Karen News

YANGON (Myanmar Now) – A newspaper published by the former ruling party of ex-generals has claimed that crime has sharply risen under the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and that her efforts to impose rule of law have failed. The Union Daily, a little-read publication owned by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), said in an…

In an exclusive interview with Karen News, P’Doh Naw Zipporah Sein, Vice-chairperson of the Karen National Union, discussed the issues and agreements reached at the ethnic armed organization plenary meeting held from July 26 to 30 in Mai Ja Yang, Kachin State. Q: Could you tell what issues were discussed during the five days of the Mai Ja Yang meeting?…

Three ethnic armed organizations not recognized by the previous military backed government as part of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement have said they are prepared to attend upcoming political dialogue if they are invited. The three armed groups – the Myanmar National Truth and Justice Party/ Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNTJP/MNDAA), the United League of Arakan Army/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) and…

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…

The NLD’s ongoing narcotics crackdown has caught many drug addicts, but health experts say they should be treated as patients, not punished. YANGON (Myanmar Now) – Several young men were standing near the entrance of Thingangyun Hospital in central Yangon on a recent July morning, waiting impatiently for a fellow drug addict to exit the facility. They had just received…

Karen students from village schools in Kungyangone Township in the Rangoon Region are to be taught their mother language, but outside official school classes. The schools that Pwo [Plone] Karen will be taught are; Taitkyi, Zuklug, Tawjyaung, Wagauttaw, Mankaleit, Kayan, Hseikyi, Kamarpar and Naung Ngu villages. The decision to teach the ethnic language was reached at the Teaching Karen Language…

The winner of the 2015 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award, is Sa Shine, a youth educator from the Hpa-an Youth Network. Sa Shine was presented with the award at the 66th commemoration ceremony of the Karen Martyrs’ Day held at the Karen National Liberation Army’s 7th brigade headquarter on August 12, 2016. Saw Say Say Phan, one of the…

A lance corporal and platoon commander from the Karen National Union’s Kawkareik police force was attacked and killed by a man wielding a sword. The killing of the police officer took place in Ang Pha Lay village in southern Kawkareik, around 2pm on August 8, 2016. The police officer, Saw Khin Shwe, 52 was returning from Ang Pha Gyi Station,…

The delay in the National Electrification Project (NEP) has caused villagers to doubt it will become a reality, but they are worried that the second installment they paid for is now lost. The National Electrification Project is a joint venture by the World Bank and the Department of Rural Development that was supposed to deliver electricity to villages by late…