Articles

Thick haze has blanketed the Thai-Burma border district of Mae Sot with local residents claiming it is the worst in living memory. Thick smoke made highways dangerous, caused airline flights in and out of Mae Sot to be cancelled forcing visitors into taking lengthy bus trips. Dense smoke swallowed heavily laden timber trucks as they drove down the Asia Highway…

Women from the largest refugee camp in Thailand’s express their concerns and dreams as the world marks international women’s day. Naw Kaw, 44, a mother of three and a Karen refugee, sits down, shielding her face from the midday sun. She has been in Mae La refugee camp for two decades. She fled Burma after being used by the Burma…

Two leading Karen Women’s groups, the Karen Women’s Organisation and the Karen Women’s Empowerment Group (KWEG) have urged Burma’s reformist government to improve women’s rights in the country as the world marks international women’s day, arguing that peace could not be reached without respect for women’s rights. ”Lasting peace in Burma cannot be achieved without justice for the women of…

The Karen Women Organization (KWO) has called for the postponement of Burma’s nationwide census, scheduled to run this month, until the data classifications are deemed appropriate to ethnic groups and the political situation in the country is stable. Naw K’nyaw Paw, general secretary of KWO told Karen News that all its senior representatives attended the KWO annual meeting agreed and…

Residents from Lun-Nya village area, in Hpa-an Township voiced their opposition to a proposed cement factory planned for their area, over concerns that it could endanger their health and fears that they would receive no compensation. As many as 300 villagers raised their concerns at the meeting attended by representatives from Ultra Tech’s Cement Factory and ministers of the Karen…

Mu The village is in a tight spot. Not only is it in Karen National Union-held territory abutting Burmese government-controlled territory, but it is geographically remote as well. Virtually no outside aid made its way in during the long-running civil war that has only compounded the village’s isolation. This situation changed abruptly in August 2012, when a single truck laden…

A new research centre, called the Pyi Duang Su Institute for Peace and Dialogue (PI), opened in Chiang Mai this week with the aim of providing “technical assistance” to stakeholders in the peace process, said PI’s director in an interview with Karen News. Kheun Sai Jaiyen, PI’s director and an editor at the Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N), said…

Migrant workers, millions of whom come from neighboring Burma, are being cast adrift in a chaotic migration system – known as the National Verification Scheme – forcing them to pay as much as 10 times the official cost for their documents in Thailand, according to the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN). “More than 1.7 million Myanmar workers have been cheated…

Funeral Of Respected Karen Stateswoman, Naw Paw K’Wor Naw Paw K’Wor, a respected revolutionary, teacher and much admired scholar of the Karen, Hta poems, passed away aged 95 after a long term illness on February 24th at her home in the Thai border town of Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son Province. Her funeral service will be held today. Naw Paw…

The Karen National Union (KNU) has just finished a training program for a Karen police force in KNU controlled areas, aimed at improving the law enforcement capabilities of the Karen national police force. The two-week long training course held at Lay Wah in Hlaing Bwe township of Karen State ended on the 21st of February. The KNU’s Department of the…