Articles

In spite of the devastation and loss of life caused by recent earthquakes in northern Thailand and northeast Burma government officials are pushing ahead with its plans to dam the Salween River. The Thai government responded to the recent earth quake in northern Thailand by calling for ‘a meeting for key agencies’ to develop strategies to cope with future earthquakes.…

Community organisations delivering aid to refugees recently displaced by fighting in Karen state are worried the recent cold weather and heavy rain along the border are a health risk for the 12,000 people taking shelter in makeshift hiding sites. Community health workers warn displaced people hiding along the Thai Burma border are urgently in need of weatherproof shelters as the…

The Karen National Union urged support in a recent statement for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in Burma to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity at the hands of the nation’s armed forces. “We call upon the international community and the UN to support and give mandate to the formation of Commission of Inquiry to investigate…

The Burma Army plans to militarize eastern Burma suffered a severe set-back in central Pa-an when more than a 1,000 soldiers of the recently formed Border Guard Force joined forces with fighters aligned to the Karen National Union. During the last 18 months, the Burma army has attempted to disarm and dismantle ethnic ceasefire groups under its control. The military…

Ethnic minority communities in eastern Burma continue to endure widespread human rights abuses despite the government’s nominal transition to a civilian government, a UN human rights envoy told reporters in late May. Tomas Quintana, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in prepared remarks that Burma’s “systematic militarization” continues to promote “land confiscation, forced labor, internal displacement,…

United States Senator John McCain, the Republican party’s nominee for the 2008 presidential election sopped off in Thailand on his way to meet with members of Burma’s newly elected parliament and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Senator McCain met with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in Bangkok on Monday before visiting the border town of Mae Sot on…

Aging and infirm officers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’s Border Guard Force who have retired and fled to liberated areas of Karen State say they have received death threats from active officers. Saw Mu Hsoe, also known as Hta Kler, served as second in command of Brigade 999’s Battalion 3 prior to his retirement and says he remains under…

As the rainy season gains momentum, upwards of 14,000 ethnic Karen refugees remain in makeshift shelters just inside the Thai border, displaced by fighting between the Burmese army and a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) that erupted following national elections last year and continues to displace thousands in eastern Burma. Displaced villagers have encamped in scattered…

Increased militarization by the Burmese army in Karen state in recent months has further imperiled communities already at risk of injury or death by landmines, in a country described by a 2011 report by the humanitarian organization Geneva Call as “one of the most heavily landmine-contaminated countries on earth.” The report, titled Humanitarian Impact of Landmines in Burma/Myanmar, estimates that…

The establishment of Burma’s so-called civilian government following national polls in November has done little to change the realities on the ground in Karen State, but as villagers describe near-daily scenes of armed conflict between government soldiers and a breakaway faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), they also show growing support for the DKBA’s struggle. “We hear sounds…