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Fighting between Burma Army and Karen soldiers in northern Karen State forced hundreds of villagers from their home into jungle hideouts while the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is touring Karen State. Ceasefire violations by Burma Army had caused tensions with Karen National Liberation Army soldiers in its 5th Brigade area in Mutraw [Papun] district in the northern Karen…

The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) put out a statement calling the people of Burma and international communities in the country to boycott products of companies linked to Burma’s military. The KWO statement issued on February 18, 2020 urged for a ban on products made by military companies and called on foreign embassies and donors in Burma to make sure their…

The International Court of Justice began its hearing on December 10 in The Hague, Netherlands on its genocide lawsuit filed by Gambia against Burma government. Prior to the court hearing, several ethnic Karen, Karenni and Shan civil society groups put out a joint statement supporting Gambia’s lawsuit. On December 2, 2019 the Worldwide Karen Community issued a statement welcoming the…

The Karen National Union is to meet with Burma Army officers to discuss tensions over road building, troop expansion in Karen State. The meeting will be held in Naypyidaw, today, December 10 2019, according to KNU statement released yesterday. The meeting is mainly to discuss about military issues including tensions in some areas of the KNU controlled territories due to…

50 Community groups from Burma country and overseas signed a petition rejecting the World Bank’s proposed “Peaceful and Prosperous Communities Project” (PPCP), planned for conflict-affected areas in Eastern Burma. In a statement issued by the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN) on 25 November 2019, the groups claimed the World Bank’s project would fuel conflict in the region. Naw Wah Ku…

Overseas based Burma ethnic alliance and coalition groups issued statements welcoming Gambia’s lawsuit to the International Court of Justice for genocide against the Rohingya by the Burmese government. Mahn Kyaw Swe, president of the Canadian Burma Ethnic Nationalities Organization (CBENO) said the aim of their statement is to support the international community’s actions to bring the Burmese military to justice,…

Communities in rural Karen State don’t refer to climate change by name, but they have experienced its negative impacts and are responding. At the foot of Maw Law Ei Mountain, the highest peak in eastern Myanmar’s Karen State, increasing temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, such as flash-flooding, have become common. Members of the indigenous groups that make up the…

The Karen National Union said the effectiveness and the usefulness of foreign funding has been nullified by need for ethnic armed organizations to seek permission from the government. The National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), formed by the President’s Office to set policies and guidelines for reconciliation and peace process taking place, sent an official letter to 10 ethnic armed…

Karen women’s groups called for more women to be involved in Burma’s federal political and Karen National Union elections. The call was made in a statement issued after the 4th Grassroots Karen Women Seminar held during the last week of October, 2019. The statement called for the abolishment of the 2018 Vacant Fellow and Virgin land law and for widespread…

Thoo Mwe Khee School, a popular migrant school on the Thai-Burma border, is having difficulties coping with almost 1,000 student’s packed classrooms and an overcrowded boarding house. Thoo Mwe Khee School, in Phop Phra district in Tak province is officially known as Thoo Mwe Khee migrant learning center, students refer to it as TMKS. The school started with four teachers…