Mid Atlantic Karen

Statement of Ethnic Nationalities Conference

2011-02-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

Statement of Ethnic Nationalities Conference

20 Feb 2011

Ethnic Nationalities Conference
February 12 – 16, 2011

Statement

1. Fifty one out of the fifty six delegates invited from the CNF, KNPP, NUPA, PNLO, WNO, LDU, KNU, PSLF, KIO, NMSP, KNO, ALD, UNLD-LA, KNLP and SSPP attended the Ethnic Nationalities Conference, which was held for five days, from February 12 to 16, and keenly discussed for greater unified action of the ethnic nationality forces, in the future.

2. The Conference was able to organize for the emergence of an umbrella organization representing
the ethnic nationalities and formed successfully the ‘United Nationalities Federal Council (Union of Burma). Having the same aim as the ‘Committee for Emergence of Federal Union’, which was formed in the previous year and which had constantly striven for unity of the ethnic nationalities, the organization will continue to work for the establishment of a genuine federal union.

3. The basic principles and policies of the United Nationalities Federal Council (Union of Burma), UNFC-UB, are as follows.
(a) To strive for the resolution of political problems by political means;
(b) To endeavor for gaining more legitimacy and recognition for the just resistance struggle of the ethnic nationalities;
(c) To struggle for gaining fully rights to national equality and self-determination, which are the lawful rights of the ethnic nationalities;
(d) To strive for the emergence of a genuine federal union;

4. For endeavoring on the basis of sincerity to bring about conditions for peaceful co-existence within the Union, we, the ethnic nationalities, hereby declare the formation of the United Nationalities Federal Council (Union of Burma).

Ethnic Nationalities Conference
February 17, 2011

Contact:
1. Nai Han Tha, General Secretary (Mobile: 083 3143076)
2. Col. Khun Okker, Joint Gen. Sec. (Mobile: 081 950 2158)

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BGF Issue Remains Major Challenge in 2011

2010-12-29T04:13:00.000-08:00

- - - those concerned nationally and internationally with peace and democracy in Burma should actively engage with the ethnic armed groups and involve them in discussions about political change.
- - - the world has focused on the struggle of the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has become an international icon, but almost completely ignored ethnic minority issues and the relevance of the cease-fire agreements.

Read more

Burma ethnic groups seek talks with junta - World Net Daily

2010-12-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

Leaders of the ethnic Karen in eastern Burma, who have been fighting for autonomy from the country's military dictatorship since 1949, say the recent election results and government policies put the regime on a collision course with failure.

The statement was issued after the KNU's 14th annual congress.

The KNU said that while it's thankful for the release from house arrest of pro-democracy advocate and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the fraudulent November elections show that the military regime – which calls itself the State Peace and Development Council, the SPDC – has no intention of moving towards a democratic Burma.

Read more (Note three embedded audio links)

Inside KNLA Brigade 5 with the Free Burma Rangers

2010-12-18T05:04:00.000-08:00

Inside KNLA Brigade 5 with the Free Burma Rangers

Refugees Again Pour Into Thailand after Fighting Resumes

2010-11-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

Refugees Again Pour Into Thailand after Fighting Resumes

After Burma Poll, Conflict Looms - The Diplomat

2010-10-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

While the election may provide the basis for the creation of regional parliaments that could allow some degree of ethnic representation, observers say that most of the ethnically-affiliated parties have close links to the regime and will do little to advance minority interests.

MAE LA CAMP, THAILAND—Aside from the checkpoints, it could be any village in Thailand. The bamboo houses, bisected by dirt lanes and picturesque streams, are well-tended and strung with brightly-coloured laundry; in dirt-floored cafes, men in Burmese longyi (sarongs) chat over shots of sugary tea and chew betel nut, while nearby stalls stock the latest Thai cosmetics and DVDs. Children, their cheeks daubed with swirls of traditional thanaka face paint, chant lessons in Burmese and English in well-equipped bamboo classrooms. Read more

Burma's Nuclear Adventure—The Real Threat - Irrawaddy

2010-10-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

For several years reports have been emerging from Burma about its nuclear ambitions, supported by claims of varying provenance about equipment purchases and overt attempts to buy nuclear technology from Russia.

Now a brave military officer, who defected from the secretive state, has provided photographs of specialized machine shops building chemical equipment that is almost certainly designed for processing uranium chemical compounds to enrich uranium.

The only reason for Burma to be taking this secretive path is to embark on a weapons program. There is no other logical fit for the pieces.

The good news is that the technology is far too complex for Burma to master easily. The photos and information provided by the defector show a dysfunctional program. It has made terrible technology choices and the quality of the workmanship we can observe is primitive.

Read more

FBR REPORT: DKBA Continue to Forcibly Recruit Villagers while the Karen Peace Force Joins the Burma Army Border Guard Force

2010-10-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

DKBA - The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army broke away from the Karen National Union in 1995 and have been fighting alongside the Burma Army ever since.

BGF - The SPDC has issued an ultimatum to various cease-fire and proxy groups stating that they have to join a "Border Guard Force." This involves the groups giving up operational control to Burma Army officers under threat of dissolution.

Karen Peace Force - The Karen Peace Force was created 1997 after a battalion split off from the Karen National Liberation Army (the military arm of the Karen National Union).
Read more

FBR Training Report: Graduation of New Ranger Teams in Southern Karen State

2010-10-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your love and support. We have just finished training seven Karen relief teams in Southern Karen State, including three completely new teams. These teams successfully completed Leadership and Relief Team Training in Karen State. They are now on their way to relief missions to help people displaced by the attacks of the Burma Army. The teams received training in different subject areas, which will improve their ability to help their people and to put a light on the situation in Burma. (See the list of Subject Areas below.)
Read more

Than Shwe’s ‘Final Solution’ for ethnic Burma | Democratic Voice of Burma

2010-09-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

By ZOYA PHAN

Published: 24 September 2010

The international community has never paid proper attention to what happens in ethnic areas of Burma. The Burmese army’s attacks against civilians – even the shooting and killing women and babies, and the mortar bombing of schoolchildren in Karen state – are ignored by media and diplomats. The focus is almost exclusively on what happens in Rangoon, and what happens with Aung San Suu Kyi.

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Twilight of the DKBA? - Irrawaddy

2010-09-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

Since it signed an agreement with the Burmese military regime and held ceremonies marking its decision to join the border guard force (BGF), the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) has been written off by many Burma observers for wilting under the pressure of the military junta.

Many say the ethnic cease-fire group is at its endgame and that its troops can only look forward to a grim future under the command of the Burmese army.

Read more

Karen People Worldwide Call for Peace on International Peace Day - by Zoya Phan

2010-09-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

Friday, 17 September 2010 at 09:26. Media release from Karen community worldwide

For immediate release 17th September 2010

Karen People Worldwide Call for Peace on International Peace Day

Karen people around the world have come together in support of recent statement made by the Karen National Union, to call for peace in Burma on the World Peace Day on 21st of September.

For so many decades, the Karen people have been targeted for planned, widespread and systematic attacks by the ruling regimes which have forced hundreds of thousands of Karen civilians into hiding, refugee camps
and to other countries. The dictatorship continues to target civilians in their military operations in Karen State, which are in breach of the Geneva Conventions, and which requires immediate international action.

Karen communities worldwide support the Karen National Union (KNU) for defending the Karen people and finding ways to look after the wellbeing of the Karen people. The KNU has always called for dialogue with the ruling regime in line with the call from international community including United Nations, European Union and USA to solve the problems by political means. However, the dictatorship ignores this call and continues its military offensives against the Karen people.

It’s time for international community to put effective pressure on Burma’s dictatorship to end all it’s military operations against the Karen and other ethnic civilians, and enter into political dialogue with genuine representatives from ethnic groups and democracy forces as mandated by the UN General Assembly.

“We welcome the Karen National Union's decision to take this concrete first step towards peace with Burma’s dictatorship on this special occasion of International Day of Peace. The international community must support the Karen National Union to put pressure on the regime to stop attacking innocent, unarmed Karen civilians” said Stephen Dun, board member of Karen American Communities Foundation.

The Karen communities worldwide desire genuine democracy, peace and national reconciliation, to rebuild our homeland and our dreams for a peaceful federal democratic Union of Burma.

For more information please contact Stephen Dun, board member of Karen American Communities Foundation on +1 2062958553 (USA) or Saw Lwin Oo, National President of Australia Karen Organisation on +61 4123 44009 (Australia).

BURMA'S NUCLEAR BATTALION - Dictator Watch

2010-08-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

BURMA’S NUCLEAR BATTALION

By Roland Watson
August 28, 2010

Please forward.

In June, we published lists of 660 Burma military officers who in 2009 began masters or doctoral programs in Russia at fourteen different technical universities. We now understand that the lists were prepared for
submission to and approval by Russia’s Foreign Minister. They were in English to facilitate this communication.

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/prstudentlists.html

Of the 2009 class - Batch 9, 111 were directly assigned to the SPDC's nuclear project. We have
also now learned that the mysterious HRD project stands for Human Resources Department, and includes personnel with specialities that suggest links to the other projects (Nuclear, Tunnel, Computer, etc.), but which for some reason did not have such a direct assignment. Of the HRD personnel, over thirty have nuclear relatedspecialities, making a total of at least 140 personnel from the 2009 intake being trained in nuclear science. We repeat, this is conclusive evidence that the SPDC has a clandestine nuclear program, and that it lied to the International Atomic Energy Agency when it said that it did not. We have now received additional hard documentation abut the nuclear program: A construction status report, building plan, and maps, of the #1 Science and Technology Battalion at Thabeikkyin, aka the Nuclear Battalion, and which is believed to be the center of the overall program. The documents that follow are from 2006, and relate to the initial construction of the Nuclear Battalion, including buildings, factories, and road, electricity and water infrastructure. They describe a facility for upwards of five hundred personnel, but which also envisioned a potential ten-fold expansion. We think it likely that much of this expansion has been completed in the intervening years. If so, this answers the question of where the bulk of the scientists trained over the last nine years in Russia (and also the officers known to have studied in North Korea) are working.

