KNU

The US ambassador to Myanmar met with the Karen National Union on July 21 to get input about supporting local health and education projects in a bid to spur peace through development, according to a KNU official present at the gathering. The meeting at the KNU’s liaison office in the Kayin (Karen) State capital lasted over an hour. “The ambassador…

The Karen National Union lauded female participation in a recent, local political training after the course attained a 30 percent quota. The second basic politics training, a five-day event last week, involved residents from villages in KNU-controlled Kawkareik township. Among the 100 trainees, 30 were women. “I’m very glad to see many women at the training. I hope women will…

On Karen armed forced day last week, one ethnic armed group leader sounded a cautionary note, instructing soldiers to recall that a ceasefire is not the same as peace, while urging them to remain “alert”. “The ceasefire is a political game,” said Lieutenant General Saw Baw Kyaw Heh, speaking at an event commemorating the 68th Karen Armed Forces (Kawthoolei Army)…

Naw Zipporeah Sein, has spent the last four years negotiating with the Burma government as a key member and Vice-chairperson of the Karen National Union. Ms Sein recently took the time to analyze the Union Peace Conference that was held from 24 to 29 May, 2017 in the country’s capital, Nawpyitaw. The result of the conference was the Union Accord…

The Karen National Union (KNU) will celebrate its police force, inaugurating the first annual ‘Police Day’ on September 9, according to an official from the KNU’s Interior and Religious Affairs Department. “The KNPF has been active for 20 years, but the public does not know them. They are only slowly gaining public recognition,” said P’doh Saw Ah Toe, head of…

Nearly 1,000 Mon State residents signed a petition asking the Karen National Union to cancel a quarry and a cement factory slated for construction in an environmentally sensitive mountain pass. The residents of Thaton township said the Min Lwin Mountain is sacred to the locals, and the planned projects could led to deforestation, extinction of wildlife, land disputes and pollution.…

The Karen National Union’s Mutraw District office released a statement supporting the demands of the displaced villagers living on the banks of the Salween River. The KNU statement said that its standing committee supported the displaced villagers “we view their demands as reasonable and fully support them, as these are necessary conditions for genuine and sustainable peace. Major Saw Kler…

A member of the Karen State government has objected to a Karen National Union official totting guns in an area of “dual administration”. The KNU signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in 2015, which as they were recently reminded, restricts them from carrying guns in areas not under their control. The Kayin State Minister of Security and Border Affairs sent…

A Canadian charity and the Karen National Union launched Karen State’s first modern teaching hospital this weekend. The 24-bed, Taw Naw Teaching Hospital will train local healthcare practitioners and help boost local public health services, according to Global Neighbors Canada Inc. Padoh Saw Eh K’lu Shwe Oo, head of Karen State’s Department of Health and Welfare, said the Taw Naw…

On April 7, the highly anticipated 16th KNU Congress came to an end with the election of a new leadership to drive the organization for the next four years. Unlike many past congresses, the 16th KNU Congress attracted enormous interest from Burma watchers and from the Karen community around the world because many believed that the outcome would have a…