Articles

Communities in rural Karen State don’t refer to climate change by name, but they have experienced its negative impacts and are responding. At the foot of Maw Law Ei Mountain, the highest peak in eastern Myanmar’s Karen State, increasing temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, such as flash-flooding, have become common. Members of the indigenous groups that make up the…

The Karen National Union said the effectiveness and the usefulness of foreign funding has been nullified by need for ethnic armed organizations to seek permission from the government. The National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), formed by the President’s Office to set policies and guidelines for reconciliation and peace process taking place, sent an official letter to 10 ethnic armed…

Karen women’s groups called for more women to be involved in Burma’s federal political and Karen National Union elections. The call was made in a statement issued after the 4th Grassroots Karen Women Seminar held during the last week of October, 2019. The statement called for the abolishment of the 2018 Vacant Fellow and Virgin land law and for widespread…

Thoo Mwe Khee School, a popular migrant school on the Thai-Burma border, is having difficulties coping with almost 1,000 student’s packed classrooms and an overcrowded boarding house. Thoo Mwe Khee School, in Phop Phra district in Tak province is officially known as Thoo Mwe Khee migrant learning center, students refer to it as TMKS. The school started with four teachers…

Villagers in Nat Gon and nearby villages of Hpa-an Township, Karen State panicked after noticing their water sources had turned black. They are now too scared to drink the water. In early October, villages in Bar Kat village tract, about one mile in the west of Hpa-an town, found their water water-wells, ponds and streams had turned dark making them…

The Karen National Union briefed 168 representatives from its departments and 63 Karen civil society organizations at Law Khee Lar (also known as) Lay Wah in Pa-An district, Karen State from 4 to 5 October, 2019. The KNU said the aim of the meeting was to update community groups on the current political negotiations it faced – items discussed included…

Preparations are underway to start operation of the 2nd Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge, connecting the Thai border town of Mae Sot in Tak Province and the Burma border town of Myawaddy in Karen State, by October 30, 2019. Union Minister U Thant Zin Maung from the Ministry of Transport and Communications travelled to Myawaddy on October 5 to inspect the readiness…

Three Karen activists arrested for organizing a peaceful community ceremony to commemorate the 69th Karen Martyr’s Day in Rangoon were given 15-days in jail by Kyauktada Township court today, October 2, 2019. The three organizers, Karen Women Union, chairperson, Naw Ohn Hla, youth leaders, Saw Albert Cho and S’ Thein Zaw Min were earlier charged under section 20 of the…

To achieve peace in Burma, Padoh Saw Thamaing Tun, a KNU Central Committee member, said the government needs to prioritize the country’s ethnic nationalities aspirations without resorting to armed conflict. Padoh Saw Thamaing Tun was speaking at an International Peace Day event on September 21 in Thandaung Myothit, Northern Karen State. Padoh Saw Thamaing Tun told the gathering it was…

Burma’s government has come under scrutiny for arresting three Karen for organizing a peaceful community ceremony and to use the word ‘Martyrs’. The event was to commemorate the 69th Karen Martyr’s Day held in Rangoon on August 12. The three organizers, Karen Women Union, chairperson, Naw Ohn Hla, Saw Albert Cho and S’ Thein Zaw Min were charged under section…