Burma’s Nuclear Battalion is located in a mountain valley some twenty kilometers northeast of the town of Thabeikkyin, in the Kyaukkyi Forest Reserve (just southeast of the village of Kyaukkyi). Imagery of the specific location is not available from Google Earth. We sincerely hope that experts tracking the program will use their own imagery services to photograph the facility as it now exists, and make the images public so everyone can see.

Our initial intel about Thabeikkyin (also from 2006) said that there was a uranium milling facility associated with the operation, and which Jane’s Intelligence has now prospectively identified. While we do not have access to Jane’s images, we believe the mill is not at this location. The remote mountain site suggests a different purpose. We unfortunately do not have the internal layouts of the Battalion's factories. However, we do know that the initial design included five factories, a group of three and another group of two, and also that two larger factories were planned. Rather than uranium milling, we believe the Nuclear Battalion’s primary objective is enrichment and weapons development. The refined uranium (yellowcake) for the enrichment program is presumably coming from the mill.

We can also comment that the use of a secret mountain site for uranium enrichment parallels the actions of both Iran and North Korea.

Plan for buildings, lighting, water and sewage for #1 Science and Technology Battalion, Thabeikkyin.

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk1.pdf

Water specifications

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk2.pdf

Status report, first phase of building, 3 May 2006

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk3.pdf

Directive on 12 March 2006 concerning completion of building

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk4.pdf

Report on 33 KV power line and 33/11 KV, 4MVA substation completion

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk5.pdf

Outside water supply

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk6.pdf

Completion of road construction

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk7.pdf

Building plan for #1 Science and Technology Battalion, Thabeikkyin

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk8.pdf

Topographical map showing the location of the Nuclear Battalion

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk9.pdf

Map of the extension of the power lines from the Battalion south to Wabyudaung and also east towards Thabeikkyin

http://www.dictatorwatch.org/images/tbk10.pdf

Lives of Karen youths celebrated in funeral services - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch

2010-08-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Lives of Karen youths celebrated in funeral services - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch

An Ardent Appeal to the Peoples of the Western World - Kanbawza Win

2010-08-21T16:03:00.001-07:00

I am an insignificant Burmese expatriate, even as my native country, Union of Burma is irrelevant to the international community. I am just one of the 55 million plus people suffering silently, at the hands of the Burmese military thugs. And now, may I take your precious time just to tell you my version of the story couple with my vision.

The one unmistakable message, which I like to convey to you is that (Click the link below to watch the video and read more)

http://www.burmaliberationfront.org/declarations/appeal050510.htm

Southwestern Papun District: Transitions to DKBA control along the Bilin River - KHRG

2010-08-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

August 18, 2010

Since late 2009, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) has strengthened its presence in southwestern Dweh Loh Township, Papun District, increasing troop levels and camps, commencing gold mining operations on the Bilin River, and enforcing movement restrictions on the civilian population. Residents of the village tracts near the Bilin River and along the Bilin to Papun road, which follows the eastern bank of the Bilin River north through the centre of Dweh Loh Township (see map), have told KHRG field researchers that they have faced heavy demands for forced labour to support the increased DKBA presence, detracting from the time they can spend on livelihoods activities. Communities with a DKBA camp nearby have had livelihoods further curtailed, as DKBA soldiers have enforced strict curfews and other movement restrictions that have prevented villagers from spending sufficient time in their fields.
Read more

Mr. Beard Breaks Away

2010-08-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mr. Beard Breaks Away

USA Backs UN Burma Crimes Inquiry – Now EU Must Support - Campaign for Burma UK

2010-08-18T03:39:00.000-07:00

USA Backs UN Burma Crimes Inquiry – Now EU Must Support

18 Aug 2010

Burma Campaign UK today welcomed US backing for a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and called on European Union members to also express support.

On 17th August the USA became the fifth county to publicly support a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. The other countries are Australia, UK, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The EU has so far remained silent on the March recommendation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma that the UN establish an Inquiry. Some EU members which favour a softer line towards Burma’s generals, such as Germany, Austria and Italy, as well as Commission officials, effectively play down the seriousness of human rights abuses in Burma by remaining silent about them. This may be because the seriousness of abuses taking place undermines their agenda to relax pressure and increase trade.

“The EU must end its silence on crimes against humanity in Burma, and publicly support a UN Inquiry,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The EU is currently drafting the UN General Assembly resolution on Burma and must ensure the establishment of a UN Inquiry is in the resolution which is adopted.”

The Burma Campaign UK has published a detailed briefing on the UN General Assembly and Burma, available at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/burma-briefing/title/the-united-nations-general-assembly-burma

Burma Campaign groups from across Europe have this week written to their governments asking them to support the establishment of an Inquiry in the UN General Assembly resolution.

Junta Buys DKBA Allegiance

2010-08-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

Junta Buys DKBA Allegiance

Fair Elections in Burma?

2010-08-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Aug 16, 2010

by: Admin— Partners USA @ 10:23 am

Fair Elections in Burma?

Many people have asked me what my opinion is on the upcoming elections in Burma. Naturally they think that this is a step towards progress and democracy. I don’t believe the election will change things for the people of Burma. But rather than describing my reasoning, I am going to paste a speech that was delivered to
U.S. Congress by Indiana University Professor, David Williams. He does a better job at it than I could.

What you find in these following paragraphs is the articulation of why I believe the elections are no more than another ugly move by the regime to garner a better political identity in the eyes of nations while further galvanizing their power over the resources and people of Burma.

Here is the entire speech. The only edit I made was to drop the footnotes.

For freedom in Burma,

Steve Gumaer

Founder and CEO
Partners Relief & Development

“Here is the first reality: the SPDC is committing mass atrocities against the ethnic minorities. I know this because I advise many of the ethnic groups on constitutional reform, and I’ve spent a lot of time with them, witnessing conditions on the ground.

Here is the second reality: even if the 2010 elections are free and fair, which they won’t be, they won’t bring about civilian rule because the constitution does not provide for it–a partially civilian government, yes, but civilian rule, no. I teach constitutional law, and I consult in a number of countries, and this is one of the worst constitutions I have ever seen. The SPDC has done a good job of disguising what they’ve done, but underneath the attractive labeling, there is a blueprint for continued military rule.

Regarding the ethnic minorities, when you leave Rangoon and get up into the hills, things seem very different. I work a lot with the Karen, who are the Scots-Irish of Southeast Asia. They are a hill people, musical, clannish, and tough. They have long been dominated by a distant government, which they have learned to distrust. As a group, they are the gentlest and most loving people I know. But all of them were born fighting, because their government is slaughtering them as we speak. And they need our help.

Burma’s problems began in ethnic conflict, and they will continue until the underlying issues are addressed. Some people seem to think that

Burma’s struggle is between one woman, Aung San Suu Kyi, who wants democracy, and one man, Than Shwe, who doesn’t. But even if democracy comes to Burma, the troubles will not end until the needs and demands of the minorities have been answered. The resistance groups are not strong enough to overthrow the regime, but the regime is not strong enough to crush the resistance.

• Conditions in central Burma are bad, but in the ethnic areas there is suffering on a biblical scale, in every way comparable to Darfur.

• The military is making war on a civilian population, and its actions likely constitute crimes against humanity.

• The United Nations has found that soldiers routinely commit rape with impunity, and rape appears to be a policy for population control.

• By one UN estimate, officers commit 83% of these rapes, and 61% are gang rapes.

• When outsiders try to investigate, officers commonly threaten to cut the tongues and slice the throats of any villager who speaks to them. But these bald statistics cannot tell the human dimension of the suffering; reading the individual accounts is excruciating.

• As just one example: “Ms. Naang Khin, aged 22, and her sister, Ms. Naang Lam, aged 19, were reportedly raped by a patrol of SPDC troops . . . when they were reaping rice at their farm . . . Their father was tied to a tree. Afterwards, the two sisters were taken to a forest by the troops. Their dead bodies were found by villagers some days later dumped in a hole.”

• The Tatmadaw also uses forced labor and is probably the greatest conscriptor of child soldiers in the world.

• The military does not generally attack the armed resistance forces; instead, it burns or mortars villages, over 3000 villages since 1996.

• And this has been going on for years, creating one of the worst refugee crises in the world-one million plus between 1996 and 2006 and one half million still displaced today.

• One woman had to run for days through the jungle immediately after giving birth, carrying her baby in her arms. That baby grew up, got an American law degree, and she is now a research fellow in my Center. And she is a miracle of survival.

China cannot ignore the ethnic minorities, because it has had to deal with a wave of refugees, driven there by the SPDC’s attacks. Beijing publicly rebuked the regime for creating regional instability, which of course would be grounds for Security Council intervention. In other words, on this point, China and the US appear to be on the same page with respect to Burma: we all want the attacks to end.

So what policy recommendations follow from this reality?

First, the US should supply humanitarian aid not just through Rangoon but also across the borders to the ethnic minority areas. The programs in central Burma cannot get out into the hills, and as a result, the people who are suffering the most are receiving the least.

Second, the State Department has told us that the regime wants closer relations and will appoint an interlocutor. But if we are going to enter dialogue with the junta, we must first demand an immediate end to the attacks on civilian populations. Otherwise, we will be directly dealing with murderers still in the midst of a killing spree.

Third, Burma will never know peace or justice until there are trilateral talks between the SPDC, the democracy forces, and the ethnic minorities.

The international community has long known this truth, but the regime has proved unwilling. If we are going to open dialogue with the regime, we must insist that they engage not just with the NLD but also with the minorities.

