Articles

The signing of a January 2012 preliminary ceasefire between Burma’s government and the Karen National Union has brought its own challenges with “new forms of abuse and local concerns emerging in the evolving security environment,” a report released by Karen Human Rights Group has found. The report, released yesterday, documents the conditions of human rights in South Eastern Burma over…

Karen National Union delegates led by its vice chairperson Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein met with Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the current peace process at her house in Rangoon. During the May 9 meeting, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) exchanged views on the peace process with KNU officials. Padoh Naw…

A Karen National Union official urged a visiting Japanese Member of Parliament when planning development project for Karen State that there is an urgent need to consult and involve the KNU. Padoh Aung Win Shwe, head of the KNU Foreign Affair Department informed a Japanese Member of Parliament that his government needed to involve the KNU as well as the…

In a statement released to mark Press Freedom Day, Human Rights Watch condemned Burma’s government over the arrest and intimidation of journalists and called for new media laws to protect and promote a free press. Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director called for press freedom. “International praise for expanding media freedoms in Burma has been undercut by arrests and intimidation…

Government officials and local Karen National Union officials have decided to let villagers decide if a cement factory is to be built in their area. Following strong opposition by the villagers against the proposed cement factory planned for the Mi Kayin village area, Hpa-an, Karen State, the KNU and government officials told a public meeting that it was now up…

The newly formed Karen National Party (KNP), based in the Irrawaddy Delta region, elected its leadership committee following a public meeting on April 27 at Pay Taw village, Wakema Township – more than 200 people attended the public meeting. The KNP is now seeking to get official registration with the Federal Electoral Commission. Mahn Kyaw Nyein, KNP organiser said that…

Hundreds of workers gathered in Mae Sot’s district office today to march through the town and along Asia Highway in solidarity for workers worldwide and to demand their rights and better working conditions for migrants working in Thailand. Shouting “Fair opportunities for workers! Rights for Workers!” The workers marched down one of Mae Sot’s main streets, curious onlookers poked heads…

UN Secretary General states that impunity by Burma’s authorities regarding human rights violations could risk serious international consequences. In an April 25 speech to the Partnership Group on Burma in New York, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that if Burma’s authorities tolerated impunity for human rights violations it risked “negative pressures within the international community and among different…

During his trip to Karen State, Parliament speaker, Thura Shwe Mann, promised farmers to look into land confiscation cases in the region once they are submitted to the House. Thura Shwe Mann, chairman of the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) was on a visit to Karen State and took the time to meet with local farmers in Hpa-An on April…

In a media statement released on April 23, the ethnic alliance the United Nationalities Federal Council (Union Of Burma), condemned the government for the use of systematic military force against ethnic armies. The UNFC said in its statement that the Burma Army has run “a massive military offensives, since early April in the Kachin State and Northern Shan State, against…