Karen News

The dance group from the Overseas Karen Refugee’s Social Organization (OKRSO) based in Bangkok, are honoured to be included in a ceremony that pays respect to His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The Overseas Karen Refugee’s Social Organization literature and culture committee chairman, Saw Satepalong said its dance troupe performed the Karen traditional Done dance at Central World Hall…

Karen National Union, Ler Mu Lah Township leaders warn that there is a risk of a division between the local people and the KNU if the organizations district or central leaders allow the construction of the Tenasserim Dam, in Southern Burma. Saw Thein Su, the KNU leader for Ler Mu Lah Township told Karen News. “The KNU’s Ler Mu Lah…

For the first time since 1974 the Burma government has met with the Karen Refugee Committee in Hpa-an Town. The government put forward its plan to KRC that they wanted to ‘trial a pilot project’ to take back about 50 refugees households who are now living in camps on the Thai Burma border. On April 26, over 30 members of…

Myaing Gyi Ngu villagers have fled fighting between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the government-controlled militia, the Border Guard Force (BGF). A Myaing Gyi Ngu resident said that the fighting started on April 27 and forced villagers from Shwe Nardar Myaing, Pidouk Myaing, Ninsi Myaing, and Ziza Wah Myaing to take refuge to safety in nearby villages that were…

Along the muddy river bank hundreds of men pack down under small plastic sheets to avoid the direct sun and to take respite from the 38 degree heat. The men cram into the small bamboo shops beside the muddy river. The valley and river littered with generators and large hoses that the miners use in their hunt for gold. It…

Karen National Union (KNU) officers, in Ler Mu Lah Township, have imposed restrictions on alcohol sales from May 1 to the thousands of gold miners who come to the area prospecting for gold. KNU officials have put in the alcohol restrictions in an attempt to prevent problems between miners and local and in an effort to maintain Karen traditional values.…

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) based at a monastery in Myaing Gyi Ngu village, Hlaing Bwe Township, Karen State, was twice attacked by a the Border Guard Force (BGF) on April 28. A source close to the DKBA, who asked not to be named, told Karen News that fighting was between BGF Battalion 1011 under the command of Major…

Despite a ceasefire in place, a Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) report criticizes a government-controlled militia, the Border Guard Force (BGF), for committing human right violations against villagers in Papun Township, Karen State. The KHRG’s report released on 23rd of April, documented that BGF battalions based in Papun Township – the 1013th and the 1014th – forced villagers from Meh…

International rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Burma Campaign UK, have criticised the EU for lifting its sanctions on Burma, saying that the move “undercuts” the impoverished country’s human rights progress. “The EU’s scrapping of targeted sanctions on Burma is premature and recklessly imperils human rights gains made so far,” said Lotte Leicht, EU director at HRW. On April…

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) warned the European Union that it was too early to lift sanctions on Burma. The UNFC hit out at the EU after foreign ministers from 27 European countries met in Luxembourg on April 22 and decided to lift all sanctions on Burma, except its embargo on arms. The UNFC vice-chairman Padoh Saw David Tharckapaw…