My second subject is the 2010 elections. We all would like to hope that they will usher in a new era of possibility. But in fact, they won’t bring peace or civilian rule. The run-up to the elections has already brought more violence, not less. Overwhelmingly, the resistance armies have rejected the SPDC’s demand that they become border guard units after the elections, and the SPDC has responded by attacking the Kokang.

The conflict will only increase when the regime moves against larger groups: we will soon see fighting with the United Wa State Army, the Kachin Independence Army, and others. We know for a fact that the Burmese military is gearing up for offensives around the country and that the resistance groups are getting ready to resist attacks. The mountains will run with blood.

So the elections won’t bring peace; they also won’t bring civilian rule.

Some think that we should try to ensure that the elections are free and fair-but that really matters only if the elections will actually lead to civilian rule, which they won’t. The constitution allows the Tatmadaw to keep however much control it likes.

I clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg years ago, and she always taught us to read laws very closely. This constitution bears particularly close reading, because it is much worse than is generally reported. A lot of people worry that the Tatmadaw will dominate the government because they will appoint 25% of the various legislative bodies. But there’s a much bigger problem: under the constitution, the Tatmadaw is not subject to civilian government, and it writes its own portfolio. It can do whatever it wants.

The Constitution guarantees the power of the Tatmadaw in its section on

“Basic Principles”-a clear sign that the framers thought the role of the Defense Services to be fundamental. Article 20(b) provides that the military will run its own show without being answerable to anyone: “The Defence Services has [sic] the right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces.” The constitution defines the “affairs of the armed forces” so broadly as to encompass anything that the Tatmadaw might want to do. Article 6(f) provides that among the “Union’s consistent objectives” is “enabling the Defense Services to participate in the National political leadership role of the State.”

Article 20(e) further assigns the Tatmadaw primary responsibility for “safeguarding the non-disintegration of the Union, the non-disintegration of National solidarity and the perpetuation of sovereignty.” This regime has frequently found a threat to “National solidarity” when people merely disagree with it; it is prepared to slaughter peacefully protesting monks. There is no reason to think that after 2010, the Tatmadaw will think differently.

Because the Tatmadaw’s responsibilities are so broadly and vaguely defined, the question of who will have the power to interpret their scope is critical. The constitution answers that question clearly: the Tatmadaw will have the power to determine the powers of the Tatmadaw. Article 20(f) assigns the Tatmadaw primary responsibility “for safeguarding the Constitution.” But if the military is the principal protector of the constitution, then the military will presumably have the final authority to determine its meaning, so as to know what to protect. And indeed, Article 46 implicitly confirms this conclusion: it gives the Constitutional Tribunal power to declare legislative and executive actions unconstitutional, but it conspicuously omits the power to declare military actions unconstitutional. In other words, the Tatmadaw has the final authority to interpret the scope of its own constitutional responsibilities.

Most first year law students have read a famous portion of Bishop Hoadly’s Sermon, preached before the King in 1717: “Whoever hath an absolute authority to interpret any written or spoken laws, it is he who is truly the lawgiver, to all intents and purposes, and not the person who first spoke or wrote them.” And under the Burmese constitution, the Tatmadaw will be “truly the lawgiver,” not the people elected in 2010.

The Constitution further ensures that the Tatmadaw will have the power to control the citizenry on a day-to-day basis. Under Article 232(b)(ii), the Commander-in-Chief will appoint the Ministers for Defense, Home Affairs, and Border Affairs. The military’s control over home affairs is especially ominous because it gives the Defense Services broad power over the lives of ordinary citizens in their daily lives.

The military’s control over Home Affairs (as well as Defense and Border Affairs) will constitute a military fiefdom, not part of the civilian government in any meaningful sense. The Commander-in-Chief will have power to name the ministers without interference from any civilian official. The President may not reject the Commander-in-Chief’s names; he must submit the list to the legislature. See Article 232(c). The legislature may reject those names only if they do not meet the formal qualifications for being a minister, such as age and residence. See Article 232(d).

Theoretically, the legislature could impeach those ministers under Article 233, but the Commander-in-Chief would merely re-appoint a new minister acceptable to him. In addition, these ministers will continue to serve in the military, so they will be under orders from the Commander-in-Chief, not from the President. See Article 232(j)(ii). In other words, the Commander-in-Chief will be administering home affairs, immune from interference by the civilian government. Theoretically-again-the legislature might try to pass statutes controlling the Tatmadaw, but recall-again–that under Article 20(b), the Tatmadaw has the “right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces.”

The independent power of the Tatmadaw over ordinary citizens includes the power to impose military discipline on the entire population.

Article 20 provides: “The Defense Services has the right to administer for participation of the entire people in Union security and defense.” In other words, the military may forcibly enlist the whole citizenry into a militia so as to maintain internal “security.” And, again, the civilian government has no control over the military’s operations. After the elections, Burma will be a military dictatorship just as much as now.

In short, during normal times, the Tatmadaw has constitutional power to do anything it wants without interference from the civilian government. But if it ever tires of the civilian government, it can declare a state of emergency and send everyone else home. On this subject, the constitution uses a bait and switch approach: in one section, it creates a process for declaring a state of emergency in which the civilian government will have a role; but in another section, it specifies that the military may re-take power entirely on its own initiative. Thus, in

Chapter XI, the constitution provides for the declaration of a state of emergency in which the military would assume all powers of government, see Article 419, but it would require presidential agreement before the fact, see Article 417, as well as legislative ratification afterwards, see Article 421. But in Chapter I on Basic Principles, Article 40(c) provides for a very different, alternative process in which the Commander-in-Chief can act at his own discretion: “If there arises a state of emergency that could cause disintegration of the Union, disintegration of national solidarity and loss of sovereign power or attempts therefore by wrongful forcible means such as insurgency or violence, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services has the right to take over and exercise State sovereign power in accord with the provisions of this Constitution.” (emphasis supplied). To be sure, the

Tatmadaw may seize power only if “national solidarity” is threatened, but as already shown, the military has unreviewable authority to decide whether such a threat exists.

In other words, the Tatmadaw can seize control just as it did in 1962, and this time it will be legal. The whole constitution is based on a “wait and see” strategy: if the civilian government does what the Tatmadaw wants, then it will be allowed to rule; if not, then not. This constitution is not a good faith gesture toward democracy; it’s a cynical attempt to buy off international pressure.

So what policy recommendations follow from this reality? We should certainly try to ensure that the elections are free and fair, unlike the referendum on the constitution, if the regime will permit us. But our greatest focus should be on constitutional change, so that someday Burma might witness civilian rule. That change should occur before the elections, but if it must wait until after, then we should hold the SPDC to its word: it has always claimed that it could not negotiate with the opposition because it was only a transitional government-for twenty years. After the elections, that excuse will be gone.

If the US opens dialogue with the regime, it must demand that the regime simultaneously open dialogue with its own citizens. But in order to make demands, we must be able to give the regime something. If we relax sanctions now, rather than in response to real progress, then we will have that much less to offer-as Secretary Clinton and the sixty-six co-sponsors of the sanctions have recognized. And let us speak plainly: if we try to compete with China for influence over a military autocracy, we will always be at a disadvantage because there are some things we just won’t do. We win only if we can shift the game, only if through multilateral diplomacy we can get the regime to stop killing its people and to allow civilian rule.

Making premature concessions won’t shift the game; it will only give the game away.

Karen in UK Commemorate 60th Anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day - Sheffield UK

2010-08-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Media Release From Karen Community Association UK

14 August 2010

Today, The Karen Community Association UK commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day at 12 noon in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

On August 12, 1950, Karen national leader Saw Ba U Gyi, who was the founder and president of the Karen National Union, was killed in an ambush along with eight of his colleagues in Kawkareik, Karen State (Burma), while waging a defensive struggle for freedom, national equality, democracy
and peace. Since then August 12th has been commemorated as Karen Martyrs’ Day.

The Karen Community Association UK is commemorating this anniversary of Karen Martyrs Day to honor fallen leaders, soldiers, and civilians that have lost their lives in the struggle for freedom and national equality.

“This commemoration shows our unity and struggle on until federal democracy is achieved” said Saw Taw Zan member of The Karen Community Association UK. “The United Nation has ignored us for many years. This is the time for UN to wake up and take practical steps to put pressure on the dictatorship to dialogue with the democracy movement and ethnic representatives”.

Before the commemoration the Karen Community Association UK is celebrating the Wrist-tying ceremony at 10:30AM. Traditionally The Wrist-tying ceremony takes place at the time of the August full moon. The Karen tie white thread around the wrists which invokes good spirits to exorcise illness, to bless, to guide and to protect in life’s journey. This custom represents a symbolic reinforcement of Karen identity and interdependence. The Karen Community Association UK celebrates this Wrist-tying ceremony to preserve the tradition, to unite one another and to keep our culture alive for new generation.

The Karen Community Association UK was founded in 2006 and now we have three branches in UK. KCA Bolton & Bury, London and Sheffield. The Karen Community Association represents the Karen Community in the UK. It assists the community with problems they face coming to live in the UK, raises awareness about the situation in Burma, raises money to help refugees and internally displaced people, and campaigns for action by the international community. KCA UK also aims to promote unity among the Karen and at the same time preserve and promote our culture, literature and language in UK.

BURMA FREEDOM SITUATION REPORT - Didtator Watch

2010-08-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

By Roland Watson

August 12, 2010

Introduction

Burma has a substantial population, believed to number above fifty million people. For context, Israel and Palestine have eleven million. Afghanistan, which is about the same size as Burma, has twenty-nine million. Iraq, with a third less territory, has thirty-one million.

Inside Burma, everyone - except the small cabal of generals and their cronies who rule the country - is suffering. The Burmese people are suffocated by fear. Anyone is subject to arrest and torture, and at any time. Moreover, there is general but severe deprivation in food, education and health care. Large regions are also war zones, with the Burma Army perpetrating scorched earth attacks against ethnic minority
villagers, which attacks constitute nothing less than crimes against humanity.

