Articles

Preparations for the integration of five Karen political parties are now underway and it is planned that the five parties will unite within the year. The decision to be integrated was made at an integration meeting held on the 26th of January in Rangoon where 30 delegates from Plone Sawor Democratic Party (PSDP), Karen Democratic Party (KDP) and Karen State…

Ahead of the new NLD-dominated assembly, six newly elected MPs from five ethnic parties speak about their aspirations, what alliances they will form, and what drives them. YANGON (Myanmar Now) – The faces of Myanmar’s new Parliament, when it convenes in Napyitaw on February 1, will be almost unrecognisable when compared to the previous assembly. Few old faces have clung…

A human rights advocacy groups called for caution as Burma’s government released 52 political prisoners, stating that the situation is like a “revolving door” with hundreds still awaiting trial and fresh arrests. Burma’s government released 52 political prisoners this week. Yet human rights organisation Burma Campaign UK urged caution as political dissidents keep getting arrested. Burma Campaign UK referred to…

In messages to mark Karen News Years Day and addressed to Karen both in Burma and across the world, leaders urged unity. “If we are united we will have victory. On this New Year, wherever we are, if we unite our voices from everywhere [all over the world], people will be frightened by the sound of our voices,” Ner Dah…

The Burma Army covered up evidence that members of its armed forces may have raped and murdered two young Kachin teachers last year, a report released by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) alleged. The report, entitled ‘Justice Delayed, Justice Denied,’ presented witness testimony that implicated Burma Army soldiers in the rape and murder of two women. The report described…

Lives in limbo for over four years, many hope the new government will prioritise peace in Kachin so they could go home MYITKYINA, Myanmar (Myanmar Now) – For more than six months in 2011, Ywe Ja refused to leave her home in Myanmar’s Kachin State despite heavy fighting around her village. It was where she was born, and she had…

Naw Tender runs a small clinic in a converted room in her house in Htaw Ywae village in Karen State and said 2015 was a hard year for dengue fever. “We have had 15 cases in December alone, it is still a big a problem, altogether we treated 653 cases this year. We had a eight-year-old girl die – she…

News that authorities in Karen State are planning to crack down on drivers using unlicensed vehicles is causing a great deal of worry among the state’s car owners. Most of the vehicles being driven in Karen State are unlicensed for travel interstate and there is an acknowledgement between drivers and authorities that this is allowed as along as these vehicles…

Karen people spread all over the world celebrated Karen New Year Day on January 10, 2016. Karen in Burma, on the border gathered at a wide variety of places to welcome the New Year. Celebration took place in Shwe Kokko, Rangoon and Hpa-an, where the former, President U Thein Sein attended. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League…

A major Burma ethnic political alliance claims that the government’s peace convention will fail. The alliance said in a statement that convention, part of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, is scheduled to start on January 12, is unlikely to lead to a genuine democratic federal union for the country. The United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), composed of eight ethnic political parties made…