Thein Sein Government

Naw Ohn Hla is a former political prisoner and a former member of the National League for Democracy, the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was sentenced in 2009 to two years in Taungoo Prison and was released in 2011. Naw Ohn Hla spoke to Karen News. Q: There is conflict among KNU leaders. Who does it…

A leading political prisoner advocate group has cast doubts over the sincerity behind the reasons for the release of some of the country’s prisoners earlier this week. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoner (Burma) who have advocate on behalf of Burma’s political prisoners for more than a decade said in a media statement that President U Thein Sein’s amnesty granted…

A peak ethnic group has urged its member organizations, currently holding ‘peace-talks’ with the government, to stop all communications if the Burma Army continues its offensive against the Kachin. The Ethnic Nationalities Council (Union of Burma), an umbrella ethnic group, yesterday, issued a statement following their Third Annual Meeting (from September 11 to 12), held at a undisclosed area on…

A military ceasefire Code of Conduct was the first and the main issue discussed during the third round of peace-talks held between the Karen National Union and the Burma government at the Zwekabin Hotel in Hpa-an Town, Karen State yesterday. Both the KNU and government presented their draft Code of Conduct to each other for an in-depth discussion of the…

The Karen National Union’s vice chairman, Saw David Tharc Kapaw, acknowledged that Burma’s recent cabinet reshuffle has cast President U Thein Sein as a reformer. The KNU leader told Karen News. “I see a positive change. These newly appointed people are not regarded as narrow minded and self-serving. I think President U Thein Sein is a reformer who really wants…

Positive political changes in Burma – including the release of 1,500 political prisoners – have unfolded rapidly since a flawed election saw ex-general Thein Sein come into power in 2011. But reform is “still at a tentative and early stage” according to a leading NGO of activist scholars, the Transnational Institute (TNI). The entry of the NLD into parliament, the…

The Karen National Union (KNU) is on schedule to open its fourth liaison office in the Burma’s border town Myawaddy on August 18. P’doh Saw Aung Maw Aye, chairman of the KNU’s Pa-an District has confirmed that on 18 August, the Pa-an District or Brigade-7 and Doo Pla Ya District will open a joint liaison office in Myawaddy town, eastern…

The Karen National Union will open a fourth liaison office on the 18th of August in the Burma border town of Myawaddy in Karen State to help with the cooperation between the Burma government and the KNU, especially in the Karen National Liberation Army’s 6th and 7th Brigade areas. An officer from the Karen National Liberation Army 7th Brigade spoke…

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) leadership has stated that they will not consider proposals to form political parties or accept Burma’s flawed 2008 constitution while the parliament is dominated by military figures. Mutual mistrust is rife between Burma’s government and ethnic groups, which have often been in armed conflict with one another. “For the method of negotiation to be…

The Burmese government and the Karen National Union (KNU) will meet on 27 August in Hpa-an to discuss a newly drafted ‘ceasefire code of conduct’ that has been prepared by the Karen National Union. Meeting today in the Burma border town of Myawaddy, both sides agreed to meet again to negotiate the detail of the ‘cease-fire code of conduct’. Naw…