Bangladesh slams Myanmar over Rohingya case submission at UN court

By Kanyshai Butun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Bangladesh on Friday slammed Myanmar over the false portrayal of the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to a statement from the country’s Foreign Ministry in Dhaka.

It said the Burmese officials at the ICJ described Rohingya as "Bengalis"—a term commonly used to refer to people of Bengali ethnic or linguistic origin, primarily from Bangladesh—to portray them as "illegal migrants and to reinforce claims of internal security threats."

Dhaka said Myanmar sought to justify the “clearance operations” as counterterrorism measures and to divert attention from the atrocity and crimes committed against the Rohingya during the 2016–2017 period.

"Such effort to create a narrative seeks to divert attention from the root causes of the Rohingya crisis and undermine international efforts aimed at justice, accountability, and finding durable resolutions. Denying the Rohingya their inherent right to self-identify forms the core of the efforts to destroy the community by evicting them from Rakhine and making them stateless," said the statement from Dhaka.

The ICJ early this month resumed public hearings of the case brought by the West African nation of Gambia against Myanmar for genocide of Rohingya.

Bangladesh called upon Myanmar to demonstrate commitment to the recognition of Rohingya as an “integral part” of their society and state.

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 Jan. 15, 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.

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.