Aung San Suu Kyi will personally contest the ICJ
About 8 lakh Rohingya Muslims were compelled to flee to neighboring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military, which UN investigators say was carried out with "genocidal intent". Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
On Wednesday(Nov.20) in a statement issued by Suu Kyi’s office it was disclosed, though Myanmar formed a panel of strong lawyers to contest the case in the Netherlands. The hearing of the case will begin on December 10 and will continue till December 12.
On December 10 Gambia, the plaintiff will make the hearing while Myanmar will make hearing on December 11. The sessions of hearing will be telecast live.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state, lodged its lawsuit after winning the support of the 57-nation Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Only a state can file a case against another state at the ICJ.
"The State Counselor, in her capacity as Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, will lead a team to the Hague, Netherlands, to defend the national interest of Myanmar at the ICJ," it said, giving no further details.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told Reuters the decision was made after the army consulted with the government. "We, the military, will fully cooperate with the government and we will follow the instruction of the government," he said.
A spokesman for Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, said she had decided to take on the case herself.