Yangon:
Myanmar's state councillor Aung San Suu Kyi has taken off for The Hague
where she will face an accusation brought to the International Court of
Justice by Gambia over alleged genocide carried out against the
Rohingya minority in her country.
Suu Kyi, who is also Myanmar's
foreign minister, is travelling with a team of experts to the
Netherlands so that she can appear at ICJ hearings on December 10 and
12, the State Council said in a statement posted to its official
Facebook account on Sunday.
On
November 11, the Gambia lodged a complaint with the court over alleged
genocide and suspected ethnic cleansing operations carried out by
Myanmar's military against the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2016 and
2017.
Gambian authorities, who presented the complaint in the name
of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, also asked for
precautionary measures to prevent extra- judicial killings, abuse and
sexual violence against the Rohingyas, and to prevent the military from
destroying evidence or blocking an investigation.
Aung San Suu Kyi became an international heroine during her time leading a peaceful opposition to the country's military junta.Credit:AP
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The ICJ will become the second court in The Hague to mull opening legal action against Myanmar.
On
November 14, judges from the International Criminal Court authorised a
probe into alleged crimes against humanity against the Rohingya
population.
Last month, a Rohingya organisation filed a complaint in Argentina over alleged crimes against the minority.
As
the Latin American country adheres to the principle of universal
jurisdiction, cases can be taken on regardless of where the alleged
crimes took place.
More than 730,000 Rohingya people have fled Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2016.
The
mass exodus began after a rebel group carried out a series of attacks
against security posts in the western Rakhine province, which led to a
disproportionate crackdown from the Myanmar military against the ethnic
group.
The military campaign, which has faced allegations of mass
killings and rapes, has been described by United Nations observers as
ethnic cleansing and possible genocide.
Rohingya refugees at Unchiprang refugee camp near Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.Credit:AP
Myanmar
does not recognise Rohingyas as citizens and the community has faced
decades of discrimination, including restrictions on their freedom of
movement.
Suu Kyi, an international heroine during her time in
peaceful opposition to the military junta between 1988-2011, has lost
much of her support beyond the country because of an apparent inability
to protect the Rohingyas.
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