Karen

The recent development within the KNU’s leadership has sent viral shock wave across the Karen communities both inside and abroad. The revelation that KNLA’s top leader, some brigade commanders, district officials and KNU Central committees journeyed to Pan-An to open a liaison office without KNU’s approval and the subsequent dismissal of three senior members, including the commander-in-chief, has made Karen…

The European Karen Network (EKN) urged the Burmese government and international aid donors not to seek to divide the Karen under the guise of ‘peace-talk’ initiatives. An EKN released a statement paper following the Karen National Union’s dismissal of three of its leaders for failing to adhere to its principles. The three leaders dismissed for organizational misconduct are – Karen…

The release of 19 Karen political prisoners has raised the hopes that the country’s remaining 800 prisoners of conscience will soon be freed. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoner (Burma) this weeksaid that on Monday, the Burma government released 514 prisoners under the criminal law procedure article 401 (1) and among those released, were 19 Karen political prisoners. The 19…

Gunshots disrupted the elections of the political wing of the armed militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, when a former village head disagreed with the result. As a result of the election fiasco, General Saw Ler Pwe (also known as Bo Na Kham Mwe), the patron of the DKBA’s political wing, the KloHtooBaw Karen Organisation, released an official statement to…

Thai police have decided that the family of a Karen refugee killed in a road accident will be paid 235,000 baht compensation by the truck driver responsible for the woman’s death last week. Mae La refugee camp officials said Thai police have now settled the case and the truck owner involved in the incident that killed the woman will pay…

Karen people who have resettled in Australia are determined that their children do not forget their heritage or their traditions. This year a Karen community living in Melbourne, Victoria invited other ethnic groups from Burma and local Aboriginal leaders to attend the annual wrist-tying ceremony. Nan Let Let Win an organizer of this year’s wrist-tying celebrations said. “The practice and…

The President of the Karen National Union (KNU) Saw Tamla Baw, marked the 62nd anniversary of Martyrs’ Day with a speech to fellow KNU leaders, members and the wider ethnic Karen community, today Sunday, August 12th. In the speech Saw Tamla Baw commemorated the lives of Karen people who had died in the struggle for self-determination and equality, against Burma’s…

August 12th will be the 62nd Karen Martyrs Day. It marks the 62nd anniversary of the killing of Saw Ba U Gyi and his colleagues. Every year since then Karen people remember those brave heroes, and all the others who have given their lives for our struggle. For Karen people this is not just a struggle for human rights and…

Burma’s Ministry of Immigration and Population (MOIP) in Hpa-An, Karen State along with the Norwegian Refugee council (NRC), has jointly launched a new program aiming to speed-up the distribution of Citizen Scrutiny Cards (CSC’s) to populations in remote areas of Burma. “The joint collaboration features a free of charge, one-stop service through mobile teams that visit remote villages, bringing with…

Leaders from the Karen and Mon ethnic armed groups have called for Burma’s law makers to put in place legislation to protect ethnic minority’s rights. This follows on the back of the Kutkai constituency representative, U Ti Khun Myat’s, proposal in the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) to safeguard ethnic rights through the law. The Karen National Union’s vice chairman, Saw…