British envoy in Burma over plight of Rohingya

BANGKOK — British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday to discuss the Southeast Asian nation’s Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority and how almost 700,000 of them can be repatriated safely after fleeing to Bangladesh to escape violence perpetrated largely by Burma’s military.

A statement from Burma’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Johnson and Suu Kyi discussed repatriation and developments in Rakhine, the western Burma state from where the Rohingya have fled over the past few months. Johnson arrived in Burma from Bangladesh, where he visited with Rohingya refugees.

“Discussed importance of Burmese authorities in carrying out full & independent investigation into the violence in #Rakhine & urgent need to create the right conditions for #Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Rakhine,” Johnson wrote on his Twitter account of his meeting with Suu Kyi, who also serves as foreign minister.

The meeting took place in Naypyidaw, Burma’s capital.

The Rohingya have long faced severe discrimination and were the targets of violence in 2012 that killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people — predominantly Rohingya — from their homes to camps for the internally displaced, where most remained until last year’s fresh violence, the scale of which has led to accusations that Burma’s army carried out ethnic cleansing or even genocide. Burma’s government has denied carrying out any large-scale or organized abuses against the Rohingya.

The government refuses to recognize the Rohingya as a legitimate native ethnic minority. Most Rohingya are denied citizenship and its rights.