Karen News

A dark foreboding sky filled with rain clouds, below the mountains are covered in low mist, monsoon rains form puddles on the ground as around a 100 soldiers in dressed in Karen military uniforms march. The soldiers, carrying M-16 rifles, slowly churn their way through grass and mud to parade ground cut out of the jungle in Karen State, Burma.…

The ceasefire agreements between the Karenni armed groups and the Burma government has delivered a cultural bonus to Karenni people. U Thoo Reh, the director of the Karenni literature and culture department said people in Shadaw Township, Karenni (Kayah) State are learning the Karenni language, that was invented by the former chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party, Ku Htae…

For the first time in its history the Karen Youth Organization held a seminar in a Burma government controlled area, in Noh Poe village in Myawaddy Township on Saturday, August 11. Organisers credited the recent ceasefire agreements between Karen National Union and the Burma government for creating a safe environment for the seminar to go ahead. Saw Eh K’lu Say,…

Boat travelers on the Zami waterways in the Three Pagoda and Kyain Seikgyi Township region of in Karen State claim they are tax targets of various armed soldiers. Mi Myint, a traveler who was taxed when using traveling on the river spoke to Karen News. “Boat fees are 32,000kyat. The boat driver on our trip paid for us at the…

The President of the Karen National Union (KNU) Saw Tamla Baw, marked the 62nd anniversary of Martyrs’ Day with a speech to fellow KNU leaders, members and the wider ethnic Karen community, today Sunday, August 12th. In the speech Saw Tamla Baw commemorated the lives of Karen people who had died in the struggle for self-determination and equality, against Burma’s…

August 12th will be the 62nd Karen Martyrs Day. It marks the 62nd anniversary of the killing of Saw Ba U Gyi and his colleagues. Every year since then Karen people remember those brave heroes, and all the others who have given their lives for our struggle. For Karen people this is not just a struggle for human rights and…

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) raised their concerns to the United Nations Special Human Rights Rapporteur, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana that now is not the time to repatriate Karen refugees back to Burma. KHRG told Mr Quintana that the Burma’s military still has a “shoot on sight” order in place in Karen State that affects people living in internally…

Villagers in the Kawkareik Township area claim the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and its political wing the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization is taxing boat travelers using the Haung Tha Raw River. A resident (who did not want to be named for security concerns) told Karen News. “At the KKO-DKBA checkpoints they are charging money – 10,000kyat (about US $10) a round…

The Karen State Chief Minister, U Zaw Min, said on August 7 that as many as 6,000 people have been left homeless after severe flooding in Hpa-an Town area of Karen State. U Zaw Min, told Karen News that the heavy rains that had deluged the country since July had caused the Salween River to finally flood. “There are over…

Fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army and the government’s Border Guard Force resulted in four BGF being killed two KNLA soldiers wounded. The firefight between the government’s militia and the Karen army broke out on August 5, in Mae Seik village, Papun Township in northern Karen State. The fighting happened on the same day as the Karen National Union…