Articles

The Karen National Union is considering allowing the Italian-Thai Development Company to build a road linking Burma’s Tavoy Special Economic Zone to Thailand after a meeting between the KNU and company representatives on December 28. Saw Kwe Htoo Win, KNU chairman of the Mergui-Tavoy District and the KNU’s representative in meetings with the Italian-Thai explained to Karen News. “The company…

Thousands of villagers turned up to celebrate the Karen New Year for the first time in Tavoy (also known as Dawei) Town, the capital of Tenasserim Division. The huge turnout was in response to the Burma government’s offer to let Karen people their cultural holiday in the divisional capital. Saw Poe, who was among the thousands of rural villagers who…

Residents of Zin Kyaik village, Paung Township, Mon State claim a fire that destroyed more than a 100 houses on the night of 25 December was a caused by an electric fault. A woman villager who witnessed the incident told Karen News. “A hundred houses are gone. People say that the fire was caused by an electric failure. The electricity…

After being abused by a senior officer, Aung Ko Lat, 21, deserted from his Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 230 that was operating in Hlaingbwe Township in Karen State. Aung Ko Lat explained to Karen News that he deserted his unit on December 12, 2011 and turned himself in to the Karen National Union after alleged continue abuse by his…

The Karen National Union have appealed for Karen civil society groups based inside Burma and oversea to voice their thoughts before the official ‘peace talks’ between the KNU and the Burma government takes place on January 12. Naw Zipporah Sein, general secretary of KNU told Karen News that the KNU meeting with the government is critically important to all Karen…

To avoid being sent to the frontline, Burma Army officers are allegedly paying people who are HIV/AIDS positive to be tested and admitted to Mingaladon Military Hospital under the officer’s names in order to be excused military duty. A HIV/AIDS positive person who had been paid to be tested and admitted to hospital under a Burma Army captain’s name spoke…

The New Mon State Party and a government delegation headed by Burma’s Minister for Railways, U Aung Min held preliminary ‘peace talks’ in Thailand on the 22nd December. The New Mon State Party confirmed to Karen News that the meeting with the Burma government representatives took place in Thailand. “The meeting was only at the preliminary stage. We will try…

Burma Army soldiers in Khapara village, Mansi Township in Kachin State, killed a Kachin mother while she was breastfeeding her three-week-old baby. The woman’s husband said soldiers came to where his family was hiding and stabbed his wife Daw Swan Kar Ryeh Taung’s to death. The woman’s grief-stricken husband said, Burma Army soldiers operating in the area, fatally stabbed Daw…

The Pa’an Town based Karen Peace Committee has come under government scrutiny under after they met with Karen National Union leaders about ceasefire talks held at the Thai Burma border in early December according to local sources. A member from a Pa’an based charity told Karen News. “U Aung Thaung (former Minister of Industrial No.1) asked questions of one of…

Reports by human rights groups accuse the Burma Army of ongoing abuses including rape, torture and murder. The recent visit in November by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was supposed to nudge Burma’s military leadership towards reform. But the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) claims that Burma’s political reforms are almost meaningless whilst human rights continue to be widely…