Karen News

President Obama, honored in a speech, people working for community based organizations. President Obama praised the community workers when he spoke to member of the CBO’s in the Rangoon University compound on his historic first visit to Burma. Naw Susana Hla Hla Soe, director of the Karen Woman Alliance Group, told Karen News. “We have been working under many forms…

U Phyinyarthami (also known as Taungalay Sayadaw), the Abbot of Taungalay Temple in Hpa-an Township in Karen State, talked to Karen News about the Karen National Union’s (KNU’s) work and the current problems within the political organisation. Here are Abbot Taungalay Sayadaw’s views. “If I am to give my opinion on the KNU, I would say that every KNU leader…

Tavoyan people in Southern Burma, who will be evicted from their homes to make way for a deep sea port and industrial zone deny claims by the project developer, the Italian-Thai Development Company, that most of the people have already been relocated out of the area. Premchai Karnasuta, the managing director of ITD, told regional media that the relocation of…

Karen community based organizations from inside Burma want the Karen National Union leaders to put the people’s interest first in the ongoing ‘peace talks’ with the government. The Karen based community groups raised their concerns at meeting during the Myanmar Baptist Convention in Rangoon on November 20. Saw Kyaw Swar from the Karen Affair Committee said concerns about the huge…

Karen villagers working in their rice fields and plantations were terrified when jet fighters starting dropping bombs and machine-gunning the area. Government authorities failed to warn citizens that the jet fighters were taking part in a military training exercise in the Taungoo District. Villagers in the Tantabin Township region of Taungoo District said they were frightened by the explosions made…

In the recent President’s amnesty, 65 prisoners were granted their freedom, including a Karen lawyer who had been charged for being disrespectful to the court. U Aung Thu Yein Tun, friend of the Karen lawyer, Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, confirmed his release to Karen News. “He gave me a ring this morning and told me of his release. I am…

Burmese migrant workers say delays of up to six months in processing their temporary passports so they can get a legal work permit to allow them to work in Thailand is causing them to be harassed by police. “I applied to get temporary passport at an agent based in Mae Sot. The agent said the process would take only a…

The Karen National Union in Southern Burma says a coal extraction operation near Karen villages in eastern Tavoy is not welcome. Villagers are concerned it could destroy most of their plantations. Saw Paul Naw, the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Ka Ser Doh Township official spoke to Karen News. “In September, 2012, a Thai company, East Star, paid compensation for the…

The Karen National Union claim move by the Burma Army to force Karen villagers to attend militia training will damage trust between the two sides during ongoing ‘peacetalks’. The KNU alleges that the Burma Army has ordered Karen villagers in Southern Burma to attend military training and then intends to supply them with weapons. According to a KNU’s Mergui-Tavoy District…

Naw Ohn Hla is a former political prisoner and a former member of the National League for Democracy, the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was sentenced in 2009 to two years in Taungoo Prison and was released in 2011. Naw Ohn Hla spoke to Karen News. Q: There is conflict among KNU leaders. Who does it…