Burma army

In recent months and as peace negotiations with the government continue, human rights abuses including rape and arbitrary killings at the hands of the Burma Army continue against Kachin people, according to community-based organisations and frontline backpack medics. The conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and Burma’s Army that started in June 2011 has left over 350 villages in trouble,…

The 28th of October marked the second anniversary of the abduction of Sumlut Roi Ja, an ethnic Kachin woman, by members of Burma’s Army. She is still missing. Burma Army soldiers arrested Sumlut Roi Ja, a 28-year-old mother, on October 28th 2011 while she was working on the family’s farm near her village Hkai Bang, close to the China border.…

The human rights situation in Burma is moving too slowly, says Fortify Rights a non-profit human rights organization based in Southeast Asia, with positive political progress being undermined by a festering civil war in the country’s north. “Positive political changes have come to Burma but the human rights situation is deeply concerning,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights.…

In an exclusive three-part interview with Karen News, the Karen National Union’s vice-chairperson, Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, voiced her concerns that the government is rushing to sign a nationwide ceasefire without regard for the on-the-ground realities of ongoing armed conflict in ethnic areas or of failing to complete its obligations agreed to in previous peace talk meetings. Naw Zipporah Sein…

The Burma Army reneged on an agreement it had with the Karen National Union and arrested two Karen soldiers for collecting taxes at a temporary checkpoint. The two soldiers, from the Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 2, based in the Taungoo District were arrested while on checkpoint duty, by the Burma Army on October 1. Padoh Saw Eh Wah, the…

The head of Burma’s military met with members of the Karen armed resistance in the country’s capital to discuss how the ceasefire between the two could be progressed. The meeting is seen by ethnic leaders as a move by the government to acknowledge the Karen National Union (KNU) as a necessary component in the country’s political future. The delegation met…

The Karen National Union met last week with Burma government officials in Rangoon and Nay Pyi Daw to try to give its ceasefire arrangements and peace talks a higher priority ranking. A KNU nine-member delegation led by its chairman, General Mutu Say Poe left for Burma on September 26 to meet with both the government’s senior administrators and its military…

Burma’s refusal to sign a declaration against sexual violence comes despite pressure from the British government. The declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict was launched by the British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, at the United Nations in New York. On Tuesday 24th September…

The United States and Australia need to adopt a calibrated approach in extending military assistance to the new leadership in Myanmar. Without such a calculated framework, Washington’s efforts at building partner capacity will be much less effective. Since 2012 the United States, followed by Australia, has extended military assistance and relaxed restrictions on defence cooperation to Myanmar. Then Secretary of…

British MP, Valerie Vaz delivered more than 2,000 letters from supporters of Burma Campaign UK on 12 September to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, calling for action to end sexual violence against women in Burma. Burma Campaign UK called on the British government to highlight Burma when Foreign Secretary William Hague travels to New York for a major meeting at…