Burma

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…

The General Secretary of the Karen National Union, P’Doh Saw Kwe Htoo Win, called for Karen unity at a ceremony marking the 65th Karen Revolution Day, at Hpa-an district, 7th Brigade headquarters. “We need to rebuild the unity of the Karen people. The Burma’s [Army’s] Border Guard Force (BGF) and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) were once a part…

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…

A report by a human rights groups claims Chin Christians are facing state discrimination and being denied their religious freedom. Ethnic Chin Christians in Burma’s impoverished Chin State continue to face religious discrimination from Buddhist government authorities, according to a report released by a prominent Chin human rights organization. Chin Human Rights Organization country coordinator Salai Bawi Pi said that…

The Karen community’s in the Yangon and Irrawaddy divisions are to form a new political party, known as the Karen National Party (KNP). Initial plans to establish the party were put in place in 2013. Karen representatives met this week at Ta-Kwun-Dine village, Kyauk-Kone Township in the Irrawaddy division. The meeting was to form an executive committee of 14 members…

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…

In a show of unity and strength representatives from 17 armed resistance groups met in Karen State to discuss a nationwide ceasefire agreement for Burma. The ethnic armed groups released a statement claiming the conference that ran over five days from 20 to 25 January and held at Law Khee Lar, Karen State was a success. The ethnic armed group…

The National League for Democracy has hit the campaign early in an attempt to overturn Burma’s contentious National Constitution that effectively bars its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi from the country’s presidency. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National Leaugue of Democracy (NLD) party, called for the support of ethnic groups in her push for constitutional reform, in…

An international human rights organization urged the Burma government to immediately stop attacks and abuses against Rohingya Muslims in the country’s Rakhine State. In an interview with Karen News, Matthew Smith, the executive director of the international human rights group Fortify Rights stressed that Burma’s government should immediately stop its persecution of the country’s Muslim community. “The local authorities are…

Dr Timothy Laklem calls for Karen unity and self-determination and for all ethnic people to be treated equally within a democratic and federal union of Burma. It is not my intention in this ‘opinion piece’ to blame, but rather to give a strong reminder to those negotiating for peace, that whatever we do now can turn the tide of history…