A woman from Mae La refugee camp on the Thai Burma border was found dead in suspicious circumstances in close proximity to the camp. Camp officials confirmed that a woman refugee was found dead in a nearby forest close to Zone-C, of the Mae La refugee camp in Tak Province. The Mae La Camp’s chairman, Saw Honest, told Karen News…
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Burma’s refusal to sign a declaration against sexual violence comes despite pressure from the British government. The declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict was launched by the British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, at the United Nations in New York. On Tuesday 24th September…
Read More »A reduction in funding from international donors will see many of the tens of thousands of refugees living on the Thai Burma border getting less food to eat. In a media statement released on the 18 September, The Border Consortium, who is responsible for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the 129,787 refugees from Burma now living in Thailand, said.…
Read More »Monks and a Malaysian construction plan to install a cable car on Karen State’s famous and symbolic, Zwekabin Mountain. A Pagoda at the top of Zwekabin Mountain, near Hpa-an Town, is visited each day by hundreds of Buddhists pilgrims and tourists who make the arduous three to four hour trek each day. The cable car project organizing committee said that…
Read More »The leaders of four different Karen political parties met over two days to discuss how to merge their organisations into one for Burma’s next general election in 2015. In an effort to merge the parties, leaders of the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, the Karen People’s Party, the Karen State Democracy and Development Party, and the Karen Democratic Party – all which…
Read More »Yesterday more than a 100 young men and women helped the Mergui-Tavoy District branch of the Karen Women’s Organization celebrated the International Day of Peace at their jungle office in Southern Burma. The KWO embraced the slogan ‘Peace begins in the family and spreads to the world.’ P’doh Naw May Ro Paw, secretary of KWO Mergui-Tavoy District said. “This is…
Read More »Farmers have demanded compensation for their land confiscated and for losses of land to mining and a cement factory in Hlakar village track, in Hpa-an, Karen State. The Hlakar farmers held a meeting in the village on September 12 that decided to present their five-point demands through the Member of Parliament, Daw Nan Say Awa, from the Phalon Swaw Democratic…
Read More »A Karen migrant worker died after falling from the sixth floor of Chiang Mai construction site on Monday, September 16. The dead worker was identified as 20-year-old, Saw Ye Tun Naing, who came to work in Chaing Mai from the Delta region of Burma. Saw Than Hlaing , a fellow migrant worker, told Karen News that Saw Ye Tun Naing…
Read More »The United Nationalities Federal Council held an emergency meeting last Saturday to discuss the government’s nationwide ceasefire offer. Following the meeting UNFC announced that the offer is not acceptable at this point. The UNFC called the executive emergency meeting following discussions with the Burma government to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement on October 2013. The UNFC’s general secretary, Naing Han…
Read More »British MP, Valerie Vaz delivered more than 2,000 letters from supporters of Burma Campaign UK on 12 September to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, calling for action to end sexual violence against women in Burma. Burma Campaign UK called on the British government to highlight Burma when Foreign Secretary William Hague travels to New York for a major meeting at…
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