By Saw Lahkbaw* Karen Martyrs Day is not a day to be celebrated with light-hearted activities. It is a day of mourning and honoring our martyrs. Celebrations not acknowledging the services and sacrifices of our martyrs is disrespectful. Celebrations without taking the time to remember what our fallen died for is an inadequate response. Karen Martyrs Day is a day…
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Phil Thornton one of the judges said the writing was thought provoking and covered important issues for the Karen’s current political struggle. “Many of the essays identified weaknesses in the KNU’s approach to the National Ceasefire Agreement process. Others questioned the KNU’s political structures and its capacity to handle negotiations with the Burma military use of tactics that locked Karen…
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The arrested organizers, Sa Thein Saw Min and Saw Hser Kwa Lar were taken into custody and now face charges under the notorious Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act. The Karen Peace Support Network issue a statement condemning the arrest of organizers for commemoration of 70th Karen Martyrs’ Day in Rangoon on August 12, 2020 and calling for the charges…
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Despite the peaceful ceremonies police in Rangoon arrested Karen organizers of the 2020 Martyrs’ Day commemoration held in Maha Bandula Park in central of the town where many Karen people in the region joined to pay tribute to the Martyrs pillar. During the event, police turned up and arrested two of the five youth organizers, Sa Thein Zaw Min and…
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By Naw Poe Kler Before his assassination Saw ba U Gyi instructed Karen leaders of his manifesto based around three key points: 1) armed struggle; 2) political dialogue and a negotiated settlement with the Burmese government and 3) international intervention and arrangement on the Karen peoples’ behalf. The overall objective of the competition is to pay tribute to the Karen’s…
Read More » Saw Ba U Gyi, the founder of the Karen National Union and the modern Karen armed revolution, told Karen leaders that the Karen’s struggle for freedom and autonomy to succeed, there are three approaches 1. armed struggle, 2, political dialogue for a negotiated settlement with the Burmese government, and 3. international intervention or arrangement for the Karen people. Saw Greh…
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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…
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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…
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Local authorities are planning to charge five organizers of the 68th Karen Martyrs’ Day event under the Ward and Village Tract Administration Law for holding the commemoration without permission at the Kayin People’s Party (KPP) office in Hinthada Township, Irrawaddy Region on August 12. Hinthada District Administrator U Myo Aung said he prohibited the Karen Martyrs’ Day commemoration, but it…
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Karen leaders in the Irrawaddy Region ignored warnings and threats from Burmese authorities trying to stop Karen people commemorating the annual Martyr Day on August 12. The Karen leaders from Hinthada Township are angry at the Burmese authorities for disturbing and threatening law suits over the commemoration of the 68th Karen Martyrs Day. Officials from the Kayin People’s Party’s said…
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