She is a liar…. A great liar…Shame on her,” said Abdur Rahim, 52, while watching a live telecast of her testimony at a community center in the Kutupalong camp.
Like Rahim, many of Rohingya people also gathered there to watch Suu Kyi’s statement at the UN’s top court.
Among them, Rohingyas, who knew English, were watching her speech with great patience.
One Rohingya Abdus Salam said at the time, “”What Suu Kyi told is a complete lie. We ran away to Bangladesh because our villages had burned by army, many killed and our women raped. She favours the Myanmar army for her own interest.
We hope the Rohingya will get a fair trial in court.”
Myanmar’s state forces killed nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims since August 25, 2017, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled “Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience.”
Abdur Rahim, vice chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), told the media, “The statements given by Suu Kyi in the International Court of Justice are false and distorted. How she rejected the organized massacre on the Rohingya. This has shocked us. She is shameless. We hope the ICJ will deliver appropriate rule on the genocide case against that will ensure punishment Suu Kyi and the army Generals for genocide against Rohingyas.”