A basic comparison, then, of Burma with Israel and Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq, suggests that the situation in the country should have far greater prominence. For years, though, international concern with the crisis in Burma has been small. This is now changing. Burma pro-democracy leaders, resistance forces and activists, by creating a great amount of publicity and pressure, have been able to force the problems in the country onto the international stage.

In fact, there is so much going on now about Burma that it is difficult to keep track, especially of what is significant. For example, many things that are not significant are being given undue attention by Burmese and international media and commentators. Foremost of these is the SPDC’s plan to have an “election,” and the actions of the different pro-junta parties that have announced they will participate.

This entire event is a charade. It is a psychological warfare operation conceived by the dictator of Burma, Than Shwe. Its primary goal is to distract everyone from the real situation in the country, and secondly, to forestall a popular revolution and other decisive bids for pro-democratic change.

For the most part, Than Shwe’s operation is succeeding. Many people are consumed by the election. Few are focused on what will actually be required to free the people of Burma, much less involved in organizing it.

The end of the Senior General?

The true situation is much more complex, and unstable. Than Shwe is under great pressure. He has experienced three major defeats this year. The first of these is that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD rejected the election. This makes it extremely difficult, as they are the legitimate leaders of Burma, for the International Community to accept the result (if and when a vote is ever even held).

Secondly, Than Shwe hatched another plan, to regain control over areas of Burma that had been ceded to various ethnic armies in return for ceasefire deals. He demanded that they reorganize as Border Guard Forces, under Burma Army - read Burman officer - control. But these groups, content with the autonomy that they have experienced since they signed the ceasefires in the mid-1990s, refused to accept the transformation. Further, they actively prepared their troops and villages to defend against Burma Army attacks.

Thirdly, the one ceasefire group of any size that had actually been willing to fight for the Burma Army, the DKBA, is now in the process of splitting over the BGF issue. A major DKBA unit, Brigade 5, has created an alliance with the pro-democracy resistance group, the KNU/KNLA. The split between the Karen that occurred at Manerplaw appears to be healing. And, if pro-SPDC DKBA units, such as Chit Thu’s Brigade 999, attack Brigade 5, there is a likelihood that his rank and file soldiers will change allegiance as well, effectively ending the DKBA. (Some 999 troops are already changing sides.) This would create a unified, potent Karen fighting force in eastern Burma.

There are also two other important factors but which are less well recognized. The first is that the morale of Burma Army troops is extremely low. There have been dozens of instances of desertion and insubordination in the last two years, all over the country, and in the police as well. Many soldiers and police are now demanding early retirement, and repayment of the portions of their pay that have supposedly been invested as pensions. It is because of the morale problem that the Burma Army has not attacked the major ceasefire groups, the Wa and Kachin, not the argument that China objected to the refugee crisis that might develop.

Finally, there is a split at the top of the SPDC over the election. The reason why the election date has not been announced is that this split has not been resolved. Than Shwe’s Roadmap, of which the election is the most important step, is intended to transfer power to a civilian administration. He believes this type of regime will protect him following his retirement. If power remains directly within a military junta, the future leading generals could purge him - and his family - at any time, just as he did to the original dictator of Burma, Ne Win.

The problem of course is that there is no place in this plan for Maung Aye, the second top general of the junta. Maung Aye leads his own clique of officers, and with their own divisions and battalions. The Burma Army - the Tatmadaw - is not unified. It has two major factions, and perhaps a third as well under General Shwe Mann.

The Maung Aye group, fearing arrest, as occurred with former Intelligence chief Khin Nyunt, has refused to retire, and, frankly, there is nothing Than Shwe can do about it. If he tries to move his units against Maung Aye’s, this will constitute civil war within the Tatmadaw, and it will inevitably collapse.

This is the real situation in Burma, and which everyone would do well to contemplate. Than Shwe’s position, underneath the apparent calm, is desperate. The election is a diversion and a farce. Its only true significance is what the lack of a date for the vote reveals.

[Post-publication note: Even though the SPDC has now announced an election date, the split between Than Shwe and Maung Aye remains.]

International pro-dictatorship supporters

Than Shwe has a lot of foreign friends, who do not want to see him fall. These include China, Russia, North Korea and Singapore, and also India and Thailand. Even though the last two are democratic, with governments that presumably would support the aspirations of the Burmese, they do not. India and Thailand fear the unrest that might develop in Burma during a democratic transition, as well as a resurgent free Burma. India also worries that autonomy and separatist claims by ethnic groups such as the Naga in its northeast would be magnified following Burma’s freedom. And, business groups in both countries are profiting heavily from natural resource deals with the SPDC, and for Thailand from exploitation of migrant workers.

The lobbying of multinational corporations, who are blind to if not direct partners in the SPDC’s crimes, has also undermined the foreign policy of the United States, European Union, Japan and Australia. It is not an overstatement to say that these countries and the EU are Than Shwe’s friends as well, and this also applies to ASEAN and the United Nations.

The nuclear solution

Even with all of this international support, Than Shwe’s hold on power is tenuous. The five factors listed earlier (the situation on the ground within Burma's borders right now) are much more important:

- Rejection by DASSK of the election.
- Refusal of the ceasefire groups to transform to BGF.
- Breakup of the DKBA and re-alliance with the KNLA.
- Burma Army morale problem including desertions and unwillingness to follow orders.
- Split at the top of the SPDC.

There is no real solution for Than Shwe to these problems. Freedom and democracy for Burma are coming. In a last-ditch attempt to prevent this historical inevitability, he is trying to produce a nuclear trump card. He is working hard with his allies to obtain a functioning atomic weapon, as quickly as possible. The purpose of this weapon, however, is not - as many have speculated - to deter a United States invasion. Indeed, the nuclear program may push the U.S. to the point where it has to intervene. Rather, if Than Shwe, personally, has his finger on a bomb inside Burma - his mansion connects directly to Naypyidaw’s command bunkers and tunnels - he believes this will protect him even after he retires.

Dictator Watch has published reams of intelligence about the nuclear program over the last four years, and which intel has been confirmed by other sources. The basic situation is that the SPDC is mining uranium, milling at least some of it into Yellow Cake, and then bartering this as well as raw ore to North Korea and we believe also Iran. The junta, with North Korean assistance, and European and Japanese machine tools, is further producing components necessary to enrich uranium to bomb grade, and to extract plutonium from spent reactor fuel that could further be shaped into a bomb core. While construction of a reactor is as yet unconfirmed, the number of officers studying reactor science and operations in Russia is proof that this plan exists.

As expert commentators have pointed out, though, this is still a long-term project, potentially five years or more from yielding a functioning weapon. Than Shwe does not have this much time. He knows it. His regime could fall this year - indeed, at any time. He needs a bomb now.

We believe that this will force him to focus on the enriched uranium route to a bomb instead of the reactor/plutonium path. It would also be amazing if he did not attempt to buy a weapon directly from either China or North Korea. Probably the only thing preventing this type of sale is that both countries would be afraid of supplying one to such an unstable regime. Were it to be detonated, under any circumstances (Thailand beware!), this could easily lead to war in East Asia, and which would bring about their own downfall.

Dictator Watch has received more intelligence about the nuclear program:

- China has signed a long-term lease on the Mo Meik uranium deposit.
- High-grade raw uranium is being transported through China to North Korea.
- In return, North Korea, and with China's direct involvement, is helping the SPDC escalate its atomic weapons program. Factory construction is being accelerated.

Both North Korea and China sent ships to Burma in April. The North Korean shipment at a minimum included equipment for Burma's nuclear factories. The Chinese ship may have as well. Neither was interdicted by the United States.

More such shipments are a certainty, and may have already occurred. We think it is probable, because of the pressure on North Korea following its sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in March, that the plan for the shipments has been modified. Everything that can be transported overland will be sent through China. Some items will first be shipped from North Korea to Chinese ports. Other items will be sent in cargo flights, including from both North Korea and China. Everything that must be sent by sea will be transferred from North Korean ships to Chinese vessels in the China Sea, and then transported all the way to Burma waters, for offloading to Burma Navy vessels. Even though the U.S., under the United Nations sanctions against North Korea, could intervene to disrupt this system, it is unlikely to do so as this would require it to publicly confront China.

The Communist Party of China does not want Burma to become democratic. Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao will actively help Than Shwe obtain an atomic bomb if they believe this is the only viable option to prevent it.

It is also likely, with increased nuclear equipment and material deliveries, and with the thousands of trained scientists returning from Russia, that the junta will vastly expand the nuclear program's management structure. Just as the SPDC now has a missile directorate, we expect a similar directorate for the weapons program will be established, if it is not already operational.

With all of this expansion underway, and against the backdrop of the Tatmadaw’s internal instability, we further expect an increasing flow of defectors and other sources with new intel about the program. Than Shwe will not be able to keep it secret.

The real question, then, is how will the world respond.

Conclusion

It is important never to forget that Burma is a failed state. It is being pillaged by a gang of mass murderers and their international co-conspirators.

There is no real government, only a collection of warlords, both inside the SPDC and in the ceasefire areas. Matched against them is the nonviolent pro-democracy movement, led by Daw Suu and the NLD, and the pro-democracy ethnic resistance armies that are fighting to defend their people.

The most apt analogy of the SPDC is that of a dog pack, but not of a collection of pampered pets. Rather, the generals of the SPDC are like the diseased mongrels that roam city streets, hide on the fringes of poor villages, and scavenge at garbage dumps. These types of dogs are always on the edge of survival, and to increase their chances they form packs. The packs are led by the toughest, meanest dogs, and they defend their territory ruthlessly, killing any intruders. As the top dog in such a pack, your life is not that bad. You get the most food, and mating opportunities. But this lasts only as long as your strength. When it fails, younger dogs in your pack, envious of your position, turn on you, tear you apart, and replace you. It is the law of the jungle - natural law.

