Articles

The Karen National Union (KNU) and villagers from the upper Pawklo area of Southern Burma are in agreement that a Thai coalmine operating in Tha Nay Kler area, has to protect environment and make sure that local water sources are not polluted. The agreement was reached at a meeting on June 15 that was held in Ka Taw Ni village…

The Burma military conducting jet fighter bombing practice in Htan Tabin Township, Taungoo District have not informed villagers so that they can take safety precautions. Villagers going to work on their farms have been terrified as jets drop their deadly loads. Padoh Saw Eh Wah, chairperson of the KNU Taungoo District confirmed the villagers fears to Karen News. “During the…

Villagers from Hpa-an Township have appealed for the second time in a letter sent to President U Thein Sein for the government’s land confiscation commission to investigate claims that their lands were illegally taken by government authorities. The villagers, from Phakat, sent their latest letter to the President on June 11. Phakat villagers said that 79 plots of land were…

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army held an ethnic nationalities seminar to exchange views and to assess the current political situation in Burma. The seminar was held at Sone Zee Myaing village, Karen State on June 15. Brigadier General Moshay, the DKBA Deputy Chief-of-Staff told Karen News that although the government has made ceasefire agreements with most of the ethnic armed…

As the world commemorates refugee week, in Thailand’s largest refugee camp ethnic Karen refugees who fled conflict in Burma struggle with homesickness, discrimination and apprehension of what they’ll find when they return over the border. Ma Tway considers the uncertainty of her future, takes a long stare into nothing, before answering, “living in a Mae La refugee camp has been…

Following a series of attacks on Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia that have so far resulted in six deaths and 20 people injured, an spokesperson from Air Bagan said the airline will offer free flights to Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia who want to return home. The Air Bagan spokesperson told Karen News that they would also organize domestic flights…

Villagers taken from 30 villages were ordered to work on the construction of the HteeLah Eh Hta Bridge that crosses the Yunzanlin River, near Papun Township. The Karen Human Right Group’s report released on June 13, described how villagers from Meh Mwe, Day Wah, Kyaw Pah, Htee Th’Daw Hta and Meh Pree village were forced to construct the bridge. KHRG…

Mr. Yuki Nishimori, a consultant with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that is working on assessing the potential for development projects for the Japanese government in Mon and Karen State, met with officials from the Karen National Unions’s liaison office in Myawaddy to discuss opening an information center on issues related to refugee and internally displaced people. The meeting…

Thousands of displaced civilians fleeing conflict between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Kachin State, now face a life of extreme hardship with little to no access to food, medicine, clothing and in appalling living conditions. Free Burma Rangers, a frontline humanitarian organization providing medical assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burma, report that as…

A Karen National Union delegation, led by its chairman, Saw Mutu Say Poe, left yesterday for Rangoon to meet with government officials for a new round of peace talks. Padoh Thaw Thi Bwe, the organisations joint secretary confirmed with Karen News that a KNU delegation, led by Chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe, is schedule to meet government Minister, U Aung…