Karen News

A former convict porter speaks to reporter Cha Mu about his arrest and imprisonment for drug use, and his subsequent conscription by the military as a porter in Karen State. My name is Tin Hlaing. I am a 35-year-old ethnic Burman. I’m single and have six siblings. On July 15, 2008, I was arrested at the Than Lin bridge with…

Recent moves by the Thai government to send back refugees from Burma have spurred fears among the 140,000 estimated refugees living in camps along the Thai-Burma border. Thailand’s National Security Council secretary, General Tawin Pleansri, told local media recently that the government was considering a plan to repatriate the refugees. Tak provincial Governor Samart Loifah further fuelled refugee fears when…

Karen National Liberation Army sources confirmed that clashes in May in the Walay area of Myawaddy Township between Karen fighters and the Burmese army had killed six Burmese soldiers and wounded seven others. Major General Saw Kyi Aung, commander of KNLA Battalion 201 who fought in the clashes, said KNLA forces engaged Burmese troops from Light Infantry Brigade 371 based…

In spite of the devastation and loss of life caused by recent earthquakes in northern Thailand and northeast Burma government officials are pushing ahead with its plans to dam the Salween River. The Thai government responded to the recent earth quake in northern Thailand by calling for ‘a meeting for key agencies’ to develop strategies to cope with future earthquakes.…

Community organisations delivering aid to refugees recently displaced by fighting in Karen state are worried the recent cold weather and heavy rain along the border are a health risk for the 12,000 people taking shelter in makeshift hiding sites. Community health workers warn displaced people hiding along the Thai Burma border are urgently in need of weatherproof shelters as the…

The Karen National Union urged support in a recent statement for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in Burma to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of the nation’s armed forces. “We call upon the international community and the UN to support and give mandate to the formation of Commission of Inquiry to investigate…

The Burma Army plans to militarize eastern Burma suffered a severe set-back in central Pa-an when more than a 1,000 soldiers of the recently formed Border Guard Force joined forces with fighters aligned to the Karen National Union. During the last 18 months, the Burma army has attempted to disarm and dismantle ethnic ceasefire groups under its control. The military…

Ethnic minority communities in eastern Burma continue to endure widespread human rights abuses despite the government’s nominal transition to a civilian government, a UN human rights envoy told reporters in late May. Tomas Quintana, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in prepared remarks that Burma’s “systematic militarization” continues to promote “land confiscation, forced labor, internal displacement,…

United States Senator John McCain, the Republican party’s nominee for the 2008 presidential election sopped off in Thailand on his way to meet with members of Burma’s newly elected parliament and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Senator McCain met with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in Bangkok on Monday before visiting the border town of Mae Sot on…

Aging and infirm officers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’s Border Guard Force who have retired and fled to liberated areas of Karen State say they have received death threats from active officers. Saw Mu Hsoe, also known as Hta Kler, served as second in command of Brigade 999’s Battalion 3 prior to his retirement and says he remains under…