Than Shwe is a pack leader but he is getting old. The other top dogs of the junta have their hackles up - they sense opportunity. Than Shwe’s days are numbered, and there is nothing he can do about it. Even a nuclear bomb will not protect him from his fellow generals, and more importantly fifty million angry Burmese.

One of Burma's most respected pro-democracy leaders, U Win Tin, recently commented that no one wants to see more instability in Burma. While in principle we agree with this sentiment, we feel obliged to note that this is not the way the real world works. A true democratic transition - not a “power-sharing” arrangement that allows the dictators to retain some control - cannot occur gradually. There must be a break, as the dictators are defeated, and this break will be accompanied by some form of instability. One would hope that it would be limited to violence within the junta itself, as lower-level officers initiate a pro-democracy coup. Offensives against the Burma Army by the ethnic groups and the ABSDF should also be encouraged. In summary, and as we have been saying for over a decade, the crisis in Burma cannot be resolved by dialogue and activism alone. It requires revolution. The American colonists revolted over “taxation without representation.” A revolution in Burma to end mass oppression and crimes against humanity is more than justified. It is necessary.

Address of KNU President Saw Tamlabaw on 60th Anniversary of Martyrs Day - KNU

2010-08-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

11 Aug 2010

Dear KNU Leaders, Comrades and all the People,

Today is the 60th anniversary of Martyrs Day and it is an august day for all the Karen people. On this special occasion, I wish you all to have good health and vigor and to be free from all dangers.

Today is a day for remembering and honoring Saw Ba U Gyi, Gen. Sanky, all the officers and
soldiers, and the people, who have sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the entire Karen people from oppression under the military dictatorship. The existence of patriotic leaders, soldiers and persons who are loyal to the Karen nation is reason for the Karen people to be proud of enormously. We hold ceremonies on this day to remind ourselves to be faithful to the martyrs, who have sacrificed their lives, and to fight on until victory is achieved.

In the 61 years of the Karen people’s revolutionary resistance, though many leaders, gallant soldiers and civilians, comprising of men and women, have sacrificed their lives, we still have not reached our goal. We must continue our struggle until we reach our final goal. The KNU maintains the position of resolving political problems by political means and it believes in and upholds the four-point political doctrine laid down by Saw Ba U Gyi. However, the SPDC continues to practice the military dictatorship based on chauvinism and oppressive rule against the ethnic nationalities.

Dear leaders, Soldiers and the Entire Karen People,

Today, as we are still in the time of revolutionary resistance, it is necessary for all able bodied men and women to be involved collectively and with unity in the struggle for reaching our ultimate goal. Unity of the entire Karen people is the principal key to reaching our goal. The basis of unity of the entire Karen people is to fight against the criminal scheme to eliminate the Karen people and their identity, the system of military dictatorship and chauvinism, which are enemy of the entire Karen people.

The 2010 election the SPDC is going to hold is for legitimizing the rule of military dictatorship. As it is not to be held in accordance with the democratic norms and standard, it will bring no changes to the political situation of Burma.

Since the Karen revolutionary resistance is a just and legitimate resistance preventing adversity from falling on the Karen people, it is necessary for the entire Karen people to participate and cooperate in accordance with principles and policies laid down by the KNU. So long as there is no transformation from the system of military dictatorship to the democratic system, we the ethnic nationalities will not have their rights of equality, freedom and self-determination.

On this august day, I urge all of you – officers, soldiers and all the Karen people around the world - to struggle on together, in unity with fellow ethnic nationalities and the democratic forces, according to the principles, policies and programs laid down by the KNU, its leadership and according to the spirit, belief and the path laid down by the martyrs until federal democracy is achieved.

Dissent and Desertions among Burmese Armed Forces

2010-08-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dissatisfactions among the Burmese armed forces are growing daily as only the top ranking officials from the military and police forces are enjoying all the luxuries while ordinary soldiers are suffering because of insufficient pay and compensation.

Information received from
reliable sources on dissent and desertions from June to beginning of August 2010 is reported here;

11 June 2010
Description
Whole regiment tried to resign due to low salary and continuous orders without solving complaints.
Troop
LID 44/Regiment 3
Locality
Natkyi/Belin
State/Division
Karen
Response
Regiment Commander has been removed

18 June 2010
Description
Soldiers are frustrated over insufficient salary and loss of “road tax”.
Troop
Regiments 355, 356, 357
Locality
Myawaddy
State/Division
Karen

11 July 2010
Description
Soldiers deserting to insufficient salary, resignations, AWOL etc. Savings not been returned.
Troop
LID 55. Khamaya 17
Locality
Loikaw
State/Division
Shan

14 July 2010
Description
Soldiers deserting due to insufficient salary.
Troop
Khamaya 554
Locality
Taunggoke
State/Division
Arakan

18 July 2010
Description
Police deserting due to insufficient salary
Troop
Police Regiment 7
Locality
Thanlynn
State/Division
Rangoon

18 July 2010
Description
Soldiers frustrated and resign – up to command officers, about 60 resign in a 250 strength regiment.
Troop
Khamaya 258
Locality
Yesagyo
State/Division
Magwe

20 July 2010
Description
Soldiers request savings back
Troop
LID 44/Khamaya 102
Locality
Mottama
State/Division
Karen

31 July 2010
Description
Soldiers request back their savings.
Troop
LID 88/5 regiments
Locality
Yemon
State/Division
Rangoon
Response
GHQ sent troops to surround Yemon

2 August 2010
Description
Police request their savings back
Troop
Police Regiment 6
Locality
ShwePyithar
State Division
Rangoon

Homicide victims a nice family, say friends

2010-08-10T06:19:00.001-07:00

Amanda Ferguson, Global Regina, Monday August 9, 2010

http://www.globalregina.com/Homicide+victims+nice+family+friends/3375010/story.html

Karen Armies Unite to Face Threat of War

2010-08-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Karen Armies Unite to Face Threat of War

Blast, Assasination Attempt Raise Border Tensions - IRRAWADDY

2010-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Burmese reinforcement troops set up artillery in Myawaddy

Two people were killed and four others seriously injured when a bomb exploded in Myawaddy, Karen State, on Friday night. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast in the restive border town, where tensions between government troops and ethnic insurgent groups have been rising in recent weeks.

According to sources on the Thai-Burmese border, the bomb exploded in
the parking area of a crowded market. It was believed that two unidentified men killed in the blast were carrying the bomb on their motorcycle.

“It was a really shocking scene. The bodies of the young men were torn apart at their waists,” said a trishaw driver who witnessed the scene.

Both men appeared to be of Indian descent and were wearing camouflage pants and driving a black Honda Dream motorcycle, he added. The blast created a commotion in the market and local authorities sealed off the area shortly afterward.

Despite rumors that at least 20 people were wounded in the explosion, only four people—three women and a young girl—had been hospitalized in the Myawaddy Township hospital, sources said.

The number of casualties would have been much higher if not for the fact that it was raining when the bomb went off, said a local policeman, who added that the two dead men were most likely responsible for the blast.

“We believe that they came to set up a motorcycle bomb, but the bomb went off accidentally before they could do that,” he said without identifying the two men.

The authorities also found an unexploded grenade in the market's toilet and a 38-volt pistol near the scene of the explosion. The pistol was already destroyed because of the explosion.

The incident comes as Burma's ruling regime continues its weeks-long closure of border checkpoints in Myawaddy, a move that has taken an especially high toll on the income of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic cease-fire group that has been resisting demands by the junta to transform itself into a border guard force (BGF) under Burmese military command.

Although the DKBA signed a cease-fire agreement with the regime soon after it broke away from the Christian-dominated Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994, the BGF issue appears to be pushing some of its members back into the arms of the KNU and its armed wing, the Karen national Liberation Army (KNLA), raising the specter of a return to major hostilities in the area.

On Thursday, in an attempt to assassinate Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the regime's military intelligence chief and its major negotiator for the BGF plan, KNLA troops ambushed a convoy of junta troops led by Lt-Gen Khin Zaw of the Ministry of Defense near Kawkareik Township in Karen State, leaving at least five people dead and two wounded. All Burmese senior military officials escaped unhurt and it was later found that Ye Myint was not in the convoy, a KNLA official confirmed.

Pawh Doh, the military commander of the KNLA battalion responsible for the attack, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that the ambush was based on a tip-off that Ye Myint and other senior Burmese military officials, including Khin Zaw and Lt-Gen Thet Naing Win, were planning to meet DKBA leaders on Friday for final talks on the BGF issue in Myawaddy.

The tension in the region has been heightened by the fact that the Burmese government has not shown a sign of opening its border again with Thailand. The immediate cause behind the closure, which is Thailand's construction of a concrete wall along the Moei River dividing the two countries, has also not been resolved yet.

According to The Bangkok Post on Saturday, Thai Foreign Ministry officials proposed setting up a technical committee to oversee all construction projects planned along the Moei River at a recent meeting with their Burmese counterparts.

Both sides agreed to the proposal and also to set up a monitoring system by which local people will help inspect construction along the river while authorities will monitor the river path via satellite to see if it has changed.

But it remains unclear if the Burmese regime will open the border again before it has successfully resolved the BGF issue with the DKBA. Villagers in areas under the control of DKBA leaders who voiced their rejection of the BGF have reportedly begun fleeing to Phop Phra, in Thailand's Tak Province, for fear of violent clashes.

This week, a labor rights group in Mae Sot, opposite Myawaddy on the Thai side of the border, reported that two illegal Burmese migrant workers deported by the Thai authorities at a Burmese border crossing were gunned down.

