Karen News

A Karen women’s group based inside Burma urged the Karen National Union (KNU) to rejoin the ethnic alliance, as its recent action to suspend its membership risks dividing support within the Karen political community and derailing unity in the ethnic nationalities. The Karen Women Union issued a statement last week that raised issues over the decision by the KNU to…

The Karen National Union formally announced their suspension of participation with the ethnic alliance – the United Nationalities for Federal Council. The move has massive ramifications for the ethnic alliance. The KNU claim that its move was made so it can review and consult within their organization on the differences and its disagreement over the alliance’s policies and structure. The…

Mr. Iain Hall, the senior field coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot gave an exclusive interview to Karen News. In the exclusive interview, Mr Hall covers a wide range of issues affecting refugees including repatriation, international humanitarian guidelines, the Burmese government’s responsibilities to protect its citizens and the…

The Karen National Union has confirmed the suspension of its membership with the ethnic alliance due to disagreement over the policies and structure of the alliance group. The KNU submitted its official letter to the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an ethnic alliance group that the KNU has been a core member. The letter was handed in on the third…

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) criticized the Burma government for failing to keep it’s promise to release all political prisoners, expressing concerns that the number of political prisoners in Burma, following a Presidential amnesty in 2012, is now on the increase. “President U thein Sein announced that he would release all political prisoners in Burma but in reality…

A group of 291 Shan civilians internally displaced by war in Shan State sent a letter of appeal directly to President U Thein Sein requesting a withdrawal of Burma Army soldiers from the areas of conflict and compensation for land and possessions they had allegedly destroyed. The letter, addressed to U Thein Sein, claimed that Burma Army soldiers destroyed 422…

The reduction in funds from international donors to the Thai-Burma border areas is threatening to close Burmese migrant schools. Schoolteachers at the migrants learning centers on the border claim that they will be unable to continue to teach as they are currently struggling to feed their families and to pay their bills due to the drop in financial support this…

Representatives from both the government and ethnic armed organizations continue discussions on a ceasefire code-of-conduct before signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo, a member of the Karen National Union’s Central Executive Committee, spoke to Karen News about the issue while attending the latest round of negotiations over the “Single Text” Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government at…

In a speech delivered at the celebration marking the formation of Border Guard Force, a militia group under the control of the Burma Army, Colonel Chit Thu, claimed that his troops are for the benefit of the Karen people. Colonel Chit Thu, senior advisor and general secretary of the Karen State BGF central command said, in his speech at the…

The Kachin conflict, now in its third year, has left tens-of-thousand of displaced civilians without adequate access to health care. A community-based-organisation working with the displaced civilians warned in an interview with Karen News that the health situation is worsening. The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand are concerned that the situation for internally displaced civilians has reached a “crisis” point. “We…