Suu Kyi slammed for ‘silence’ over Myanmar genocide claims

The Gambia hit out yesterday at Aung San Suu Kyi’s “silence” over the plight of Rohingya Muslims after the Nobel peace laureate defended Myanmar against genocide charges at the UN’s top court.

Lawyers for the African country said her arguments that Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown was a “clearance operation” targeting militants ignored widespread allegations of mass murder, rape and forced deportation.

“Madame agent, your silence said far more than your words,” Gambia’s lawyer Philippe Sands told the International Court of Justice, referring to Suu Kyi, who is officially acting as Myanmar’s agent in the case.

“The word ‘rape’ did not once pass the lips of the agent,” added Sands, as Suu Kyi sat impassively in the courtroom, wearing traditional Burmese dress and flowers in her hair.

Mostly-Muslim Gambia has taken majority-Buddhist Myanmar to the court in the Hague, accusing it of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide convention and seeking emergency measures to protect the Rohingya.

Once regarded as an international rights icon for standing up to Myanmar’s brutal junta, Suu Kyi’s reputation has been tarnished by her decision to side with the military over the Rohingya crisis.