About 500 demonstrators gathered in downtown Yangon today to support Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of her defence of Myanmar against allegations of genocide at the UN’s top court.
Vendors sold Suu Kyi sashes and badges as the crowd sang the national anthem, waved Myanmar flags, and chanted choruses of “we stand with you Mother Suu” at Maha Bandula Park.
The State Counsellor will contest on December 10-12 accusations her state committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine state at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
“This is our leader, we stand by her and stand by our country,” Wai Phyo Htet, 27, told Myanmar Mix as he posed for photographs with a placard showing a picture of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The demonstrator said he plans to return to the park on December 10 for another rally against the ICJ case.
Popular reggae singer Saw Phoe Kwar performed for the crowd and expressed his support for the leader. Meanwhile, Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein was among the supporters in attendance.
West African nation Gambia will open its case on behalf of the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The mainly Muslim nation accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention through its bloody military crackdown in 2017 against the Rohingya.
Rallies have been held in other parts of Myanmar following the announcement Aung San Suu Kyi would attend the hearing in her capacity as foreign minister.
The National League for Democracy released a statement saying it hoped all citizens would support Aung San Suu Kyi “to protect the interest of the country.”
Many have heeded the call by adding the Myanmar flag and Suu Kyi’s image to their Facebook profile pictures. A huge billboard depicting the leader with the three military ministers and a background showing the ICJ building was also erected along a main road in Hpa-an, Karen State.
Some loyal supporters will even travel to The Netherlands for the hearing.
The ICJ case will be the first of several international legal attempts to bring Myanmar to justice over the Rohingya crisis.
The International Criminal Court (ICC)—another Hague-based tribunal that probes alleged war crimes—authorised a full investigation into the Rohingya crisis.
Rights groups have also filed a third lawsuit in Argentina in which Suu Kyi was personally named.