Junta Troops Take DKBA Border Gate

2010-08-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Junta Troops Take DKBA Border Gate

For Karen People, but not Karen State - IRRWADDY

2010-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Kayin Peoples Party (KPP), which was formed by ethnic Karen living in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions, is one of the political parties seeking to contest in the upcoming election in Burma. A striking aspect of the KPP is that its leaders are retired military and civilian officials. The party's chairman, Saw Htun Aung Myint, once served as a colonel in the Burmese Navy, and its secretary general,
Saw Say Wah, is a former police colonel.

In a recent interview with Htet Aung, chief reporter of The Irrawaddy's election desk, Saw Say Wah expressed hope for a free and fair election and explained why his party would be staying out of the polls in Karen State.

Question: Your party's national policy states the importance of transforming the current political and economic conditions, including the country's administration. But your party also said that the things which need immediate attention are national stability, rule of law and the basic welfare of the public. What do you mean by national stability?

Answer: The wide social gap has adversely affected the country's stability and harmony. What I wish to say is, we have lost peace because we have lost unity. The development gap between different regions is one of the causes of these things. We also need to resolve ethnic conflicts.

Q: In what particular ways would your party handle the conflicts in Karen State, where some groups have reached a cease-fire agreement with the government and some have not?

A: Our party is not a well-established party yet. It is in the process of building itself. We are just sketching out our party's policies. While we were government employees, we were faithful to the government as individuals. At this point, too, we will work toward the country's development. Having said that, ethnic conflicts on the border are unavoidable issues. But now we are in no position to handle these problems—the capacity to do that is still beyond our reach. Once we have strengthened ourselves, we will cope with these issues gradually.

Q: What is your view of the government's plan to change armed cease-fire groups into border guard forces?

A: We need to take a balanced view of that. Since the country must have a single army in accord with the [2008] Constitution, the government wants to have all armed groups under its administration. But on the other hand, it seems that they [Karen armed groups] will not disarm themselves until and unless they are assured of winning a uniform economic, political and social standard. Some groups may, for many different reasons, choose to give up their arms without achieving this goal, while others will not. So it will take time to resolve these issues gradually in a political way.

Q: While some Karen live in cities, most make their living as farmers in rural areas. What is your party's economic policy, and how will it help the rural population?

A: Our country would be better off under a full-blown market economy. Equality of rights is also an important principle. That's our party's basic policy.

Q: The government claims that Burma has had a market economy for the past 20 years. Are you satisfied with current economic conditions? Which parts of the economy do you think are weak?

A: In our view, the market economy is not fully developed. It has been based on favoritism towards certain groups. The rules don't apply the same way to everyone, so equal opportunities and equal freedom have been lacking.

Q: Do you mean that we should be able to do business as freely as our own capacity and financial means allow?

A: Not exactly. If we give capitalists completely free rein, then the poor will be left behind. We also need to consider the needs of workers and farmers. We will need a balance.

Q: In its party platform, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by Prime Minister Thein Sein, says that it will uphold “the right of farmers to work on their farmland,” but says nothing about their right to own their land. This suggests that the government will remain the landowner. What is your party's view on this issue?

A: Most Karen are farmers, so they want this issue of ownership to be made much clearer. Only with a clear sense of ownership will farmers have an incentive to increase their productivity. Without real ownership, the farmers may find themselves in difficult straits, since the government can distribute or confiscate lands at its own discretion. That's why our party's policy on this issue is that farmers should have a right to own their farmland.

Q: As part of the development of Burma's market economy, wealthy businessmen have started expanding into the agricultural sector. With their large financial assets, they have acquired farmlands to grow cash crops. Eventually, they will be able to monopolize the whole agricultural sector. What are your views on this situation?

A: The state wants to develop mechanized farming. But that has not succeeded yet because, as you know, most farmers are poor. We must encourage mechanized farming and simultaneously make sure that those who continue to use traditional farming methods don't have their land confiscated.

Q: How many Karen people live in Burma? And which parts of the country are they living in? Will your party only run in areas with large concentrations of Karen? Which major parties will you have to compete with in the election?

A: There is an estimated population of 8 million Karen in Burma. We can say 10 million if we include mixed Karen intermarried with people from other ethnic groups. An estimated number of more than 55,000 Karen, which is 0.1 percentage of country's population, are living in Rangoon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and Tenasserim divisions and Mon State. As a minority right [granted by the Constitution], we will have a Karen member of parliament [for Karen affairs] in those areas.

So we will desperately try to win seats in those areas which are crucial for the interests of Karen people. Our second priority is to win seats in the state and regional parliaments. But we will not run for seats in Karen State, where the situation remains complex due to border issues and armed ethnic issues. Our main competitors will be the USDP and the National Unity Party (NUP).

Q: The USDP is headed by the prime minister and several other ministers. During tours with government responsibilities, they are also rallying public support for their party. Some people complain that they should resign from their government posts and conduct campaigns at the same level as other political parties. What is your view on this?

A: We are not worried about that. From the very outset, this has been designed to maintain the government's control on power. They [the regime leaders] want to make a transition which suits them. We understand that. But if there is some sort of dishonesty in the election, the public will make its own judgments. If we do our best for the public, they will give us their support.

Q: Your party's leaders are mostly living in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions. How did they unite with each other and form a party?

A: It has taken us six years to set up a party. We started out as the Karen Development Committee, which is not, however, a legal entity. It was set up as a social organization for Karen people. From the outset, we knew that we wanted to form a political party if this kind of opportunity arose. Shortly after the endorsement of the 2008 Constitution, we had a discussion among ourselves. Mostly those from Rangoon participated in the discussions. After nearly 60 meetings, we were able to form a party.

Q: What message do you want to give to voters as a representative of the Kayin People's Party?

A: I wish to express my hope that we will have a free and fair election. We want to tell the public not to engage in advanced voting, which is not in their control. We also wish to tell people not to avoid voting, which can be problematic [for us]. So please make the right choice for the right person. That's our message to the people.

UWSA to Ban Election Campaigns in its Area - By Lawi Weng - Irrawaddy

2010-08-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's largest ethnic armed cease-fire group in northern Shan State, will ban political party campaigns in areas under its control, say UWSA leaders.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Bawn Thein, an official at UWSA headquarters in Panghsang, said, “Let them [the regime] do their election on their own. It's not our affair. We will not allow any election activities in our area, because we will not participate in the election.”

Sources said that army leaders spoke publicly about the ban on campaign activities in their area in late July. The UWSA allowed the Burmese regime to hold a referendum on the Constitution in their area in 2008.

Observers said that UWSA leaders were unhappy about the results of the referendum in which the Burmese junta announced that the referendum received 94 percent support.

The UWSA made a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1989. It is based in Panghsang and Mong Pawk, on the China-Burma border and the Thai-Burma border. About 700,000 to 800,000 Wa live in the region.

The ban on campaign activities would affect Wa political parties and the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is led by the junta's Prime Minister Thein Sein, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese observer on the Sino-Burmese border.

The Wa region has two political parties, the Wa Democratic Party and the Wa National Unity Party,led by Khun Tun Luu and Philip Kham, respectively.

Khun Tun Luu is the brother-in-law of Lt-Gen Ko Ko (chief of the Bureau of Special Operations 3). He is a former a member of the National Unity Party, a pro-junta party.

“Khun Tun Luu may not win in Wa areas because he hasn't invested his life to help the Wa people before,”said Aung Kyaw Zaw.

There are six Wa self-administered areas, according to the 2008 Constitution, that include Ho Pang, Mongma, Panwai, Nahpan, Metman and Pangsang.

Political parties may be limited to campaigning in Ho Pang and Pang Yang townships, which are controlled by the Burmese government.

The UWSA is the first ethnic cease-fire group to announce that it will not allow any political groups to run election campaigns. The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the New Mon State Party have not made any announcements about campaigning in their areas.

The UWSA has about 25,000 troops. It has refused to transform its army into a border guard force (BGF) under the control of the Burmese regime. The Burmese regime continues to pressure the UWSA and other armed ethnic groups to join the BGF before the election.

Nai Chay Mon, a NMSP spokesperson, said, “It's too early to say anything about a ban on election campaign activities.”

More than 20 ethnic political parties will compete in the election. No date for the election has been announced.

Meanwhile, the Union Election Commission (EC) approved party registration for the Unity and Democracy Party in Kachin State, which supports the junta.

The Kachin Progressive Party, led by Tu Ja, a former KIO vice chairman, is still waiting for approval.

Burmese Troops Hunt DKBA Renegade - DVB

2010-08-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

By FRANCIS WADE

Published: 3 August 2010

An order has been sent by senior Burmese army officials to troops in Karen state to capture the commander of a government-allied militia faction, as tensions appear to be escalating.

Officials have also introduced tight regulations on civilians in towns bordering territory belonging to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’s (DKBA) Brigade 5, whose commander, Saw La Bwe (also known as Na Kham Mwe), continues to refuse to transform into a Border Guard Force.

Fears that escalating tensions will erupt into fighting have already caused an exodus of refugees in Burma’s eastern Karen state into Thailand

An intelligence directive, received at the weekend by DVB, was sent by the Southeastern
Regional Military Command to Burmese troops stationed close to DKBA Brigade 5 territory. It said that the “order by the Burmese army to capture the DKBA Brigade 5’s commander Saw La Bwe (a.k.a Na Kham Mwe) was dispatched to the frontline’s Military Operations Command 8”.

“However, according to the MOC8’s report, Saw Hla Bwe (a.k.a Na Kham Mwe) has gone into hiding in territory close to the KNU Brigade 6,” it added, referring to the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) whom the DKBA broke away from in 1995.

Zipporah Sein, general secretary of the KNU, said that there had been “no official information” as to Saw La Bwe’s whereabouts. “That’s the rumour – he was in KNU territory three months ago but it’s not clear where he is now.”

Since the split, the DKBA have been fighting alongside the Burmese army in their decades-old conflict against the KNU. Reports have surfaced in recent months of defections by DKBA members back to their old group.

