Karen villager

In downtown Mawlamyine Capital of Mon State, a crowd of 200 gathered on March 14 to stage a protest against hydropower projects in conflict zones. Marking the International Day of Action for Rivers, the demonstrators called for the government to reassess building large-scale dams until the country’s armed conflict is resolved and the political system reformed. Similar rallies were staged…

Local villagers living near the Taungalay Mountain quarry plants to stop the quarry as they claimed it has harmed their villages and environment. The Taungalay quarry plant is located between Upper Kawtyin village tract and Naung Kyan village tract in Hpa-an Township. Saw Zar Li, a villager from Taungone village near the quarry plant said most villagers do not want…

Plans to build dams on the Salween River by the Burma government, China and Thailand threatens millions of villagers and animals that depend on the free flowing river for their living, food sources and as a vital transport link. The Salween River is one of Asia’s great rivers that brings life to the people who live along its banks. The…

The Karen National Union increased its efforts in its anti-narcotic crackdown saw more than 200 drug dealers and users arrested in the three months from June to August, 2016. Padoh Saw Maung Shwe, chairman of Win Yay (Woraw) Township, Dooplaya District said that the KNU is serious about taking action against the people involved in the drug trade. “Over 200…

Despite the recent change of government, displaced Karen people hold little hope for justice while Myanmar’s military maintains its presence in ethnic lands. Monsoon rains drench the cluster of small bamboo huts clinging to the sides of the Salween River bank that separates Thailand from Myanmar. The 475 leaf-roofed huts are home to 3,356 Karen people that make up the…

In an effort to resettle and reintegrate internally displaced communities, the Karen National Union’s local officials are using funding from Japan’s Nippon Foundation to build low-cost housing for displaced people forced from their homes during armed conflict. With funding from the Nippon Foundation, a Japanese non-government organisation, 300 low-cost houses are being built in Kyain Seikgyi and Payar Thonzu Townships…

Villagers in Karen State are upset tunnels dug on their land for international and local telecommunication companies was done without permission. Naung Ka Myaing villagers in Hpa-an township, Karen State are now demanding and official clarification and paperwork about the cable tunnel digging project that was carried out on their farmlands and backyards The tunnel excavation was carried out by…

In an effort to create more understanding on the proposed hydro-power dam on Baw Ka Hta River in Kyaukyi Township, the Karen National Union held a consultation meeting with community organizations on May 6 in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. The Baw Ka Hta hydro-power dam project, located in the KNU’s Nyaunglebin (Kler Lwee Htu) district in Easter…

Saw Beebe, lies flat on his stomach on the family’s wooden floor, and for the last two years that is how he has spent most of his time looking at his now restricted world. He misses going outside and all the childhood activities that his illness now denies him. Saw Beebe, now 9, like most children enjoyed going to school…

Funding for thousands of displaced Karen people living at Ei Tu Hta IDP camp face a daunting future as funding will stop in September 2017. Karen News is led to understand that the funding for basic food assistance for the displaced Karen people living at the IDP camp will end. Ei Tu Hta camp, located on the bank of the…