The Lady and the Hague: Myanmar leader Suu Kyi courts home audience

The last timeMyanmarleaderAung SanSuuKyitraveled to western Europe, she was feted as the freshly elected civilian ruler of a fledgling democracy who had brought an end to half a century of military dictatorship.

When the Nobel peace prize laureate returns next week, her first trip to the region since a 2017 military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in westernMyanmar, it will be to face accusations of genocide, alongside the army she spent much of her life battling.

Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state backed by the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), lodged a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month againstMyanmarfor genocide, including mass murder and rape.

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Myanmardenies the allegations, andSuuKyi's office said she would fly to TheHaguefor the first hearings, from December 10, to "defend the national interest".

"There is a discrepancy between the opinion ofMyanmarand the international community," said Myo Nyunt, the senior spokesman for her National League for Democracy Party. "She has to explain what has really taken place in northern Rakhine."

Her decision to attend took some by surprise. People close to her with strong international connections voiced concerns it could further tarnish her image abroad, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

But athome, the announcement has unleashed a wave of popular support, with theleaderwho spent 15 years under house arrest for defying the army lauded as once again championing the interests of the people against a common enemy.

Richard Horsey,Myanmaradvisor to the International Crisis Group, said while her appearance carried considerable risks forSuuKyioverseas, "she likely feels that she must do all she can to defend the national interest against what most people inMyanmarsee as biased and politically-motivated charges".

SuuKyiwas still a heroine to many when she last visited western Europe and the United States months after taking office in 2016. Her star faded in office amid sluggish reform and protracted ethnic conflicts, and she faced increasingly harsh criticism from the West as the Rohingya crisis unfolded.

An offensive by security forces and local Buddhists in northern Rakhine state in August 2017 drove more than 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh, where they created the world's largest refugee camp.

United Nations investigators have said the exodus was the result of a military campaign executed with "genocidal intent".

Myanmarauthorities have strongly disputed that conclusion, categorizing the military operation as a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya militants that killed 13 members of the security forces.

In September 2017,SuuKyisaid terrorists were behind an "iceberg of misinformation" about the violence.

"Myanmarpeople do not support people being driven from theirhomes. But it is different with these Bengalis leaving," spokesman Myo Nyunt said, using a term common inMyanmarbut rejected by the Rohingya because it implies they are interlopers from Bangladesh who invented an ethnic identity.

Seven soldiers were jailed for 10 years for killing 10 Rohingya men and boys in the village of Inn Din but granted early release last November after serving less than a year in prison.

Late last month, the military began a court-martial of an unspecified number of soldiers over events in another village, Gu Dar Pyin, the site of an alleged massacre of 10 Rohingya. The military said the soldiers were "weak in following the rules of engagement." No further details were given about the court-martial, which is continuing.

"As far as we know there is Inn Din massacre and Gu Dar Pyin," said Myo Nyunt. "That's all as far as [SuuKyi] knows, there is no such thing as genocide."

Recent weeks inMyanmarhave had the flavour of election season, with several pro-SuuKyirallies in major cities attended by hundreds of people carrying flags. More are planned for the first day of the hearings.

"Now there are demonstrations across the whole country. This is an attempt to make her image stronger," said Ko Ko Gyi, a longtime democracy activist and formerSuuKyially. "There is a saying everything is politics."

Myanmaris due to go to the polls again in 2020 and, while an opinion poll from the People's Alliance for Credible Elections, an independent group of election monitors, in July showedSuuKyiretains tremendous support, her government has faced criticism for failing to bring an end to worsening ethnic conflicts in the borderlands or reform the constitution.

Under the charter drafted by the former ruling junta, the military chief nominates a quarter of lawmakers, giving it a veto over constitutional change.

In the southeastern Karen state, regional authorities put up dozens of billboards showing a smilingSuuKyiflanked by three green-clad soldiers laughing heartily underlined by the words "we stand with you".