Karen News

Media reports estimate that the Indonesian navy and fishing boats rescued as many as 1,000 asylum seekers off its coast near Aceh, on Friday 15th May. An Indonesian military spokesperson, Major General Fuad Basya, said in a interview with the ABC, Australian’s national broadcaster, that the 200 asylum seekers rescued by the Indonesian’s navy were spotted earlier that morning by…

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees released a media statement on Thursday 13 May, voicing its concerns about the alleged treatment of Rohinhyan refugees by both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments this week. The UNHCR said it was “extremely alarmed at reports suggesting that Indonesia and Malaysia may have pushed back boats carrying vulnerable people from Myanmar and Bangladesh.”…

The Free Burma Rangers, have released a report and shocking photographic evidence of a killing of a farmer that the frontline humanitarian organization, alleges the Burma Army committed on Saturday May 9. The FBR confirm that the killing of a “civilian farmer, Min Htet from Mung Hkawng IDP Camp, on Saturday May 9 by Burma Army troops. The FBR report…

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia’s policy of pushing boats of asylum seekers from Burma is‘cold-hearted,’ Human Rights Watch said in a statement released to the media. The International Organization for Migration estimates that as many as 8,000 Rohingya asylum seekers and Bangladeshi migrants are in desperate need of aid and are believed to be stranded in the Andaman Ocean and Malacca…

The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK released a media statement on Wednesday 13 May, requestin,g “ASEAN member states to launch an urgent rescue operation for thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis stranded in boats off the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.” The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK called on ASEAN to “address the root causes of the crisis by pressuring the…

Fortify Rights, a human rights organization that has been documenting the persecution of Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya said in a media statement released on Wednesday 13 May that, “Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should immediately coordinate search and rescue operations for Rohingya asylum seekers and possible survivors of trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are stranded at sea.” Fortify Rights urged the…

The winner of 2014 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award, is Karen activist Naw Hsa Moo. With a certificate of recognition, the award comes with a $2000 grant, as a means to practically support the community work by Naw Hsa Moo. Naw Hsa Moo was awarded the prize for recognition of her services to the Karen community. Naw Hsa Moo…

This year’s Friend’s Without Borders Foundation art and cultural festival held at Chiang Mai University Art Centre commemorates the work of Karen human rights activist, Pawlachee Rakchongcharoen, also known as Billy. The Festival runs from 8 to 12 of May. The 2015 festival sub-title, Rak Chongcharoen (Salute to Love), honors the human rights and environmentalism work of Billy. Billy was…

The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) released a report today, 11 May that documents the results of interviews held with Kokang villagers taking refuge in neighboring China. The Shan Human Rights Foundation report that the refugees “remain fearful of return, due to killing, beheading and disappearance of villagers caught returning home.” The Shan Human Rights Foundation said that there are…

Villagers from Kunhing on the upper Salween River are strongly opposed to the Mong Ton Dam project that they say will destroy their way of life. The villagers released a statement on the 30th April listing their opposition to the damming of the Salween. “Our  ‘thousand island’ Kunhing township,  is one  of  the 16 townships  that will  be  flooded by the…