Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Myanmar's Suu Kyi rejects genocide claims at top UN court

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi rejected allegations of genocide against Myanmar in the UN's top court Wednesday, despite admitting the army may have used excessive force against Rohingya Muslims.

Suu Kyi denied "misleading and incomplete" claims by The Gambia that a 2017 military operation had attempted to exterminate the Rohingya, in a rare address by a state leader to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).


Once hailed worldwide as a rights icon for her defiance of the same generals she is now defending, Suu Kyi also warned the Hague-based court that its involvement in the case risked "feeding the flames of extreme polarisation".

Nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after the Myanmar military launched a huge offensive that it said was in response to attacks by local militants.

"Regrettably, The Gambia has placed before the court a misleading and incomplete factual picture of the situation in Rakhine state," said Suu Kyi, wearing traditional Burmese dress and flowers in her hair.

Brushing off international criticism, the 74-year-old civilian leader said Buddhist-majority Myanmar was dealing with an "internal armed conflict" and that troubles in the area go back centuries.

"Please bear in mind this complex situation and the challenge to sovereignty and security in our country," she said.

"Surely under the circumstances genocidal intent cannot be the only hypothesis."

Lawyers for Myanmar argued that to prove genocide, international law required concrete proof of the intention to destroy a race of people.

ICJ judges have only once before ruled that genocide was committed, in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.

- 'Bluntly lying' -

UN investigators last year concluded that Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya amounted to genocide.

The Gambia, a small west African state that is mainly Muslim, claims Myanmar breached the 1948 genocide convention and wants the court to take emergency measures to stop further violence.

It has the backing of the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation plus Canada and the Netherlands.

The case is being closely watched by the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya still in Bangladesh.

"Suu Kyi was our hope. But since she came out of imprisonment, she shattered it. How does she deny Myanmar army's atrocities?" Mohammad Yunus, Rohingya imam at the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp, told AFP after hearing Suu Kyi speak.

Robi Ullah, another Rohingya, said: "She is bluntly lying in front of the highest court. Such a shame!"

In The Hague, former war crimes prosecutor Stephen Rapp told a panel discussion organised by pro-Rohingya activists "we see echoes of the Holocaust and Rwanda" in Myanmar's persecution of the minority group.

"This was a genocide... and I am profoundly disappointed that Aung San Suu Kyi presented these arguments," said Rapp, who was also a former US ambassador-at-large for global justice under the administration of former US president Barack Obama.

But Suu Kyi's decision to personally lead her country's case at the court has proved popular at home, where the Rohingya are widely regarded as illegal immigrants.

Around 250 pro-Myanmar protesters gathered in front of the ICJ on Wednesday, carrying placards with Aung San Suu Kyi's face reading "We stand with you".

"These allegations against Myanmar and Suu Kyi are rubbish," said Chomar Oosterhof, 53, a Burmese woman living in the Netherlands.

Flag-waving supporters joined rallies in support of Suu Kyi in several Myanmar cities on Tuesday. Huge billboards of Suu Kyi and three smiling generals have also appeared around the country.

- 'No tolerance' for abuses -

A day after sitting through hours of graphic accounts of violence read out by The Gambia's lawyers, Suu Kyi admitted there may have been civilian casualties including some killed when a helicopter opened fire.

But she argued these were an inevitable part of the conflict.

"It cannot be ruled out that disproportionate force was used by members of the defence services... or that they did not distinguish clearly enough between fighters and civilians," she said.

Myanmar was leading its own investigation and "if war crimes have been committed", then its justice system would deal with them, she added.

"There will be no tolerance of human rights violations in Myanmar," she added.

Aung San Suu Kyi was once mentioned in the same breath as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, having won the Nobel Prize in 1991 for her resistance to Myanmar's junta, which ran the country for nearly half a century.

The military's rule was characterised by brutal civil conflicts, biting poverty and isolation.

After 15 years under house arrest, Suu Kyi was freed in 2010 and led her party to victory in elections in 2015.

But her defence of the same military that once kept her locked up has since caused international condemnation.

Myanmar meanwhile faces a number of legal challenges over the fate of the Rohingya, including a probe by the International Criminal Court -- a separate war crimes tribunal in The Hague -- and a lawsuit in Argentina personally mentioning Suu Kyi.

More For You

Jolly Rancher Recalled in UK Over Cancer-Linked Chemical Fears

Jolly Rancher sweet products were recalled due to the presence of banned ingredients

Amazon.UK

Jolly Rancher candy recalled in UK over cancer-linked chemicals

An urgent warning has been issued in the UK after several popular Jolly Rancher sweet products were recalled due to the presence of banned ingredients linked to cancer. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed that certain products, including Jolly Rancher Hard Candy, ‘Misfits’ Gummies, Hard Candy Fruity 2 in 1, and Berry Gummies, are affected.

These sweets, produced by American confectionery giant Hershey, were found to contain Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) and Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbon (MOSH), both of which are derived from crude oil and have been associated with serious health risks, including cancer.

Keep ReadingShow less
British national survives Ahmedabad Air India crash

Rescue and relief work underway following the Air India plane crash, in Ahmedabad. (PTI Photo)

British national survives Ahmedabad Air India crash

ONE survivor walked away from the Air India aircraft that crashed at Ahmedabad airport earlier this morning (12), according to the latest reports from India.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a UK national, was in seat 11A of the Air India Flight 171 bound for London Gatwick when it crashed shortly after take off from Ahmedabad with 242 people on board.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India crash: Former Gujarat chief minister Rupani was on aircraft

FILE PHOTO: Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. (PTI Photo)

Air India crash: Former Gujarat chief minister Rupani was on aircraft

FORMER Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was believed to be on board the London-bound Air India plane that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport soon after take-off on Thursday (12), a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

"Vijay Rupani was going to London by the Air India flight," senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama told reporters in Ahmedabad. "I am going to the city civil hospital to inquire about him," he added.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India crash: Police collect 204 dead bodies

Police said they had collected 204 dead bodies (PTI photo)

Air India crash: Police collect 204 dead bodies

  • All 242 passengers on board believed to have been killed in the Air India crash AI-171 in Ahmedabad
  • Air India passenger hotline numbers - 1800 5691 444 and for foreign nationals +91 8062779200
  • There were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London Gatwick
  • Contact @HCI_London on the emergency number 07768765035 with regard to emergency visa assistance to travel to India if needed

POLICE in Ahmedabad said they had collected 204 dead bodies after the London-bound Air India aircraft with 242 people on board crashed into residential buildings after takeoff on Thursday (12).

“We have found 204 bodies,” city police commissioner GS Malik said, adding that 41 injured people were “under treatment”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer says scenes of Air India plane crash 'devastating'

Keir Starmer. (Photo by JORDAN PETTITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer says scenes of Air India plane crash 'devastating'

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Thursday (12) expressed his anguish following a plane crash involving a London-bound Air India flight with 53 British nationals among 242 on board, shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport.

"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” Starmer said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less