Karen News

A report by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) documents civilian casualties from Burma Army attacks in Kachin areas, and urges the international community to ramp up pressure on Burma’s government to stop the attacks. The report states that civilians are getting killed as Burma’s military launches offensives against Kachin Independence Army (KIA) forces. The report, “State terror in the…

The new Burmese government needs to design and implement a national program to eliminate the landmine risk if it is serious about genuine political reconciliation with the ethnic minorities in Burma. Despite democratic reforms and moves to sign ceasefires with non-state armed groups, Burma is still not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning the use of land mines,…

The Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) released a statement on Thursday urging the international community to help stop the Burmese government’s consistent human rights violations even as the conflict has stabilized. Moon Nay Li, a spokesperson for KWAT spoke to Karen News about the fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Moon Nay Li said…

On February 18 a ceremony was held to celebrate the life of a famous Karen artist, Zwekabin Kyaw Lay. Saw Yar Haung said that Zwekabin Kyaw Lay had traveled extensively and educated the Karen people through his art in spite of various difficulties he faced. Because he sacrificed his life and was a thoughtful person, he was acknowledged as a…

Migrant workers from the SD Fashion Company [also known by its former name “Champion”] in Kham Piban, in Mae Sot negotiated with their employer at the Labor Protection and Welfare Department, the Ministry of Thai Labor an agreement for safer working conditions. The workers’ leader, Ko Zaw Lay, at the SD Fashion garment factory, said that workers who used to…

Middle-ranking Karen army officers claim that the Burma Army has taken advantage of last year’s historic ceasefire, signed between the government and the Karen National Union, to reinforce its position in territory controlled by the ethnic armed group. Captain Saw Gyi No, the KNU Tee Mo Pwa area administration chairman in the Mergui-Tavoy District, in southern Burma, spoke to Karen…

Villagers in the Nabule area will be forced to leave their homes, in April, to make way for construction work related to the mega-project, the $60 billion Dawei deep-sea port project. Residents of Mu Do village in Nabule area, Tenasserim Division, will be have to leave their homes before the annual Water Festival [Atar Thingyan], on April 13. The Italian-Thai…

Victims of the fire that destroyed 24 rooms at the T.K.Lay CMC wool factory in Mae Sot, Thailand received a helping hand from migrant workers and local organisations after their living quarters were destroyed in the blaze. The Mae Sot based organization, Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs (JACBA), donated 15,000 Bahts to 24 households affected by the fire at…

Since last years signed cease-fire agreement between the government and the Karen National Union, the Burma border town of Myawaddy has been awash with government officials, leaders of various armed groups and business people. The most recent high-level delegations to visit the border town were the Karen National Union, including its chairperson, General Saw Mutu Say Poe, who met with…

Residents four villages in the Dawei area are concerned about the impact coal mining operations will have on their health and on the pollution of local waterways. Local sources said that the coalmining project, a joint venture of the East Star and Mayflower companies, now operating in the Dawei Township region has the potential to pollute waterways and damage health.…