“If [Saw La Bwe] fights against the Burmese army then we can accept him back, as long as he is no longer involved in drugs,” Zipporah said. The DKBA are reportedly involved in a number of illegal trade and activities, including trafficking of methamphetamine.

A wing of the Burmese army, known as the Frontline Military Strategic Command, has ordered troops in Payathonsu township, close to the Three Pagodas Pass in Karen state, to heighten surveillance on civilians. Brigade 5’s territory is said to stretch from Myawaddy, across the border from Thailand’s Mae Sot, to Payathonsu.

Regulations on civilians include a ban on carrying shoulder bags at night time – perhaps to diminish the threat of bomb attacks, although this is not clear – and a ban on civilians leaving or entering the town at night.

“Responsible personnel in the town are advised to keep collecting information and continue with other tasks,” it adds. Troops are also ordered to block communication between the DKBA Brigade 5 and members of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), another armed ceasefire group operating in the area.

“It is advised to use effective ways of punishment on the civilians who break the regulations,” the directive ends.

Saw La Bwe has repeatedly rejected the Border Guard Force plan, which would see his troops assimilated into the Burmese army. A Brigade 5 official said last week that the government had threatened force against the DKBA officials who were resistant to the idea.

Letter to Secretary of State Clinton - Support a UN-led Commission of Inquiry on Burma

2010-07-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

Commission of Inquiry on Burma, July 30, 2010

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Madame Secretary:

We write to urge you to support the establishment of a United Nations Commission of
Inquiry to investigate whether crimes against humanity and war crimes took place in
Burma. While your administration continues along a path of sanctions and pragmatic
engagement with Burma, we believe that such a commission will help convince Burma’s
military regime that we are serious about our commitment to democracy, human rights, and
the rule of law for the people of Burma.

At the 13th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in March, UN Special
Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in Burma, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana, released his
latest report and urged the United Nations “to consider the possibility to establish a
commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the question of
international crimes” in Burma.

The Special Rapporteur argued that: “[g]iven the gross and systematic nature of human
rights violations in Myanmar over a period of many years, and the lack of accountability,
there is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy that
involves authorities in the executive, military, and judiciary at all levels.” Mr. Quintana
further stated that “[a]ccording to consistent reports, the possibility exists that some of these
human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes
under the terms of the Statue of the International Criminal Court.”

We appreciate the comments made by Douglas Griffiths, US Charge d’Affaires at US
Mission to the UN in Geneva, in response to the report that “[t]his recommendation serves to
underscore the seriousness of the human rights problems in the country and the pressing
need for the international community to find an effective way to address challenges there.”
Indeed, a number of reports have documented a consistent pattern of human rights abuses by
the regime in Burma which must be addressed: the use of child soldiers, the destruction of
villages and the displacement of ethnic minorities, the use of rape as a weapon of war,
extrajudicial killings, forced relocation, and forced labor.

These abuses have been exacerbated by the regime’s intention to hold elections in 2010
based on a constitution which disallows the full participation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
National League for Democracy, political prisoners, religious clergy and ethnic nationalities.

As President Obama stated in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: “When there is
genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma — there must be
consequences. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the
choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.” Both the Australian and
British governments have both stated their support for the establishment of a Commission of
Inquiry on Burma, and we must stand together with them and the people of Burma.

We appreciate your attention to this request and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Senator Feinstein (D-CA)
Senator Boxer (D-CA)
Senator Gregg (R-NH)
Senator Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Bingaman (D-NM)
Senator Wyden (D-OR)
Senator Udall (D-CO)
Senator Cardin (D-MD)
Senator Brownback (R-KS)
Senator Merkley (D-OR)
Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Senator Brown (D-OH)
Senator Lieberman (ID-CT)
Senator Mikulski (D-MD)
Senator Gillibrand (D-NY)
Senator Casey (D-PA)
Senator Bennet (D-CO)
Senator Voinovich (R-OH)
Senator Whitehouse (D-RI)
Senator Schumer (D-NY)
Senator Feingold (D-WI)
Senator Collins (R-ME)
Senator Sanders (I-VT)
Senator Hagan (D-NC)
Senator Harkin (D-IA)
Senator Murray (D-WA)
Senator Franken (D-MN)
Senator Burr (R-NC)
Senator Burris (D-IL)
Senator Klobuchar (D-MN)
Senator Leahy (D-VT)
Senator Menendez (D-NJ)

U.S. Senators Demand U.S. Support for UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma - USCB

2010-07-31T04:39:00.000-07:00

U.S. CAMPAIGN FOR BURMA PRESS RELEASE

July 30, 2010, Washington, DC

Media Contact: Jennifer Quigley at (202) 234 8022

U.S. Senators Demand U.S. Support for UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma

War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in Burma Should Be Stopped and Generals Held Accountable

(July 30, 2010, Washington, DC)
Two days after President Obama signed into law, the one-year extension of U.S. sanctions against the military regime in Burma, that was unanimously approved by both House and Senate, a bipartisan group of 32 Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, calling for the United States government “to support the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry to investigate whether crimes against humanity and war crimes took place” in the Southeast Asian country of Burma.

The United States Campaign for Burma, a leading coalition of Burmese activists in exile and American human rights campaigners working to promote freedom, justice and democracy in Burma, welcomes and supports the call made by the U.S. Senators. Aung Din, former political prisoner and Executive Director of USCB urged the Obama administration “to pay strong and serious attention on Burma, where over 50 million people are suffering egregious human rights violations under the most brutal military regime for decades, and take leadership in making an UN Commission of Inquiry on Burma a reality”.

In the letter, Senators wrote to Secretary Clinton that “While your administration continues along a path of sanctions and pragmatic engagement with Burma, we believe that such a commission will help convince Burma’s military regime that we are serious about our commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for the people of Burma”. The letter was organized by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) and cosigned by 30 other Senators including Michael Bennet (D-CO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Richard Burr (R-NC), Roland Burris (D-IL), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Kay Hagen (D-NC), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Mark Udall (D-CO), George Voinovich (R-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). In June 2009, nearly 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to President Obama urging him to take action on crimes against humanity in Burma at the UN Security Council.

“This letter addresses the frustration of U.S. lawmakers over the shortcomings of Obama’s pragmatic engagement with the regime”, says Aung Din. “Members of Congress, who have long experiences in dealing with dictatorial regimes around the world, know very well that without significant pressure and serious leadership, engagement will never produce a positive outcome,” continues Aung Din.

The U.S. Campaign for Burma and allied organizations around the world have called for the international community to establish a UN commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes humanity in Burma since May 2009, when the report, entitled “Crimes in Burma”, commissioned by five prominent international judges and war crimes prosecutors, and produced by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, was released. The report found that for years the United Nations has been on notice of severe, indeed widespread and systematic abuses in Burma that appear to rise to the level of state policy, but failed to take effective action yet. Detailed information about crimes against humanity conducted by the Burma’s military regime can be found at;

http://uscampaignforburma.org/crimesagainsthumanityinburma.

In March, at the 13th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Burma, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana of Argentina endorsed the call and urged the United Nations “to consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the question of international crimes” in Burma. Mr. Quintana’s recommendation to establish a UN commission of inquiry is supported by his two predecessors, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (2000-2008) of Brazil (“End Burma’s System of Impunity, Opinion, The New York Times, May 27, 2009), and Professor Yozo Yokoda (1992-1996) of Japan (“Challenging Impunity in Myanmar, Opinion, The Jakarta Post, June 6, 2010).

Since Mr. Quintana made his recommendation, at least four countries, Australia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, and Slovak Republic, expressed their support for the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry. Many other governments are also interested in potentially supporting the call, but are waiting to see what position the United States takes, whose Permanent Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said in June that “the United States was considering supporting the proposed Commission of Inquiry into possible international humanitarian law violations in Burma, as suggested by the Special Rapporteur.” As organized by the USCB, thousands of activists have sent emails to President Obama since May, urging him to support the UN-led commission of inquiry in Burma. However, no one has yet to receive any response from the White House.

==================

U.S. Campaign for Burma

1444 N Street, NW, Suite #A2
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 234 8022
Fax: (202) 234 8044
info@uscampaignforburma.org
http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/

DKBA Battalions Defect to KNLA - By LEWI WENG - Wednesday July 28, 2010 (Irrawaddy)

2010-07-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Five battalions from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) will join the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) to fight Burmese junta's troops after the DKBA troops refused to join the Border Guard Force (BGF), according to Karen sources.

The Five DKBA's battalions include about 500 troops
from Battalions 901, 902, 906, 907, and 908 in DKBA's Brigade 5, which is led by Col Saw Lah Pwe, who is better known as Mr. Beard, the commander who is against joining the BGF.

DKBA soldiers line up for a ceremony in 2008 (PHOTO: The Irrawaddy)

Speaking to the Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Captain Htat Nay of KNLA Brigade 6, based near Three Pagodas Pass, said, “They told us officially they will join the KNLA on July 26.”

“If there is fighting in the future, they (DKBA) will join KNLA Battalion 201.” Battalion 201 is controlled by KNLA headquarters and consists of specially-picked troops for fighting on the front line.

The DKBA's five battalions are based near the Three Pagodas Pass, Kyar Inn Seik Gyi and Kawkareik Townships in Karen State. They intend to use their new base at KNLA area brigade 6 if there is fighting with junta troops in the future.

The Burmese junta has put pressure on all ethnic cease-fire groups to transform their army into a BGF for more than one year. The last deadline was April 22, but many ethnic groups remain defiant and refuse to accept the order.

The regime has set a final deadline of Aug 10 for the DKBA to transform its troops into a BGF, threatening force if they do not comply.

New Mon State Party (NMSP) sources said the Burmese regime deployed 400 troops near Kyar Inn Seik Gyi Township last week. The troops, which are from Brigade Command 77 based in Pegu Township are to be used in a military offensive in the KNLA brigade 6 area.

