The hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, in The Hague held public hearings in a lawsuit accusing Myanmar of genocide.
Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in the hearing and categorically denied any wrongdoing. Not to mention of her country accused of genocide, rape and arson by Myanmar troops in 2017. The survivors of atrocities fled to Bangladesh and more than a million Rohingya Muslims are living in sprawling refugee camps in southwest Bangladesh.
Obviously, Myanmar’s denials of Rohingya genocide was at the center stage in The Hague. Suu Kyi’s nauseating push for domestic support ahead of national elections is a part of this campaign, but regardless the legal dispute is serious and will have major implications in days to come.
A burst of legal action recently across the world has provided fresh impetus for efforts to examine crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Myanmar against ethnic Rohingyas.
The United States imposed sanctions on four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities.
The winner of Nobel Peace Prize Suu Kyi led a team to The Hague, “to defend the national interest of Myanmar”.
Prior to her visit, Myanmar’s State Counsellor has also ignored several Nobel laureates requesting to publicly acknowledge crimes against Rohingya at the court.
The Nobel Peace laureates, Shirin Ebadi (Iran); Leymah Gbowee (Liberia); Tawakkol Karman (Yemen); Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland); Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala); Jody Williams (USA); and Kailash Satyarthi (India) called on their fellow laureate Suu Kyi to publicly acknowledge the crimes, including genocide, committed against the Rohingya at The Hague.
Earlier in November, the Gambia, a small West African country, on behalf of the fifty-seven member nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a coalition of countries with significant Muslim populations filed a lawsuit with the ICJ for atrocities committed against the Rohingya by Myanmar.
The ICJ case is the first international legal attempt to hold Myanmar accountable for the Rohingya crisis.
The Rohingyas a Muslim and ethnic minority have suffered decades of systematic discrimination with the government of Myanmar not even recognizing them as a citizen.
Since August 2017, Bangladesh has received a million refugees and many fear repatriation will not happen as there is an absence of guaranteed safety and security if returned to Myanmar. Two years ago, more than a dozen fellow Nobel laureates have criticised Suu Kyi, for a bloody military crackdown on Rohingyas, warning of a tragedy “amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.
Many global leaders are aghast and questioned how a winner of Nobel Peace award renowned for fighting for democracy and human rights is now justifying her government’s persecution of the Rohingyas.
Nobelist Suu Kyi did not hesitate to slam at Gambia of giving an “incomplete and misleading factual picture” of the situation in Rakhine State.
Her statement at the ICJ made a turnabout from a champion of human rights and democracy to apparent apologist for brutality. The Nobel laureate defended her government from accusations of genocide against the Rohingyas at the United Nation’s top court on December 11, calling the allegations “misleading.” She vehemently defended her government against accusations of genocide. UN investigators have said the violent war-crimes were committed with “genocidal intent”. Myanmar has dismissed allegations of rights abuses and claimed its army’s 2017 campaign was a proportionate response to attacks on border areas by Rohingya insurgents.
A day earlier, in yet another legal challenge, a Rohingya rights group launched a case calling on courts in Argentina to prosecute military and civilian officials – including Suu Kyi – under the concept of universal jurisdiction, which pushes for domestic courts to investigate international crimes.
Myanmar has always shrugged off attempts at examining its actions, blocking UN investigators from entering the country and rejecting ICJ jurisdiction.
A member of the International Commission of Jurists warned: “The expectations of victims should be managed carefully as the process is likely to be long and complex, and the outcome is not guaranteed.” As the legal case is concerned, the end results are far from certain.
Saleem Samad
Journalist and media rights defender
Dhaka
