Articles

Colonel Ner Dah Mya, a son of General Saw Bo Mya, met and discussed with Burmese civil society groups in Sydney during a recent visit to Australia. The Australian Karen Organization (AKO) organized the meeting and discussion that was attended by 30 people from Burma including ethnic nationalities such as Kachin, Mon and Karen living in Sydney. Members of the…

Nant Thandar Aung from the Rangoon based Karen Women Empowerment Group (KEWG) is the winner of the 2012 Pado Mahn Sha Young Leader Award. The Phan Foundation announced its award winner at the 9th anniversary of Karen Unity Seminar held in the Karen National Union’s Hpa-an District on May 31. Saw Say Say Phan presenting the award to Nant Thandar…

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attended the 8th anniversary of the memorial lighting prayer service for people who have died from HIV/AIDS held at Inn Yar Lake Hotel last week. Speaking at the memorial service, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged people not to discriminate against people with HIV. Speaking at the ceremony, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said. “People…

Karen State government officials, representatives from Burma based civil society organizations and border based community based organizations met for two days in Hpa-an on 21-22 May and reached an agreement to work together to help Karen communities that have been affected by six decades of conflict. The meeting agreed to five points to enable building a peaceful and a developed…

The Burma Army has issued an ultimatum to Karen ethnic armed groups to remove their flags by midday Wednesday or suffer the consequences. The Commander of Burma Army Light Infantry Division, Brigadier General Htin Maw Tun, has ordered armed groups in the Myawaddy district to take down their organizations’ flags that are flying at vacant lands owned by the organization…

International health organisations estimate southeastern Burma’s health infrastructure as one of the regions worst with as many as 400,000 people displaced there. Karen villagers deprived of health care for decades are hoping that following a series of meetings between officials from the Karen Department of Health and Welfare and the government’s Health Directorate for Karen State, plans to deliver the…

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should make improving human rights in Burma a key priority during his visit to the country , the New York based Human Rights Watch said in a statement released to coincide with Mr Abe’s visit. Mr Abe’s three-day visit to Burma, started on May 24th and will be the first by a Japanese leader in…

Following three days of discussion representatives from organizations working on refugee issues along the Thai-Burma border, refugee representatives, civil society groups, political leaders agreed that the current situation in Burma is not safe for refugees to return. Over 40 representatives including the United Nation High Commission on Refugee, Refugee Camps Committees, The Border Consortium, Karen National Union, Thai official from…

A Burmese migrant labour activist organization had been awarded the International Labour Rights Award for its contribution to the labour rights movement and exposing work-related rights violations. The International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF) jointly honoured the Burmese Migrant Workers Network (MWRN), based in Bangkok, and Thailand’s State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC) for their “groundbreaking” efforts. In a statement released…

Saw Albert, the field director of the Karen Human Rights Group, in an exclusive interview with Karen News, said that since Burma’s 2010 election, changes in the government’s administration has allowed a lot of business and development projects to come into the country that are stealing land from ethnic villagers’. “Many people think that Burma has opened up and the…