KNU

Following an informal meeting between the Karen National Union and Burma government officials, at the Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) in Rangoon on June 15, to talk about a ceasefire “Code of Conduct” both delegations plan to meet again in July. Padoh Saw Aung Win Shwe, head of the KNU’s foreign affairs department and a member of the Karen’s delegation told…

A Karen National Union delegation, led by its chairman, Saw Mutu Say Poe, left yesterday for Rangoon to meet with government officials for a new round of peace talks. Padoh Thaw Thi Bwe, the organisations joint secretary confirmed with Karen News that a KNU delegation, led by Chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe, is schedule to meet government Minister, U Aung…

Karen News has learnt that Burma Army leaders and officers in Tenasserim Division are under orders to create disagreement among the Karen National Union (KNU) leaders in Mergui-Tavoy District. A Burma Army source in the Dawei area, who requested that his name not to be used, said that orders have been received to create disagreement among KNU leaders in order…

Padoh Kwe Htoo Win, the Karen National Union’s general secretary, in an exclusive interview with Karen News explains his organization position on the peace process with the Burma government, repatriation of refugees and land ownership. In part one of a three part series Padoh Kwe Htoo Win talks about the peace process. Padoh Kwe Htoo Win said that despite three…

More than 150 representatives and observers from 40 Karen organizations from inside Burma, along the Thai-Burma border and overseas who took part in the 9th Karen Unity Seminar voiced their concern that there has been a significant decrease in humanitarian aid for communities at risk in Karen state. Karen representatives at the Seminar expressed their concerns that the Karen National…

More than 150 representatives from 40 different Karen organizations attended the 9th Karen National Unity Seminar held from May 27 to 31 in Karen State. The seminar discussed ways to strengthen unity among all Karen people in the context of the current political situation in Burma. Seminar attendees confirmed their commitment to building national unity on the basis of ethnic…

Colonel Ner Dah Mya, a son of General Saw Bo Mya, met and discussed with Burmese civil society groups in Sydney during a recent visit to Australia. The Australian Karen Organization (AKO) organized the meeting and discussion that was attended by 30 people from Burma including ethnic nationalities such as Kachin, Mon and Karen living in Sydney. Members of the…

Villagers living along the Salween River claim that the Thai energy authority are moving ahead with plans to build a dam at the Hat Gyi site. Villagers in the area said that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have put up water level measurement posts on the Salween River bank at the proposed dam site. Local sources alleged that…

Officials from the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Brigade 5 said that a 15-year-old boy taken as a army recruit by the Lay Poe Htar village track leader in April was released on May 2. Colonel Saw Kler Do from the KNU’s Brigade 5 District said that Saw Pa Log, a Lay Poe Htar village track leader, ordered his followers to…

Land confiscation of property belonging to villagers by developers and government officials in Tenasserim Division has become a complicated issue for the Karen National Union (KNU) during its peace-building process with the Burma government. Ber Baw Lor, a Karen village in southern Burma, is an example where the entire population was displaced, and its residents now living in a makeshift…