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A number of international human rights groups and media watchdog organisations condemned the Burma government for jailing five journalists for allegedly exposing states secrets. In a strongly worded media release the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) “condemns the arrest and continuing detainment of five Burmese journalists following the publication of a story alleging a Burmese military facility was producing chemical…

Burma’s National ID Cards grant relative freedom of travel, allow voting in national elections, access to official schools. Denied for decades basic government services, villagers in Karen State view Burma’s National ID Card scheme with a mix of confusion, indifference, and even fear. Some of the Karen interviewed for this story, referred to the government issued cards as ‘Burma ID…

An aid worker has confirmed to Karen News that a fire broke out at Umpiem Mai Refugee Camp, Tak Province, today, burning 11 houses. A further 28 houses had their roofing removed to stop the fire from spreading. The aid worker said no one was injured. “The fire happened to occur when there was a camp meeting with NGO’s, The…

Naw K’nyaw Paw Nimrod, General Secretary of the Karen Women Organization (KWO) has been selected as the winner of the 2013 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award, on 31st January 2014, Karen Revolution Day. The award ceremony was held on the evening of the Karen 65th Revolutionary Day at Day-Pu-Noh village in the Karen National Union’s 5th Brigade in Karen…

General Mutu Say Poe, chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU) in a speech addressed to all Karen people to mark the 65th Karen Revolution Day, called for a peaceful solution to the civil war that it has fought for the last six decades. Thousands of Karen people made their way from Thailand, from overseas and within Burma to sites…

More than 100 women and girls have been raped by Burma’s military since 2010, according to a report released by the Women’s League of Burma. The Thailand-based Women’s Leaugue of Burma (WLB) said in a report released today that 47 of the cases documented were gang rapes and 28 of the women were either killed or later died of their…

Karen representatives from across Burma held a two-day forum from January 9 to 10, in Hpa-An, Karen State, with the objective of “forming a united position of all the Karen nationals of Burma, acquiring true Karen population figures and using the correct names of Karen sub-groups for the 2014 Population Census Enumeration.” Karen State is officially called ‘Kayin State’ by…

The sound of children singing resounds from Klay Poe Klo School in Karen State, Burma. Naw Htoo La Paw smiles as the song finishes, her youngest child held in one arm. Kids bustle out of the classroom – a single, open room with wooden benches – heading for lunch. Htoo La Paw is one of four teachers at Klay Poe…

Naw K‘nyaw Paw, the secretary of the Karen Womens Organisation’s told Karen News that reduced funding by the international community for refugees on the Thai Burma border is causing hardship. “Reduction of funding to the nine refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border has resulted in a reduction of services in education and health care and most importantly in their food.”…

The leader of the Karen militia that attacked the Burma Army in Myawaddy in late 2010 and in the resulting firefight forcing thousands of refugees into Thailand has been admitted to a Rangoon hospital for treatment of what is feared maybe cancer. Major General Saw Lah Pwe, also known as Na Kham Mway, is the leader of the Klo Htoo…