By Lamin Njie
Abubacarr Tambadou got a hero’s welcome from family and friends after the justice minister returned to the country from the Netherlands where he fronted Myanmar’s ICJ shaming.
Mr Tambadou is credited for dragging Myanmar to the International Court of Justice over its treatment of the Rohingya. UN investigators had discovered the Asian nation was engaged in acts of genocide against the minority Muslim tribe.
The Gambia last year with backing from the world’s Muslim countries filed a case at the International Court of Justice alleging that Myanmar was committing “an ongoing genocide” against the Rohingya.
On Thursday, the Rohingya got a glimpse of respite after the world’s top court ordered Myanmar to take measures to prevent genocidal acts against the group.
The court unanimously adopted “provisional measures” that require Myanmar to prevent genocide and take steps to preserve evidence.
According to human rights watch, Myanmar’s military committed extensive atrocities against the Rohingya, including murder, rape, and arson, that peaked during its late 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing, forcing more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
In September 2019, the United Nations-backed International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found that the 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar “may face a greater threat of genocide than ever,” human rights watch said.
Mr Tambadou who has been leading the case of the Rohingya returned to the country on Friday, with family and friends filling Tambadou Kunda in Kanifing to congratulate him.
His mother cried while hugging him as his brother Sheriff smiled throughout at an event that also saw the national anthem played.
Imams from the Supreme Islamic Council were also at the Tambadou home to pray for the justice minister.
