Articles

To commemorate the first anniversary of the death of U Win Tin, 21 pro-democracy organizations called for Burma’s Prisoners of Conscience Affairs Committee to be reformed. In a statement the groups said that 21st April, “people around the world will be wearing a blue shirt or blue clothing in memory of U Win Tin, who served nearly 20 years in…

In an exclusive series of interviews with Karen News, Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the Karen National Union talks about a diverse range of critical issues facing ethnic people. In part 1, Ms Sein gives her perspective on the progress of the draft nationwide ceasefire agreement between the Burmese government and the country’s ethnic armed groups. Ms Sein…

The Karen National Union is holding a central standing committee emergency meeting to discuss the draft nationwide ceasefire agreement and the ethnic armed organization summit at its headquarters at Lay Wah, Hlaingbwe Townhip in Pa-an District from April 20-22, 2015. Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the KNU spoke to Karen News about the meeting. “There will be presentations…

Refugees who lost their homes to fire that ripped through the Karenni camp in early April, will have their homes rebuilt in early May according to camp officials. The fire that broke out on April , destroyed 188 houses and made homeless 867 refugees. The Karenni Camp No. 1, also known as Ban Mai Nai Soi, is on the Thai…

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) released a statement on 7 April, 2015, to make clear its position on the nationwide ceasefire agreement reached with the Burmese government on March 31. The UNFC statement pointed out that the document, its Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) signed on March 31, 2015, “was not the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA),…

The Burma Children Medical Fund organized and took a team of health specialists from Mae Tao Clinic, located in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and from Lampang Hospital, northern Thailand to Hpa-an in eastern Burma. The health specialists were in Hpa-an to do echocardiogram screenings on children and adults with heart problems. Ms Thornton said that the echocardiogram…

Terrified residents ran from their homes as a fire tore through a refugee camp on the Thai Burma border in Mae Hong Song Province. Camp residents said the fire started at around 11am, on Tuesday 7 April, in the kitchen of a resident’s house in Karenni Refugee camp No. 1 also known as Ban Mai Nai Soi and quickly spread,…

Karen villagers from Nyaung Chaung claim the justice system has let down five men from the village sentenced to death and one to a life sentence by the Thaton Disctrict Court in Mon State on 16 January 2015. More than 30 villagers including the victim families and village leaders gathered to discuss the case – villagers are angry. Villagers alleged…

Free Burma Rangers, a frontline provider of medical aid to displaced civilians in Burma, said that government forces killed a Kachin family of three on the 23 of March. The Kachin conflict erupted in June 2011 when the Burma Army attacked Kachin Independence Army positions, shattering a 17-year-long ceasefire. FBR said that Burma Army soldiers from the 10th Infantry Battalion…

An alliance of ethnic armed groups have said that they have reached an agreement with the government about a nationwide ceasefire but now need to take the draft wording to a summit for their leaders to ratify and sign the document. Naing Hong Sar, head of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) representing the ethnic armed organizations, told reporters at…