Articles

As talks between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Burma’s military continue, displaced Kachin say that it is not yet safe to return home. Thousands of villagers in Kachin State and northern Shan State have been displaced from their homes for nearly two years due to the conflict. This is in spite of ongoing talks between the Burma Army and…

The Karen National Union (KNU) has increased its efforts to destroy marijuana plantations and the selling of illegal drugs by villagers in northern Karen State. A spokesperson from the KNU’s Mutraw District office spoke to Karen News about the drug busting campaign. The KNU spokesperson explained that that the Mutraw District office has ordered local officials to search and eliminate…

The Australia Karen Organization commemorated World Refugee Day by calling for the international community to give more support to Karen people living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Under its banner, ‘Restoring Hope’, the Australia Karen Organization (AKO) and as many as 250 people gathered in Villawood, Sydney on June 22. The celebration was attended by over 250 participants…

The Border Consortium plans to cut its food rations to the 128,000 refugees living in the nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border. TBC is a group of nine international NGOs that delivers food, shelter and non-food items to the refugees on the Thai Burma border. The TBC in a letter to refugee committees, camp committees and community-based-organizations, stated that…

Naw Day Wah Htoo lives in Mae Ra Ma Luang refugee camp on the Thai Burma border and talks to Karen News about her life living on the margins. Karen News reports. “Living in a refugee camp we are not allowed to go outside to find work. When I hear talk about refugee repatriation, I have doubts about it as…

Following an informal meeting between the Karen National Union and Burma government officials, at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Rangoon on June 15, to talk about a ceasefire “Code of Conduct” both delegations plan to meet again in July. Padoh Saw Aung Win Shwe, head of the KNU’s foreign affairs department and a member of the Karen’s delegation told…

Villagers in the Taungoo area claim that government officials from the Land Registration Directorate are ignoring their reports of land confiscation cases. Original landowners from Htan Tabin Township, Taungoo District, Pegu Division accuse officials from the Land Registration Directorate of avoiding meeting with them on June 20. The landowners had gone to the Land Registration office to report the confiscation…

Villagers accuse a Burma Army Battalion commander, based in Wah Kla (Wa Daw) in Southern Burma, of demanding villagers use their private vehicles to travel him around the area. Naw Hser Tha U Htoo, from Wah Kla village, told Karen News. “The battalion commander demands villagers use their cars on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s twice a day or once…

The Karen National Union (KNU) and villagers from the upper Pawklo area of Southern Burma are in agreement that a Thai coalmine operating in Tha Nay Kler area, has to protect environment and make sure that local water sources are not polluted. The agreement was reached at a meeting on June 15 that was held in Ka Taw Ni village…

The Burma military conducting jet fighter bombing practice in Htan Tabin Township, Taungoo District have not informed villagers so that they can take safety precautions. Villagers going to work on their farms have been terrified as jets drop their deadly loads. Padoh Saw Eh Wah, chairperson of the KNU Taungoo District confirmed the villagers fears to Karen News. “During the…