Articles

Residents and monks from 30 Karen villages have called for all Karen armed groups to join under a single banner to stop drug running and to help restore law and order. Karen civilians from northern Kawkareik Township in Karen State delivered a petition calling on the various Karen armed groups to unify into one single armed force. The villagers submitted…

Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, a Central Executive Committee member of the Karen National Union said in his speech at a peace process consultation meeting that lasting and genuine peace could only be reached when there is mutual respect between the government, ethnic groups and citizens. Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung made the statement while attending a peace building process consultation meeting…

Mahn Robert Zan, an advisor to the Karen Communities of Minnesota and a former Karen freedom fighter urged the Karen National Union (KNU) to set a limited timeframe for their ceasefire negotiations with Burma’s government. Mahn Robert Zan, a son of former KNU chairperson Mahn Ba Zan, made the statement during an interview with Karen News while attending the 10th…

Migrant workers from Burma are finding that life has just become much more complicated following Thailand’s military coup on May 22, with the military closing border crossings and a nationwide curfew disrupting their travel. Saw Ye Tun Zaw, a migrant worker in Bangkok, said that the curfew made getting home from work difficult and risky. “There are more restrictions on…

The Karen National Union (KNU), in its controlled Hpa-an District has been implementing a low cost housing project for families of disable soldiers from its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army and displaced villagers in the surrounding areas. The housing project is taking place at two places, Maw Poe Kay and Mae Tari. The construction totals a 100-houses –…

In an exclusive Karen News interview a senior commander in the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has added his voice to the growing calls for Burma’s military-backed government to amend the country’s undemocratic constitution before the 2015 national elections, as it ensures effective military veto in parliament and blocks prominent pro-democracy politician Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the Presidency.…

Hundreds of young Karen people dressed in their traditional clothing file into a large open-air building in Karen State, a booming series of “hello… hello… hello…” tests a sound system stacked on the edge of a stage. The traditional dress sound system and stage are signs that the Karen Youth Organisation’s celebrated its 25th year in May, more than one…

Giving the opening address at the 10th Karen Unity Seminar, the Karen National Union’s chairperson, Saw Mutu Sae Po called all the attending Karen representatives to work towards what he called ‘unity in diversity’. General Mutu Sae Po welcome the wide variety of Karen groups attending the event before saying. “We are divided in many ways and means…this disunity is…

Despite the much-lauded government reforms by the international community and President U Thein Sein’s 2013 promise to release all political prisoners, Burma’s military backed government is still clamping down on voices critical of the government, including political activists and journalists. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma stated that dozens of political prisoners were currently detained in Burma, with…

In an exclusive interview with Karen News, the Secretary of the Karen Women’s Organisation, which represents women refugees, has slammed cuts in aid to refugees, joining a growing host of human rights advocacy groups and community based organisations condemning the funding cuts by international donors. “Our refugee community feels it is under pressure to return to Burma. If there is…