Articles

Karen Community Based Organizations issued a position paper on the repatriation of refugees along the Thai-Burma border back to Burma saying it is critical that they are included in the process. The KCBO in a statement paper said that all pre-conditions should be met and procedures need to be in place before refugees are returned otherwise it will be against…

Villagers claim they are paying full amounts for a full electricity service they are not receiving. Residents from Larkar village claim that authorities require them to pay the full rate electricity bills even though the power is often cut-off. Larkar village is located on the western part of the Salween River in Hpa-an Township in Karen State. A woman Larkar…

Gunshots disrupted the elections of the political wing of the armed militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, when a former village head disagreed with the result. As a result of the election fiasco, General Saw Ler Pwe (also known as Bo Na Kham Mwe), the patron of the DKBA’s political wing, the KloHtooBaw Karen Organisation, released an official statement to…

Thai police have decided that the family of a Karen refugee killed in a road accident will be paid 235,000 baht compensation by the truck driver responsible for the woman’s death last week. Mae La refugee camp officials said Thai police have now settled the case and the truck owner involved in the incident that killed the woman will pay…

Karenni people from different regions are keen to learn a Karenni language created in 1955 by the former chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party, Ku Htae Bu Peh, and mainly taught in Shadaw Township up until now. The KNPP explain that people from Loi Kaw and Demoso Townships have asked to learn the Karenni language. The KNPP are planning…

A humanitarian organisation that delivers aid to displaced communities in rural Burma reports that despite peace-talks between the Karen National Union and the Burma government armed clashes, forced labour and other abuses are still ongoing in Karen State. The organisation, the Free Burma Rangers has documented abuses by the government’s army and its militia allies in five districts in Karen…

The Karen National Union announced in a media statement that its third round of ‘peace-talks’ with the Burmese Government was a success and the two sides will meet again later this year. The KNU official statement was released on September 4 after the latest ‘peace-talks’ held in Hpa-An Town, two days ago. Naw May Oo Mutraw, a spokesperson with the…

A military ceasefire Code of Conduct was the first and the main issue discussed during the third round of peace-talks held between the Karen National Union and the Burma government at the Zwekabin Hotel in Hpa-an Town, Karen State yesterday. Both the KNU and government presented their draft Code of Conduct to each other for an in-depth discussion of the…

A coalition of Shan community groups have voiced concern about the repatriation of over 500 refugees from a camp on the northern Thai border into an area of conflict. On August 27th, the Norwegian Refugee Council, part of the Norwegian-led “Myanmar Peace Support Initiative,” began house-to-house surveys of refugees in Koung Jor camp, northern Chiang Mai province, asking about their…

Burma’s Ministry of Immigration, working together with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has issued 350 people living in the remote rural area of Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State with national identity cards. The joint country project to distribute identity cards is known as the Moe Pwint program and is located in a monastery in Kwan Ta (Ta Waw Ta) village. The…