ethnic

The Kachin conflict, now in its third year, has left tens-of-thousand of displaced civilians without adequate access to health care. A community-based-organisation working with the displaced civilians warned in an interview with Karen News that the health situation is worsening. The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand are concerned that the situation for internally displaced civilians has reached a “crisis” point. “We…

In an interview with Karen News, Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win, deputy leader of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), said that an agreement had been reached with the Burma government to establish a federal union. He added that the agreement would guarantee the equality of nationality and rights to self-determination through future political dialogue. “We have reached the agreement…

A coalition of Shan community-based-organizations has urged the United States to pressure Burma government to stop its military offensives in Shan State. In a formal letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the coalition of Shan CBO’s said that new Burma Army offensives were causing hundreds of villagers to flee their homes in terror. “We are now gravely…

About 90 representatives from 16 ethnic armed organizations reached a general agreement to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement if the government accepts a federal union, equality and ethnic rights for self-determination. The agreement was reached during the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) members’ summit held from July 25 to 29 at the Kachin town of Laiza, headquarters of a NCCT’s…

The Karen National Union (KNU) has chosen five leaders to represent it at the upcoming Ethnic Armed Organization Conference in the Kachin Town of Laiza on July 24. The conference is being held to discuss the proposed nationwide ceasefire agreement and the KNU delegation, will be led by its Chairperson, General Mutu Sae Poe. The Ethnic Armed Organization Conference will…

The Shan Human Rights Foundation, a community based human rights organisation, claims that since June 11th the Burma Army has been attacking civilians and is contravening its ceasefire agreement with the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N). The SHRF alleged that the Burma Army had deployed nearly 2,000 soldiers in attacks against the SSA-N in Kehsi and Murng Hsu townships, Shan State…

Duwa Jee, a Kachin freelance writer, outlines in his commentary why the current peace process has to take into account the past 60 years of civil war that ravaged the ethnic people of Burma. The ethnic nationalities of Burma/Myanmar is of the view that the ethnic armed resistance forces are desirous of ending the more than 60-year long civil war…

In a media statement released on April 23, the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (Union Of Burma), condemned the government for the use of systematic military force against ethnic armies. The UNFC said in its statement that the Burma Army has run “a massive military offensives, since early April in the Kachin State and Northern Shan State, against…

Kayah civil society organizations plan to run a landmine education awareness campaign in Kayah (Karenni) State using grants awarded by the US Embassy in Rangoon. A total of six Kayah civil society organizations plan to carry out the mine risk education according Khu K’law Reh, joint coordinator of the Kayah Phu Christian Social Welfare Department. Speaking to Karen News, Khu…

The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) selected its nine-member delegation team to draft a nationwide ceasefire agreement together with a government team. The NCCT, a technical team working on the nationwide ceasefire agreement on behalf of the ethnic armed resistance organizations previously agreed in its last meeting with the government’s Union Peacemaking Work Committee in Rangoon, to form a joint…