Karen News

Two senior members of the Karen State’s National League for Democracy resigned from the party to join the newly formed Karen Party. According to a Karen state NLD official, Saw Poe Wah, vice chairman of NLD Karen State, and Saw K’lue Htaw, administrative committee member from Hpa-an district resigned and will contest as representatives of the Karen National Party (KNP)…

For the second year running the Burma’s government allowed Karen people to commemorate their Martyrs’ Day in Rangoon. The 65th Karen Martyrs’ Day was held at the Judson Hall on August 12, 2015. This year’s event organized by Karen youth groups packed out the Judson Hall including representatives of the Karen National Union. Organisers said many people did not attend…

In August 2011, at Mae Sot General Hospital, a mother found herself facing a choice no parent should have to make. She had given birth three days earlier and walked seven hours from her home in eastern Burma to seek medical treatment for her sick newborn daughter, Naut Naut, leaving her husband and other infant daughter at home. She went…

The Karen National Union has decided to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, despite the other members of the ethnic armed group’s alliance, having not yet made their positions known. The KNU decision was reached at its Central Committee Emergency meeting held on August 14 and 15 at Lay Wah, Pa-an District, Karen State. Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win, general secretary…

The Burma Army is continuing with concerted military offensives in ethnic areas says a report by the frontline humanitarian organisation, Free Burma Rangers. Burma Army soldiers attacked Mali Yang in Northern Shan State and villagers have reported human rights abuses including torture, killings, force labour and sacking of villages. FBR’s frontline teams have documented 59 clashes in July, including two…

The case of a Burma Army soldier raping and murdering a 28-year-old woman in Shan State throws government promises of an end to sexual violence in doubt, a human rights organisation has claimed. The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) said the murder happened in Ho Pong Township in the State’s south on June 6. The soldier subsequently charged with the…

The arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of land rights activists across Burma forms a new wave of prisoners of conscience, Human Rights Watch has said in a report damning of the government. The human rights organisation pointed to the arrest of a prominent land rights campaigner in Karen State as an example of a wider pattern of government persecution of its…

In the speech at the commemoration of the 65th Karen Martyrs’ Day, the head of the Karen National Liberation Army, General Johnny called for all Karen people in the country, on the border and overseas to unite and get involved in the current political struggle. General Johnny said that during the political struggle, inputs from all Karen people are important.…

The floods in Burma may have stabilized for the moment, but it is forecast that heavy rainfalls will continue to fall across the country during the later stages of August. “The Czech INGO, People in Need’s website have estimated that as many as 1,100,000 people are affected in almost all regions of the country.” People in Need have donated about…

The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry announced that his government would give “US$600,000 for immediate response through USAID’s Office of Foreign Assistance (OFDA)” for Burmese people affected heavy rains and flooding that has devastated most of the country. A media statement released on August 7 by the U.S.Embassy Rangoon, said that the “USAID is working to address the…