Articles

The Burma Campaign UK released a statement welcoming the British government’s decision to stop funding and training of Burma’s military forces. The Burma Campaign UK said that in 2016 “the British government spent £305,000 of British taxpayers’ money training the Burmese military – 67% of the money came from the overseas aid budget.” The Burma Campaign UK pointed out in…

Karen State is open for business and ready for investment to pave the way for development, participants at a recent “Business for Peace” forum heard. The state’s Minister of Planning, Finance and Municipal Affairs U Than Naing said the state is now stable and brimming with business prospects that the government, in collaboration with ethnic armed organizations, is eager to…

At a public seminar in Thailand last week, Karen and Karenni officials raised concerns about the increasing pressure for refugees to return from the Thai-Myanmar border as international funding for camps dries up. “The refugees from the Thai-Myanmar border are not ready to return home,” said Naw Elizabeth, deputy director of the Karenni Education Department, who took part in the…

In effort to bolster Karen traditions, the Mon State government has donated dance costumes and instruments to five universities, an official said. The Karen literature and culture committees at Mawlamyine University, Mon State’s Technological University, the University of Computer Studies, the Government Technical Institute and the Agriculture Institute each received K1.5million-worth of Karen costumes and traditional musical instruments, according to…

The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) met on 11 September to hear a complaint against the Ben Chaung Coal Mine. The coalmine is located in the Thanintharyi Region of Burma and three Thai companies are involved. The complaint, filed by representatives of indigenous Karen communities with the support of local and international NGOs, alleges the open-pit mine has…

A group of Karen residents in Minnesota are trying to keep their traditions alive among the diaspora by teaching the Karen language and literature. Every weekend from January 28 to September 4, a group that calls itself the Putermine Gontar Temple taught 16 adults and kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Mahn Lone Paung, who organized the training, said he hopes…

The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) have released a report that accuses the Burma Army of shelling the northern Shan region of Mong Yai forcing 300 villagers to flee. The Shan Human Rights Foundation statement said that “on September 10 at 8:00 am, a group of about 60 Burma Army troops from LIB 325 based in Mong Yai and the…

Amnesty International have reported that Burma’s military forces are waging a scorched earth campaign against ethnic Rohingya in the northwest of the country. The Amnesty International report states that “more than 80 sites set ablaze in orchestrated campaign since 25 August, more than 370,000 Rohingya fled across border in less than three weeks” and that “testimonies show attacks were planned,…

What was supposed to be a public forum on the peace process in Bago Region this week turned into more of a lecture when the question and answer portion of the event was cut. The Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee of Bago Region’s September 12 meeting in Kyaukkyi township attracted a crowd of about 400 people. “They [the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring…

The Karen diaspora is showing increasing irritation at the Karen National Union’s ceasefire stance. The International Karen Organization (IKO) issued a statement on September 9 calling for a review of the current peace process in order to achieve a genuine political settlement. The statement was issued following IKO’s first conference in Melbourne, Australia from September 6 to 8. The IKO,…