Articles

The Karen National Union and the government have agreed to work together to try to solve contentious land issues, including confiscation. At the regional level meeting between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Tanintharyi government, both sides agreed that the KNU and government would discuss and cooperate on land issues. The meeting between the KNU Mergui-Tavoy District leaders and…

In recent months and as peace negotiations with the government continue, human rights abuses including rape and arbitrary killings at the hands of the Burma Army continue against Kachin people, according to community-based organisations and frontline backpack medics. The conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and Burma’s Army that started in June 2011 has left over 350 villages in trouble,…

In an interview with Karen News reporter, Henry Zwartz, Dr Cynthia Maung explains why she honoured to receive this year’s Sydney Peace Prize, but expressed dismay with the Australian government’s decision to stop funding her clinic as of December 2013. The Sydney Peace Prize is Australia’s only international prize for peace. It is awarded to commend an organization or individual…

As peace negotiations continue, Kachin people continue to suffer human rights abuses including rape and arbitrary killings at the hands of the Burma Army, according to community-based organisations. The conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and Burma’s Army since June 2011 has left over 350 villages in trouble, some abandoned completely, and over 100,000 civilians displaced. The Kachin Women’s Association…

Australian government aid money that has helped save the lives of thousands of people from Burma coming to Mae Tao Clinic, on the Thai-Burma border for critical treatment, is to stop. APHEDA the Australian Trade Union overseas aid provider estimates that as many 45,000 people coming to Mae Tao Clinic have received critical medical treatment this year alone from Australian…

Nominations for the 2013 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award are now open. The award acknowledges young Karen who have shown outstanding leadership in achieving the goals of the Foundation in areas such as fighting poverty, promoting education, promoting development and preserving Karen culture. An award of $2000 is also given to the organisation or community of the winner. The…

Villagers in southern Burma are demanding that a Thai coal mining company operating in their area return land that the claim the company is occupying is rightfully theirs. More than 13 villagers from Ah Mla, east of Dawei, want the East Star Company to return land that the villagers alleged that the mining company took for their camp and coal…

The 28th of October marked the second anniversary of the abduction of Sumlut Roi Ja, an ethnic Kachin woman, by members of Burma’s Army. She is still missing. Burma Army soldiers arrested Sumlut Roi Ja, a 28-year-old mother, on October 28th 2011 while she was working on the family’s farm near her village Hkai Bang, close to the China border.…

Grave concerns over government plans to build six hydroelectric dams on the Salween River. The dam projects would be used to sell hydropower to Burma’s neighbors, China and Thailand. The planned dams lie in ethnic conflict zones where the critical issue of control over natural resources remains unresolved. Members of Burma’s Rivers Network (BRN) including the Karen Rivers Watch, Shan…

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has told a prominent UK based Burma pro-rights group that the British Government continues to receive “deeply troubling” reports of the use of sexual violence in Burma’s conflict zones. The letter, addressed to Burma Campaign UK, was written in response to thousands of letters calling for action to end sexual violence in Burma, that were…