Articles

Twenty-year old Hla Ko* has an easy smile, a cool haircut and the manic energy of a young man with few ties. He studies medicine but adores politics. He has an opinion about everything but isn’t too sure about anything. The church is an anchor, but hanging out and flirting with his many female friends is how he spends a…

Retired middle school headmaster Saw Maung Tote, an organizer and a committee member of the Karen Literature and Culture Committee in Rangoon, said the Ministry of Education Department has not given permission to teach S’gaw Karen Literature in Mawbi state schools. “The Karen Literature and Culture committee in Mawbi have gathered the number of students who want to learn Karen…

During a conference for tourism representatives, the Karen State Chief Minister said the state government would spend 80million kyat to solve the insufficient drinking water problems facing Thandaung Gyi Township in Karen State. Thandaung Gyi Township representative, Saw Taw Palae, said the Chief Minister of the state responded to do a request made by local representatives of Thandaung Tourism Development…

On global anti-child trafficking day, Mae Tao Clinic on the Thai-Burma border hosted an event called, To stop child trafficking, invest for the children’s future. The event was was attended by as many as 1,000 children from local migrant schools. “This event was held to raise awareness about child trafficking to alert students and migrant workers who attended the event…

The Phan Foundation has officially announced its acceptance of nominees for the 7th annual Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award – the closing date is on January 31, 2015. The Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award is given annually to Karen community workers who work in health, education, social or cultural areas. According to the Foundation’s criteria, nominees should be…

A group of unknown gunmen shot and killed a captain and a driver of the Karen National Liberation Army on 11 December while they were traveling by car on the Dawei –Ye road near the southern Burmese Township of Ye Byu in Tanintharyi Division. The KNLA soldiers were from a KNU 4th Brigade battalion. Padoh Saw Eh Na, joint secretary…

A report released by the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN) has claimed that the Norwegian led Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI) is putting the security of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) at risk by placing them in areas under Burma Army control. The MPSI is a Norwegian led “international initiative to support peace in Burma through development and humanitarian assistance.…

Villagers are planning to seek compensation from the KNU and state government for land confiscated by developers for a palm oil plantation project in Tanintharyi Division. Saw Poe San, one of the petition leaders from the Southern Youth Organization, told Karen News. “Villagers did not get any compensation. No-one informed the villagers that their fields would be cleared for the…

The vice president of the Karen People’s Party, Saw Say Wah, told Karen News that its party will be running candidates in more than 60 constituencies in the Irrawaddy Division in the 2015 Election. “In the meeting we held in late November, we nominated and selected our party’s representatives to run for seats in Burma’s Union Parliament. At the same…

With the support of the US Embassy in Myanmar, a two-year English Access Micro scholarship Program was recently launched in Hpa-an. The opening ceremony took place at Thumaydarama Kyartawya School in Hpa-an on December 04, 2014. Local teachers pleased with the new scholarship said that the project would help local children to learn English. “The purpose of this training course…