Articles

The Karen National Union will open a fourth liaison office on the 18th of August in the Burma border town of Myawaddy in Karen State to help with the cooperation between the Burma government and the KNU, especially in the Karen National Liberation Army’s 6th and 7th Brigade areas. An officer from the Karen National Liberation Army 7th Brigade spoke…

Record monsoon rains in eastern Burma destroyed thousands of acres of rice cultivated by villagers and there are no sign the rains are likely to ease any time soon. Farmers hit hard by the heavy rains confirmed to Karen News that a total of 9,500 acres of farms in Kawkareik and Kyain Seikgyi townships are completely swamped and destroy by…

The Kachin Women Association Thailand urged the Myanmar Human Right Commission to do a proper comprehensive and in-depth inquiry into the massive amount of people who have been displaced or made refugees by Burma Army offensives in Kachin State. The government controlled newspaper, the Myanmar Alin, reported on a statement put out by the Myanmar Human Right Commission’s recent trip…

Karen people across the world took the time to remember their fallen heroes. It was significant that in Karen State the Karen National Union commemorated the 62nd Karen Martyrs’ Day with a military parade in its Brigade 6 area at Noh Poe-Htee Mu Hta village in Myawaddy Township. This is the first time that a military parade was openly held…

A dark foreboding sky filled with rain clouds, below the mountains are covered in low mist, monsoon rains form puddles on the ground as around a 100 soldiers in dressed in Karen military uniforms march. The soldiers, carrying M-16 rifles, slowly churn their way through grass and mud to parade ground cut out of the jungle in Karen State, Burma.…

The ceasefire agreements between the Karenni armed groups and the Burma government has delivered a cultural bonus to Karenni people. U Thoo Reh, the director of the Karenni literature and culture department said people in Shadaw Township, Karenni (Kayah) State are learning the Karenni language, that was invented by the former chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party, Ku Htae…

For the first time in its history the Karen Youth Organization held a seminar in a Burma government controlled area, in Noh Poe village in Myawaddy Township on Saturday, August 11. Organisers credited the recent ceasefire agreements between Karen National Union and the Burma government for creating a safe environment for the seminar to go ahead. Saw Eh K’lu Say,…

Boat travelers on the Zami waterways in the Three Pagoda and Kyain Seikgyi Township region of in Karen State claim they are tax targets of various armed soldiers. Mi Myint, a traveler who was taxed when using traveling on the river spoke to Karen News. “Boat fees are 32,000kyat. The boat driver on our trip paid for us at the…

The President of the Karen National Union (KNU) Saw Tamla Baw, marked the 62nd anniversary of Martyrs’ Day with a speech to fellow KNU leaders, members and the wider ethnic Karen community, today Sunday, August 12th. In the speech Saw Tamla Baw commemorated the lives of Karen people who had died in the struggle for self-determination and equality, against Burma’s…

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) raised their concerns to the United Nations Special Human Rights Rapporteur, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana that now is not the time to repatriate Karen refugees back to Burma. KHRG told Mr Quintana that the Burma’s military still has a “shoot on sight” order in place in Karen State that affects people living in internally…