Opinion

In the past few months, various media reports have quoted some concerns and opinions of KESAN regarding the ongoing peace process in Burma. This statement clarifies and expands upon these issues. Our perspective on the peace process and peace funds Sustainable peace is the long-term vision of Karen people. That vision incorporates rule of law, the protection of human rights,…

The participation of the Karen people in the decision-making process at the national level is key in preventing the Karen from being subjected to on-going forms of oppression and exploitation by the military dominated Burma government. The Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese government’s decision to sign the ceasefire agreement are hopeful first steps towards finding a solution to…

The recent first-round of ‘peace talks’ between the Karen National Union and the Burma government in Pa-an on 12th January raised a lot of expectations within the international community, the Burmese community and among Karen people living inside Burma and those living overseas. In a series of interviews, Karen people shared with Karen News their opinion, their hopes and thoughts…

Last week’s accord with the government brought the feeling that times are really changing in Burma, but bitter experiences of the past are prompting questions of why the KNU left the table without firm guarantees. It was a heart-pounding moment for many Karen around the world waiting to hear the outcomes of Thursday’s peace talks between the Karen National Union…

I can’t remember how many times the Karen National Union and other ethnic political organisations have been dismissed as losing, or being on the verge of defeat. In February 1950 General Ne Win boasted to international media that victory over the Karen ‘insurgents’ would be completed by May that year. The New York Times duly reported: “Defeat of rebels withdrawing…

The ethnic people of Burma are having a hard time. Burma Army soldiers are targeting women in the Kachin and Shan State for rape. Villagers are used as forced labour for the Burma Army. Development projects mean forced relocation and slave labour. Half a million ethnic people are displaced in eastern Burma. Village schools have been burnt, health care is…

I don’t think many people in the west have any real understanding of what it is like to be driven out of your country, to have to flee for your life, leaving your possessions, friends, everything you know behind you, and never knowing if or when you will ever being able to go back. As if that horrible experience isn’t…