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The New Mon State Party has signed a preliminary ceasefire agreement with the Burma government delegation yesterday. The NMSP seven member delegation was led by its Vice-Chairman, Nai Rot Sa, and met with representatives of the Burma government, led by Railways Minister Aung Min, at the Strand Hotel in Moulmein, Mon State where the ceasefire agreement paper was signed. After…

An ethnic Kachin leader, Dr. Htu Jar, will compete in Burma’s by-election scheduled for April 1st as an independent candidate. Dr. Htu Jar said he would run as individual representative as he had failed to get his proposed party registered for Burma’s national elections held in November 2010. “I don’t plan to form a party. Last year, I tried to…

The Karen Women’s Organisation released a statement today to say they had formed a peace committee, in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Recommendation 1325, to ensure women are represented during the peace process with the Burma Government. The Karen Women Organization statement was issued as a result of discussions held during its 2nd Central Standing Committee’s meeting after…

One woman pro-democracy activist who took the Burma government’s invitation to return home seriously is Daw San Dar Win, a teacher, who works at Burma Migrant Education Department in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Daw San Dar Win said that she returned to Burma for family reasons and not because of political motivation. “I contacted the Burma Embassy…

Non-profit NGO clinics along the Thai-Burma border remain the best hope of healthcare for poverty struck people from Burma seeking treatment – economic migrants, refugees and internally displaced people. A dirt road bustling with activity marks the centre of Mae Tao Clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. The Clinic echoes with the babble of Burmese, and Karen.…

As Burma’s Parliament prepares for its next session, the London based pro-democracy advocates, ‘Burma Campaign UK’, called on the international community to scrutinize Burma’s upcoming annual budget as a sign of its commitment to implement reforms that benefit the people. Last year’s, President Thein Sein’s government allocated just 1.3 percent of the government budget to health, and just over 4…

The Karen National Union (KNU) made public decisions at an emergency meeting by its Central Committee this week about recent and future ‘peace talks’ with the Burma government. The KNU emergency meeting, held at a secret location in Karen State was attended by a total of 38 representatives, 35 Central Committee members and three specially invited representatives. The KNU statement…

Billionaire and renown philanthropist, George Soros was the latest in a long list of dignitaries to visit Mae Tao Clinic (also known as Dr Cynthia’s Clinic) based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Mr Soros visited the MTC on his way back from a series of high profile meetings in Burma with government and opposition politicians, including the…

A breakaway Karen armed group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, said in a public statement that they welcomed the recent ‘peace talks’ between the Karen National Union and the Burma government, but warned that the if the ‘talks’ are to succeed KNU fighters will have to stop their attacks on the Burma Army in Brigade 6. The statement issued from…

Burma Army battalions operating in the Tantabin Township, Taungoo District, Karen State area have forced villagers to work daily on a rotation to supply frontline bases. A local villager told Karen News that Light Infantry Battalions 376, 541, 540 and 380, under the Military Operation Command 9, have been since the first week of November 2011 until now been forcing…