Myanmar junta resorts to denial in Rohingya genocide case at International Court of Justice

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Myanmar's junta resorted to denial Friday in a Rohingya genocide case filed by The Gambia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"Myanmar’s firm position is that The Gambia has failed to meet its burden of proof. This case will be decided on the basis of proven facts, not unsubstantiated allegations," Ko Ko Hlaing, representative of Myanmar, told the UN's principal judicial organ.

The Gambia brought the case in November 2019, accusing Myanmar of violating "the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

On Thursday, the court heard from The Gambia’s legal team regarding allegations that Myanmar’s military officials incited violence through hate speech, referring to the ethnic minority as "Muslim dogs" who should be made "extinct."

The ICJ will continue to hold public hearings until Jan. 29 about allegations that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Eleven states -- Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, the Maldives, Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, and Ireland -- filed declarations of intervention.

The Muslim Rohingya minority has long suffered oppression in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where officials have been accused of genocide. About 1 million have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since 2017.