Karen Women’s Group Training Communities To Understand Ceasefires

A Karen woman’s groups is running training for community-based-organisation to help them understand and identify the different and often conflicting elements in Burma’s ceasefire process.

Naw Suzanna Hla Hla Soe, a director of the Karen Women Empowerment Group (KWEG) told Karen News that topics covered in the training were understanding armed conflict, violence resulting from the conflicts and identifying different types of problems within the community.

Naw Suzanna Hla Hla Soe said that Burma was not the only country experiencing armed conflict.

“According to our experience, not only in Myanmar, but also around the world there are negotiations and discussion for peace happening when there are conflicts. Our country has been suffering from conflict over 60-years so we want a genuine peace.”

Naw Suzanna Hla Hla Soe said that the section of civilian protection found in the current nationwide ceasefire draft was also explained to the groups attending the training.

[It is important]…to have civilians involved, that’s why we are providing civilian monitoring training”.

Naw Eh Paw Wah, who attended the training, said,

“This training is helping the peace process. In fact, after the signing of the ceasefire, these are the things to do. If the civilians know nothing, it will affect them more. After the [ceasefire] signing and when they start to implement it, the civilians will already know the basics. “

The Karen Women Empowerment Group organized the Civilian Monitoring of Ceasefire Training from 25th to 30th May. It is the second training and was held at the Royal Angel Hotel in Hpa-an Township Karen State.

Organizers said 25 representatives from community-based-orgnisations attended the training – these included, the Kyarin Seikgyi and Kawkareik townships in Karen state and various Karen CBO based in the border such as Karen Human Right Group (KHRG) and Karen Student Network Group (KSNG), Karen Women Organisation (KWO).

The first Civilian Monitoring of Ceasefire training was held on May 4th to 9th at the KWEG office, Hpa-an Town, Karen State.

The Karen Women Empowerment Group was formed to aim of work for equality in the most needed places in Burma, to cooperate in creating sustainable development, to empower women, children and community based organization to be self-reliant.