Articles

Migrant workers from the SD Fashion Company [also known by its former name “Champion”] in Kham Piban, in Mae Sot negotiated with their employer at the Labor Protection and Welfare Department, the Ministry of Thai Labor an agreement for safer working conditions. The workers’ leader, Ko Zaw Lay, at the SD Fashion garment factory, said that workers who used to…

Middle-ranking Karen army officers claim that the Burma Army has taken advantage of last year’s historic ceasefire, signed between the government and the Karen National Union, to reinforce its position in territory controlled by the ethnic armed group. Captain Saw Gyi No, the KNU Tee Mo Pwa area administration chairman in the Mergui-Tavoy District, in southern Burma, spoke to Karen…

Villagers in the Nabule area will be forced to leave their homes, in April, to make way for construction work related to the mega-project, the $60 billion Dawei deep-sea port project. Residents of Mu Do village in Nabule area, Tenasserim Division, will be have to leave their homes before the annual Water Festival [Atar Thingyan], on April 13. The Italian-Thai…

Victims of the fire that destroyed 24 rooms at the T.K.Lay CMC wool factory in Mae Sot, Thailand received a helping hand from migrant workers and local organisations after their living quarters were destroyed in the blaze. The Mae Sot based organization, Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs (JACBA), donated 15,000 Bahts to 24 households affected by the fire at…

Since last years signed cease-fire agreement between the government and the Karen National Union, the Burma border town of Myawaddy has been awash with government officials, leaders of various armed groups and business people. The most recent high-level delegations to visit the border town were the Karen National Union, including its chairperson, General Saw Mutu Say Poe, who met with…

Residents four villages in the Dawei area are concerned about the impact coal mining operations will have on their health and on the pollution of local waterways. Local sources said that the coalmining project, a joint venture of the East Star and Mayflower companies, now operating in the Dawei Township region has the potential to pollute waterways and damage health.…

Cha Khan villagers in Nabule area of Yephyu Township, Tenasserim Division who had their homes bulldozed by the Italian-Thai Development Company (ITD) to make way for the Dawei deep-sea project are facing difficulties to make a living. Local sources said villagers from Cha Khan were force to leave their homes to make way for construction work related to the Dawei…

Yesterday, a photo exhibition, ‘Resources Curse’ opened in Bahan Township, Rangoon. The exhibition, organized by the Green Heart Environment Network, draws attention to the contentious Latpaudang Copper Mining Project. U Soe Win Nyein, a graphic artist and an organizer of the exhibition told Karen News that the purpose of the exhibition was to make people more aware of the social…

A report released by the Dutch think-tank, the Transnational Institute, expressed concern at the prospect of massive development projects in conflict-ridden parts of Burma. As Burma is emerges from decades of military rule, it is attracting foreign investors – especially in the resource sector. “Burma has entered a pivotal stage in its political and economic development,” the report said, “The…

The Karen National Union has requested that the Burmese government include members of its military elite in future ‘peace talks’ between the two sides. In a meeting held yesterday, in the Burma border town of Myawaddy, the KNU chairman General Saw Mutu Say Poe met with Burma’s Vice-President, Sai Mauk Kham. According to a KNU source, General Mutu, the heads…