THE I DIPLOMAT
By Angshuman Choudhury
November 30, 2019
The Nobel peace prize winner will now be defending charges of genocide at an international court. How did it come to this?
On November 20, Myanmar’s de facto head of state, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi,
announced that she would lead the defense of her country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where Myanmar stands accused by The Gambia of violating the Genocide Convention 1948.
The small West African country, which itself emerged out of a 23-year long autocratic regime in 2017,
filed the case on November 11 on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It has
accused Myanmar of carrying out “genocidal violence” against the Rohingya community by means of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and destruction of Rohingya villages.
Suu Kyi’s decision to appear at The Hague startled many within and outside Myanmar. After all, the very thought of a Nobel peace prize winner defending charges of genocide at an international court is jarring. Back home, while her announcement was mostly well received by her loyal supporters, many
expressed concerns about the Lady appearing in The Hague to defend the military’s actions. For those worried, there is a real possibility that the endeavor might fall back on her heavily, further damaging her already-dented international reputation.
