Kachin

As peace negotiations continue, Kachin people continue to suffer human rights abuses including rape and arbitrary killings at the hands of the Burma Army, according to community-based organisations. The conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and Burma’s Army since June 2011 has left over 350 villages in trouble, some abandoned completely, and over 100,000 civilians displaced. The Kachin Women’s Association…

The Karen National Union’s outspoken General Baw Kyaw stresses that he wants ethnic people to work together for the equality of all the people of Burma. General Baw Kyaw Heh, the Karen National Liberation Army’s vice-chief-of-staff said he overwhelmingly supported the Ethnic Nationalities Summit to be held in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization. “I am hopeful that…

As talks between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Burma’s military continue, displaced Kachin say that it is not yet safe to return home. Thousands of villagers in Kachin State and northern Shan State have been displaced from their homes for nearly two years due to the conflict. This is in spite of ongoing talks between the Burma Army and…

The Australia Karen Organization commemorated World Refugee Day by calling for the international community to give more support to Karen people living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Under its banner, ‘Restoring Hope’, the Australia Karen Organization (AKO) and as many as 250 people gathered in Villawood, Sydney on June 22. The celebration was attended by over 250 participants…

Thousands of displaced civilians fleeing conflict between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Kachin State, now face a life of extreme hardship with little to no access to food, medicine, clothing and in appalling living conditions. Free Burma Rangers, a frontline humanitarian organization providing medical assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Burma, report that as…

A new report by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) raises concerns over how the Burma government’s war against the Kachin has greatly increased the risk of human trafficking along the China-Burma border, with young girls or women targeted. The report, titled ‘Pushed to the Brink’, states that the displacement of over 100,000 people over the past two years, lack…

More than 100 villagers and Kachin based civil society groups held a prayer service to stop the Myit Sone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River and for displaced villagers to return home in Myitkyina, Kachin State last week. Sha Khaung Tan Gon, a representative of the Kachin civil society groups and who participated in the prayer service held on International…

A report by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) documents civilian casualties from Burma Army attacks in Kachin areas, and urges the international community to ramp up pressure on Burma’s government to stop the attacks. The report states that civilians are getting killed as Burma’s military launches offensives against Kachin Independence Army (KIA) forces. The report, “State terror in the…

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…

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) met with representatives of the Burma government’s peace committee on the China Burma border early this week. The government’s Union Peace Making Committee held preliminary ‘peace talks’ with the KIO in Ruili, Yunnan Province, China on Monday. The Karen National Union’s chairman General Saw Mutu Say Poe and General-Secretary Pado Saw Kwe Htoo Win were…