U Phyinyarthami (also known as Taungalay Sayadaw), the Abbot of Taungalay Temple in Hpa-an Township in Karen State, talked to Karen News about the Karen National Union’s (KNU’s) work and the current problems within the political organisation. Here are Abbot Taungalay Sa... Read more ►

Naw Ohn Hla is a former political prisoner and a former member of the National League for Democracy, the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was sentenced in 2009 to two years in Taungoo Prison and was released in 2011. Naw Ohn Hla spoke to Karen News. Q: There is c... Read more ►

The recent development within the KNU’s leadership has sent viral shock wave across the Karen communities both inside and abroad. The revelation that KNLA’s top leader, some brigade commanders, district officials and KNU Central committees journeyed to Pan-An to open a l... Read more ►

August 12th will be the 62nd Karen Martyrs Day. It marks the 62nd anniversary of the killing of Saw Ba U Gyi and his colleagues. Every year since then Karen people remember those brave heroes, and all the others who have given their lives for our struggle. For Karen people t... Read more ►

In the past few months, various media reports have quoted some concerns and opinions of KESAN regarding the ongoing peace process in Burma. This statement clarifies and expands upon these issues. Our perspective on the peace process and peace funds Sustainable peace is the... Read more ►

The participation of the Karen people in the decision-making process at the national level is key in preventing the Karen from being subjected to on-going forms of oppression and exploitation by the military dominated Burma government. The Karen National Union (KNU) and the ... Read more ►

The recent first-round of ‘peace talks’ between the Karen National Union and the Burma government in Pa-an on 12th January raised a lot of expectations within the international community, the Burmese community and among Karen people living inside Burma and those living o... Read more ►

Last week’s accord with the government brought the feeling that times are really changing in Burma, but bitter experiences of the past are prompting questions of why the KNU left the table without firm guarantees. It was a heart-pounding moment for many Karen around th... Read more ►

I can’t remember how many times the Karen National Union and other ethnic political organisations have been dismissed as losing, or being on the verge of defeat. In February 1950 General Ne Win boasted to international media that victory over the Karen ‘insurgents’ wou... Read more ►

The ethnic people of Burma are having a hard time. Burma Army soldiers are targeting women in the Kachin and Shan State for rape. Villagers are used as forced labour for the Burma Army. Development projects mean forced relocation and slave labour. Half a million ethnic peopl... Read more ►