Opinion

Myanmar government and ethnic armed organizations including the Karen National Union (KNU) have signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA), but clashes have broken out in the area controlled by the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5. The KNLA’s Vice Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Saw Baw Kyaw Heh shared his views and opinions on this issue.…

This month another forgotten anniversary is passing by without official acknowledgement. The 8th of August 1988 is remembered for the nationwide protests and crackdown which followed. Troops opened fire on civilians, estimates put the number of people killed at more than three thousand, some as high as ten thousand. Thousands more were arrested. In summaries of the history of Burma,…

Many Karen refugees from camps along the Thai-Burma border have been resettled in Sweden since 2005 under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s resettlement program. Karen News spoke* with Naw Thida Naing, chair of the Karen Swedish Community, at the end of July about the Karen community there and efforts to preserve Karen culture overseas. Q: Please tell…

In an exclusive interview with Karen News, Saw Nay Htoo, director of the Burma Medical Association explains why its important ethnic health organizations should be providers of healthcare services to ethnic communities. He points out that Burma is a country where government healthcare provision is almost non-existence and why ethnic organizations need to be involved in reforming Burma’s ailing healthcare…

Naw Zipporeah Sein, has spent the last four years negotiating with the Burma government as a key member and Vice-chairperson of the Karen National Union. Ms Sein recently took the time to analyze the Union Peace Conference that was held from 24 to 29 May, 2017 in the country’s capital, Nawpyitaw. The result of the conference was the Union Accord…

Anyone working for social justice in Burma should be disappointed by the mainstream media’s coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Canada last week. Given ongoing military abuses throughout Burma’s ethnic regions, it was frustrating to see headlines focusing again and again that Canada must press Aung San Suu Kyi regarding her government’s brutal treatment of Rohingya Muslim communities…

The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) and its armed wing, the Arakan Liberation Army, signed a preliminary ceasefire with the Rakhine State government in April 2012 before joining seven other ethnic armed groups in inking the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in October 2015. Nineteen representatives from the ALP are currently attending the second session of the Union Peace Conference, also known…

On April 7, the highly anticipated 16th KNU Congress came to an end with the election of a new leadership to drive the organization for the next four years. Unlike many past congresses, the 16th KNU Congress attracted enormous interest from Burma watchers and from the Karen community around the world because many believed that the outcome would have a…

In an exclusive interview with Karen News, Twan Zaw, the United Nationalities Federal Council’s Joint General Secretary (1) and general secretary of Arakan National Council, discusses the importance of ethnic unity as Burma Army offensives continue to batter villagers in the north of the country. We are totally concerned about the northern fighting, mainly with the members of the UNFC.…

The death of Professor Desmond Ball witnessed a surge of respectful and reverent obituaries and comment on social media, in newspapers, radio and television. His life’s work was lauded by many people who knew the significance of his work or who Des Ball had helped in some way. From the Thai Burma border to Australia, former students, government officials, senior…