Myanmar coup: How will the military takeover affect Rohingya genocide trial?

Seizure of power could significantly change how nation response to proceedings at UN’s highest court, reports Samuel Osborne

Myanmar (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Last week’s military coup in Myanmar has raised questions over how the change in the country’s leadership will affect the way it responds to being on trial for the crime of genocide against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya minority.

The Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s armed forces, seized power on 1 February, ousting the country’s government over allegations of fraud in recent elections and later arresting its leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

While experts believe the coup d’état will have little effect on the outcome of the trial itself, it could significantly change how Myanmar responds to proceedings at the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands.