Karen News

The newly formed Karen National Party (KNP), based in the Irrawaddy Delta region, elected its leadership committee following a public meeting on April 27 at Pay Taw village, Wakema Township – more than 200 people attended the public meeting. The KNP is now seeking to get official registration with the Federal Electoral Commission. Mahn Kyaw Nyein, KNP organiser said that…

Hundreds of workers gathered in Mae Sot’s district office today to march through the town and along Asia Highway in solidarity for workers worldwide and to demand their rights and better working conditions for migrants working in Thailand. Shouting “Fair opportunities for workers! Rights for Workers!” The workers marched down one of Mae Sot’s main streets, curious onlookers poked heads…

UN Secretary General states that impunity by Burma’s authorities regarding human rights violations could risk serious international consequences. In an April 25 speech to the Partnership Group on Burma in New York, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that if Burma’s authorities tolerated impunity for human rights violations it risked “negative pressures within the international community and among different…

During his trip to Karen State, Parliament speaker, Thura Shwe Mann, promised farmers to look into land confiscation cases in the region once they are submitted to the House. Thura Shwe Mann, chairman of the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) was on a visit to Karen State and took the time to meet with local farmers in Hpa-An on April…

In a media statement released on April 23, the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (Union Of Burma), condemned the government for the use of systematic military force against ethnic armies. The UNFC said in its statement that the Burma Army has run “a massive military offensives, since early April in the Kachin State and Northern Shan State, against…

Burma Campaign UK, a human rights advocacy organisation, has called for Burma’s President to release the country’s remaining political prisoners and repeal Article 18 of the controversial Peaceful Procession and Peaceful Assembly Law, claiming that the law is being used to repress political dissent. In its media statement, Burma Campaign UK cited the cases of Nay Myo Zin and Win…

Today marked World Malaria Day, and while the global community celebrated significant declines in moratlity rates from malaria since 2000, a new drug-resistant form of the parasite has one leading expert warning of a potential health disaster. In the last ten years, the fight against malaria has seen dramatic decreases in deaths. A concerted effort across the world to combat…

Human rights organisations are expressing grave concerns over the fate of a prominent ethnic Karen activist who disappeared after reportedly being arrested on April 17 at Kaengkrachan National Park in Petchaburi province by Thai authorities. The New York based Human Rights Watch said it was concerned that Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen, also known as Billy, had been “forcibly disappeared.” HRW…

International pressure for an investigation into sexual violence in Burma is mounting, with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling for the Burma government to co-operate with the UN on the issue. Ban Ki-moon called on the Burma Government to investigate human rights abuses, including sexual violence. “I call on the Government of Myanmar to fully investigate and respond…

Reports of rape and the murder of two civilians have emerged following a Burma Army offensive in parts of Kachin State and Shan State, that has also led to more than three thousand civilians displaced in the attacks. The frontline humanitarian organisation, Free Burma Rangers, allege that on April 10, Burma Army soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) raped a…