human rights

Burmese migrant workers from a garment factory in the Thai border town of Mae Sot were threatened and then sacked by their employer earlier this week over a salary dispute. The 18 migrant workers were working at the ‘Two Dragons’ [as known among Burmese migrant worker] garment factory in Mae Sot, Tak Province and were sacked on March 10 by…

The Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) released a statement on Thursday urging the international community to help stop the Burmese government’s consistent human rights violations even as the conflict has stabilized. Moon Nay Li, a spokesperson for KWAT spoke to Karen News about the fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Moon Nay Li said…

Community workers flew from Rangoon on Saturday 19 January, to Colombo, Sri Lanka to meet with and learn from the experiences of civil society organisations who had experienced years of conflict. Ma Thiri Myat Htin, the organiser and the Program Manager of the Intensive Asia Program, spoke to Karen News. Ma Thiri Myat Htin said that the people in the…

Communities attending public meetings across Shan State voiced their despair at ongoing abuses committed by the Burma Army despite the fact that a peace process has been underway for over a year. Various community groups, including the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) have highlighted the concerns of many Shan communities in the midst of instability in Shan State. SWAN members…

A report Burma released by ethnic students and youth groups yesterday documents the lack of inclusion and consultation with local communities by Burma’s government and the developers of the country’s mega projects. The report “Excluded: Burma’s Ethnic Nationalities on the Margins of Democracy and Development launched by the Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB) and the Nationalities Youth Forum (NY-Forum) claim…

Despite a ceasefire agreement between Burma’s military backed government and the Karen National Union (KNU) in January of this year, community based human rights organisation, Karen Human Rights Group continues to document attacks on civilians. On June 25th, two men from Pa’an Township were accosted and then tortured by members of the Burma Army’s Border Guard Battalion #1014. The interrogation…

A Democratic Karen Buddhist Army platoon commander shot and wounded a villager from Htee Te Leh village in Kawkariek Township. The shot villager, Saw Du Du, was taken to across the Thai Burma border to a hospital in Umphang District. The incident happened last on Saturday, September 22, at 7am after an altercation between the DKBA commander and the villager.…

A humanitarian organisation that delivers aid to displaced communities in rural Burma reports that despite peace-talks between the Karen National Union and the Burma government armed clashes, forced labour and other abuses are still ongoing in Karen State. The organisation, the Free Burma Rangers has documented abuses by the government’s army and its militia allies in five districts in Karen…

Burma’s Ministry of Immigration, working together with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has issued 350 people living in the remote rural area of Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State with national identity cards. The joint country project to distribute identity cards is known as the Moe Pwint program and is located in a monastery in Kwan Ta (Ta Waw Ta) village. The…

Villagers in the Kawkareik Township area claim the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and its political wing the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization is taxing boat travelers using the Haung Tha Raw River. A resident (who did not want to be named for security concerns) told Karen News. “At the KKO-DKBA checkpoints they are charging money – 10,000kyat (about US $10) a round…