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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…

After being reported ‘as disappeared’ during his trip to China in August 2011, Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, a Karen National Union central executive committee member it was reported in Burma’s media that on December 8, the KNU official was tried and sentenced at Mingaladon court in Rangoon to 17 years in jail. KNU sources said that the report about Padoh…

Villagers say Burma Army units operating in the Amo in Palaw Township of Tenasserim Division area have imposed a night curfew order on local villagers in the area, beginning on December 7th. The order was issued by the Burma Army Tactical Operation Command #3, led by Commander Colonel Soe Min Htay and based in the Amo area. The Commander summoned…

The Karen National Union confirmed to Karen News that it will officially meet with the Burma government to progress ceasefire talks on 12th January 2012 in Pa-an Town, Karen State. Padoh Saw David Taw, the secretary of the KNU Peace Committee told Karen News and said that the New Year meeting was confirmed during an informal preliminary meeting held yesterday…

Saw Moo Wah lives in Naung Bo village. His village is one of 11 that are situated along the Sittang River in Pegu Division in the southern central part of Burma. The local economy is based around its natural resources and agriculture. The major crop in Pegu Division is rice which uses about two thirds of the available agricultural land.…

A bomb exploded near the busy Hle Dan junction in Rangoon at 11am this morning killing one and wounding pedestrians. An eyewitness spoke to Karen News (under the condition of anonymity) said the bomb exploded at a public toilet close to Hle Dan junction. “The bomb explosion killed one woman and an injured man was taken to Yangon Hospital. The…

Yesterday, an unknown armed group going by the initials BBK, hijacked 16 trucks belonging to the Italian-Thai Development Company working on the controversial Tavoy-Kanchanaburi highway been built in Southern Burma. An Italian-Thai Development Company officer (who did not want to be name for security reasons) told Karen News about the hijacking. “Early morning, five armed men, equipped with MA-2 rifles…

Burma’s state owned newspaper, Kyaymon [The Mirror], reported early this week that representatives from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and representatives from the central level of Thein Sein’s government met for the first time on December 11 in Pa-an Town, Karen State. Based on an agreement reached at a preliminary meeting on 3rd November, representatives from the DKBA, led by…

Despite the government’s calls for ‘peace talks’, humanitarian groups and official Karen political parties claim the Burma Army is still committing abuses against civilians in Eastern Burma. Representatives from the Karen National Union and Burma government officials have met several times recently to try to reach a ceasefire agreement. Civilian sources say while the politicians are talking the Burma Army…