ethnic

A report released by the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN) has claimed that the Norwegian led Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI) is putting the security of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) at risk by placing them in areas under Burma Army control. The MPSI is a Norwegian led “international initiative to support peace in Burma through development and humanitarian assistance.…

Mai Luh, 6, was getting a hard time from playmates who poked fun at him over his looks. Mai Luh, born with a cleft palate, had experience discrimination from birth because of his facial disfigurement. In Mae Sot Hospital on the Thai-Burma border, a medic from Mai Luh’s home village recounts the story of how Mai Luh’s father abandoned him…

A Thai based advocacy group, representing ethnic Kachin women, has issued a statement condemning the latest military offensives by the Burma Army in Kachin State, that threatens the lives of “tens of thousands of civilians.” The Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) said it abhorred the latest violence in Kachin State. Government soldiers continued to attack Kachin Independence Army positions…

A coalition of Shan community-based-organisations released a statement calling on the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to raise the issue of ongoing military offensives by the Burmese government in ethnic areas during his visit to the country. The statement, issued on behalf of 12 community-based-organisations, including the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women’s Action Network, said…

Following suspension of its membership with the United Nationalities Federal Council, the ethnic alliance bloc, the Karen National Union have said that they will make a decision on whether to stop or continue their membership with the UNFC. Earlier reports from the KNU indicated that the issue would be discussed during its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting scheduled in September,…

A coalition of Shan community based organizations has said a moratorium on resource extraction is urgently needed until there is nationwide peace and a discussion on the control and management of the country’s natural resources, much of which are in ethnic areas. The Shan CBOs referred to an anti-mining protest held on 5th September by 3,000 villagers in the town…

A Karen women’s group based inside Burma urged the Karen National Union (KNU) to rejoin the ethnic alliance, as its recent action to suspend its membership risks dividing support within the Karen political community and derailing unity in the ethnic nationalities. The Karen Women Union issued a statement last week that raised issues over the decision by the KNU to…

The Karen National Union formally announced their suspension of participation with the ethnic alliance – the United Nationalities for Federal Council. The move has massive ramifications for the ethnic alliance. The KNU claim that its move was made so it can review and consult within their organization on the differences and its disagreement over the alliance’s policies and structure. The…

A group of 291 Shan civilians internally displaced by war in Shan State sent a letter of appeal directly to President U Thein Sein requesting a withdrawal of Burma Army soldiers from the areas of conflict and compensation for land and possessions they had allegedly destroyed. The letter, addressed to U Thein Sein, claimed that Burma Army soldiers destroyed 422…

Representatives from both the government and ethnic armed organizations continue discussions on a ceasefire code-of-conduct before signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Padoh Saw Tadoh Moo, a member of the Karen National Union’s Central Executive Committee, spoke to Karen News about the issue while attending the latest round of negotiations over the “Single Text” Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government at…