human rights

The killing of freelance journalist, Aung Kyaw Naing, (also known as Par Gyi), while held in custody by the Burma Army in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, has outraged human rights organizations and journalist groups. The Assistant Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) bluntly stated in a media statement released yesterday that Aung Kyaw Naing’s death “is a shocking reminder of how…

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), an independent community based human rights organisation, has called for all armed sides in Burma to hold members of their armed forces to account if they have perpetrated abuses, including any abusive actions taken in the latest fighting. The KHRG said that the DKBA and Burmese government forces involved in the recent fighting in…

An international human rights organisation has warned that a draft plan by the Burma government to tackle violence in Rakhine State would entrench discrimination and be counterproductive to peace. Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the government’s draft plan failed to recognise the term ‘Rohingya,’ instead referring to ‘Bengalis.’ HRW said that this was “an inaccurate and derogatory…

Mr. Iain Hall, the senior field coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot gave an exclusive interview to Karen News. In the exclusive interview, Mr Hall covers a wide range of issues affecting refugees including repatriation, international humanitarian guidelines, the Burmese government’s responsibilities to protect its citizens and the…

In an exclusive interview with Karen News, Ms Charm Tong, a founder of the Shan Women’s Action Network, expressed grave concerns over ongoing Burma Army offensives in Shan State in areas of supposed ceasefire, and criticised the international community for not applying more pressure on the government to stop its offensives. “There are three thousand Burma Army soldiers in Shan…

The New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a media statement urging the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to use his forthcoming visit to Burma to pressure the government to put the “country’s deteriorating rights situation” back on its reform agenda. HRW said in its statement released to the media on 7th August that it had serious concerns…

A Human rights organization has called for the release of a Rohingya activist and politician, Kyaw Hla Aung, 74, who has been detained by authorities for 13 months. Fortify Rights, based in South East Asia, urged Burma’s government to “immediately and unconditionally” release Kyaw Hla Aung and criticized the detention because the prosecution had “repeatedly failed to produce witnesses’ in…

In a decision criticized by human rights groups, eight ethnic Chin activists were convicted under Burma’s controversial Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act on Wednesday 23 July. The Chin Human Rights Ogranisation said in a statement that the activists were given the choice of going to prison or each paying a fine of 30,000 Kyat, having been convicted of contravening…

Burma’s much lauded reforms, including the release of opposition politician Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, are being undermined by a crackdown on newly gained press freedoms, civil war, anti-Muslim violence and corruption, a report by the New York based International Center for Transitional Justice has warned. “The spread of anti-Muslim violence to Mandalay and the recent harsh sentencing of some…

A United Nations working group warns that the detention of an ethnic Kachin activist is illegal. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an official ruling that the 21-year prison sentence of the ethnic Kachin activist, Brang Yung, is illegal and demanded his immediate release from Myitkina prison where he is incarcerated. Brang Yung was charged under Article…