Karen News

An EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) working committee has been established in Karen State. This came after a FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement meeting with various civil society organizations (CSOs) in the state’s capital Hpa-an on June 17 and 18. CSO representative from the interim working committee Ko Zaw Thura said that “the aim is to now [raise…

The matriculation exam pass rate at Burma migrant schools in Mae Sot, Thailand remains very low, according to the Burmese Migrant Workers’ Education Committee (BMWEC). Only 16 out of 101 students from Hsa Thoo Lei and Thway Thit schools passed their Myanmar matriculation exam in the 2016-2017 academic year. Last year, a similarly low 17 out of 101 students passed.…

The international media watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded that authorities in Burma should “immediately drop all criminal proceedings against three journalists charged with defamation and should strike all criminal defamation laws from the books” In a statement released on June 19 the CPJ’s, senior Southeast Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, said that “Authorities in Myanmar should throw out…

Villagers along the Kawkareik – Aindu road which is now being upgraded to Asia Highway funded by the Asia Development Bank said that they want transparency and more understandable information on the project. The Village Development Committee formed with representatives from the 24 villages affected by the project made the statement during a meeting on 15 June, 2017. The meeting…

Anyone working for social justice in Burma should be disappointed by the mainstream media’s coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Canada last week. Given ongoing military abuses throughout Burma’s ethnic regions, it was frustrating to see headlines focusing again and again that Canada must press Aung San Suu Kyi regarding her government’s brutal treatment of Rohingya Muslim communities…

As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s State Counsellor, concluded her Canadian tour in Toronto, members of the Karen community claimed she failed to discuss the countries armed conflict, displacement, refugees or the ongoing militarization of the country. Members of the local Burmese community said that official event held at the Toronto City Hall and attended by the Mayor of…

The National Karen School has re-opened under a new name, the Karen Affairs School by the Karen Literature and Cultural Committee. The school is located in Yetakalay village in Rangoon Region. With aim of reviving Karen national schools, the Taigyi Township Karen Literature and Cultural Committee reopened the school with support from local villagers. Naw Hser Hser Htoo, the director…

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 Democratic Karen Benevolent Army announced any of its soldier or any member of the public in its territory who is caught involved in drug trafficking, arms selling, human trafficking or peddling counterfeit money will face serious consequences. The warning from DKBA’s Klo Htoo Baw headquarters was issued this month to all battalions and units, an officer said. “We had…

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…