Britain’s foreign minister Boris Johnson stopped off in Myanmar on Sunday to press Aung San Suu Kyi on the need for an independent probe into violence in Rakhine state, as the country faces mounting pressure to punish troops accused of atrocities against the Muslim Rohingya. Johnson met with the embattled Myanmar leader, whose reputation among the international community has crumbled over her handling of the Rohingya crisis, in the capital Naypyidaw while on a four-day tour in Asia. The meeting followed Johnson’s visit to a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, where nearly 700,000 Rohingya have sought sanctuary after fleeing a Myanmar army crackdown launched in northern Rakhine last August. The UN has accused Myanmar security forces of driving the Muslim minority across the border in an ethnic cleansing campaign. Doctors Without Borders estimates at least 6,700 Rohingya died in the first month of violence. But Myanmar has staunchly denied the charges and blocked UN investigators from the conflict zone, souring relations with a host of western allies. Fresh reports of mass graves in Rakhine — and the arrest of two Reuters journalists investigating an alleged massacre — have heightened pressure on Suu Kyi to condemn the army, who she is in a delicate power-sharing arrangement with. But the Nobel laureate has refused to change tack and is accused by critics of adopting a siege mentality. On Sunday Johnson and Suu Kyi “discussed in an open and friendly manner the latest developments in Rakhine State, including planning for the reception of returnees who fled”, Myanmar’s foreign ministry said in a Facebook post alongside photos of the pair meeting. Johnson, who later flew to Rakhine state, wrote on Twitter that he raised the “importance of (Myanmar) authorities in carrying out full & independent investigation into the violence in Rakhine”. He said he also stressed the “urgent need to create the right conditions for Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Rakhine”. Myanmar and Bangladesh have inked a deal to bring back refugees, but repatriation has yet to begin. Published in Daily Times, February 12th 2018.