Burmese military officials told NMSP leaders not to help the KNLA when they launch their military offensive against Brigade 6.

The DKBA leaders are divided over the BGF issue, meanwhile. Some DKBA leaders say they want to keep their organization independent upon the urging of the influential abbot, Ashin Thuzana.

Some Karen sources said they believed Col Chit Thu, the powerful commander of DKBA Brigade 999, and Gen Kyaw Than, the DKBA commander in chief, may join the BGF as they have many business interests in the Burmese border town of Myawaddy, which has a trade link with the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

Thu Rain, who is close to the DKBA in the Three Pagodas Pass area, said that DKBA members who have decided to fight have already moved their families and heavy weapons to KNLA brigade 6 in preparation for future fighting.

Col Lah Pwe has ordered all troops from his five battalions to fight back if they are attacked by government forces after rejecting the the most recent July 21 offer by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the regime's chief of Military Affairs Security, to meet and discuss the BGF plan.

According to Karen sources, most of the DKBA Brigade 5 have refused the BGF plan and will join the KNLA. DKBA Brigades 7 and 9, however, appear to be accepting the junta's BGF order.

The DKBA claims to have 6,000 troops and plans to enlarge its army to 9,000, making it Burma's second largest non-state armed group. Due to the split among its forces over the BGF issue, however, it is uncertain how many troops will continue to fight alongside junta troops in the future.

The DKBA is a Buddhist militia group that broke away from the Karen National Union (KNU), which is mostly Christian, and its KNLA military wing in 1995. The group joined forces with Burmese military troops to fight against the KNU after it split from the KNU.

The DKBA, which was formed 15 years ago, now controls most of the Thai-Burmese border area previously controlled by the KNU. It has been accused of human rights abuses in its clashes with KNU forces and also of involvement in human trafficking along Thai-Burmese border.

Last week, over 700 Karen refugees fled to the Thai border, fearing that rising tensions with the junta over the BGF issue will lead to fighting.

Pre-Election Military Operations by SPDC - KNU News Release

2010-07-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Pre-Election Military Operations by SPDC

27 Jul 2010

The SPDC military junta has started pre-election military operations, targeting the innocent Karen civilians in the Karen State and other KNU areas.

1. On July 23 at 10:00 am, the SPDC troops heavily shelled with mortars Tha-dah-Der village in Papun (Mudraw) District for more than 4 hours and at about 2:30 pm, the SPDC troops entered the village and burnt down 57 houses, one Christian church, one middle school building and other farm huts. The villagers had to flee for their lives and go into hiding, leaving most of their possessions. There are 540 persons in hiding, including 178
students and villagers from a nearby village. They are now hiding in the jungle without proper shelter, facing much problem as it is now the middle of the rainy season with daily heavy down pours. Particularly, the women and children are in high risk health situation in the jungle, with swarms of disease bearing bugs and mosquito and the scarcity of clean water.

2. The villagers in Wawlay areas to the south of Myawaddy town ,Doopla Ya district start to flee since a few days ago. Yesterday, on July 25, more than 100 families had gathered near the border, and some families have already crossed into Thailand for refuge, as the combined SPDC and DKBA troops are approaching the area in preparation for offensive. It appears that with its heavy weapon support, the SPDC again is forcing the DKBA units loyal to it to attack, occupy and control the area.

3. On July 10, 2010, troops of Column-2 from LIB-704 commanded by officer Mo Aye and under the Military Operation Command-4, active in the Papun area, stopped for the night in Kay Kaw village of Papun District. One of the soldiers from the column, named Than Htun Aye, raped a married woman Naw Mu Hseet, aged 27 at about 1:30 am, while she was going out to the toilet. He seized her, covered her mouth with clothes and raped her.

4. The SPDC troops continue widespread human rights violations against the civilians in Karen State and other Karen areas. In this month, the human rights violations by the SPDC troops are on the increase in Papun (Mu-draw), Kawkareik (Doo-pla-ya), Toungoo (Taw-oo), Thaton (Doo-tha-htoo) and Nyaunglaybin (Kler-lwee-htu) Districts.

It appears that there will be more attacks on Karen civilians and human rights violations in the Thai-Burma border areas. All concerned should respond to this emergency so that the fleeing civilians may take refuge in safe areas and get necessary support for survival of the new refugees. We would like to call on the international community including U.S, UK, EU and UN agencies to call on the SPDC military regime to stop immediately the military attacks and gross human rights violations against the Karen people, who have been reduced to the status of one of the poorest peoples in Burma, because of decades of severe oppression by successive military dictatorships, in the never ending civil war.

Supreme Headquarter

Karen National Union

For more information contact: 087 207 9296

Intelligence from Burma Police Defector

2010-04-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

DICTATOR WATCH
(www.dictatorwatch.org)

Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org

INTELLIGENCE FROM BURMA POLICE DEFECTOR

March 26, 2010

Please forward.

Dictator Watch has been given the results of the debriefing of a new defector out of Burma, Inspector Soe Min of the Pa-an Police Force, Karen State. He was responsible for forty subordinate officers.

Soe Min fled because one of his subordinates lost a patrol car, for which loss he was held responsible. He is presently in hiding in a large Thai city.

He was actively involved in rigging the results of the 2008 Constitutional Referendum (to see that the referendum passed), and which steps he confirms will also be used in the upcoming 2010 election.

Soe Min was ordered by his superior officer, Maung Maung, to block all “No” votes on the referendum. He was told to discard such ballots, and to replace them with false “Yes” votes.

He ordered his subordinate officers to visit all the townships under his command and tell the local USDA, Fire Brigade and other pro-SPDC factions to collect “Yes” votes from the population. These organizations threatened the people such that many individuals did in fact vote “Yes.” Still, the “No” vote was over 50% of the total. These votes were destroyed. The police pocketed the ballots at the polling stations, and then tore them up later. They were substituted with fake “Yes” ballots. Over half of the entire count for Pa-an was completely fraudulent.

Before his defection, Soe Min learned that the same actions will be conducted in the upcoming election. In addition, convicts are being recruited to vote for the SPDC in return for release or other forms of leniency.

Soe Min’s information, which for the referendum has been duplicated many times by sources from other parts of Burma, has an important implication: The 2010 election will unquestionably be rigged. This in turn begs the question of why anyone would want to participate in it, either as a candidate or voter. Any candidate who is truly for democracy is certain to be defeated. The only candidates who will win seats will be people who want to join the SPDC and share in its corruption. For the voters, individuals who intend to choose pro-democracy candidates are naïve to believe that their votes will actually count. Instead, they will be changed and given to pro-junta candidates. Other than the relatives of the SPDC and its cronies, the only other people who will vote will be individuals who have been forced to do so.

Under no circumstances whatsoever will the election legitimately reflect the will of the people of Burma. It does not matter whether the NLD chooses to register or not – although once hopes the organization will follow Daw Suu’s principled and courageous lead. No matter what happens, the entire exercise is doomed to be a fraud.

March 29 postcript: Bravo NLD! Now that the pro-democracy movement is unanimous about not participating in the election, we need to attack it in every possible way. In the coming months, there are surely many different things that can be done to foil Than Shwe's plan.

Human Rights Council Burma Debate - Must Approve Commission of Inquiry - European Karen Network

2010-03-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Media Release from European Karen Network

European Karen Network (EKN) calls on members of the Human Rights Council to support a recommendation by Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, that the UN consider setting up an inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Burmese dictatorship.

On Monday the Human Rights Council will meet to discuss the findings and recommendations of Mr Quinatana’s report.

“For six decades Karen people have been one of the ethnic groups who have been directly targeted by the Burmese Army, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against us,” said Nant Bwa Bwa Phan, board member of European Karen Network. “The Human Rights Council must now follow the recommendations of their own Special Rapporteur and establish a Commission of Inquiry.”

On 9th March Karen communities in ten countries worldwide held a day of action calling on governments to establish a Commission of inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the dictatorship.

The regime has recently stepped up attacks against Karen civilians. They are trying to crush all opposition to their rule ahead of fake elections later this year. Villagers have been shot on site, more than 80 homes burned down, and a child killed when the Burmese Army fired a mortar bomb at a school.

“For many years Burma’s generals have broken international law, and been allowed to get away with it without the UN even properly investigating what is going on” said Nant Bwa Bwa Phan. “On Monday members of the Human Rights Council have a responsibility to act, and finally set up a commission of inquiry.”

KNU Press Release on Recommendation of UN Rapporteur

2010-03-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

KNU Press Release on Recommendation of UN Special Rapporteur
14 Mar 2010

The Karen National Union (KNU) warmly welcomes and earnestly supports the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana’s recommendation to the UN for establishing a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Burmese SPDC military government.

We the KNU are fully in agreement with his recommendation, which is firmly based on his findings and the findings of his predecessors. It states the gross and systematic nature of human rights violations and the lack of taking action against the perpetrators, indicating that it is a state policy that involves authorities at all levels, in the executive, military and judiciary.

The KNU and ethnic political organizations including many democratic forces have ong called for such a UN commission, in order to deter the SPDC military government from committing war crimes and crimes against humanity which are unacceptable in the civilized world.

We, the KNU urge the UN member countries, which have been reluctant to support such a recommendation, in consideration of their economic and corporate interest in Burma and in line with their development ideology, to desist from their stand, immoral in the case of Burma, and support Tomás Ojea Quintana’s move.

It is now clearer than ever that the SPDC military regime is forging ahead to perpetuate the rule of military dictatorship through a sham constitution and election to gain a semblance of legitimacy and commit more war crimes and crimes against humanity, contrary to urgings by the international community.

The KNU is a democratic organization committed to human rights and democracy in Burma. We are working towards a Federal Burma where all people live in peace and harmony, under a democratic system of government.

Supreme Headquarters
Karen National Union

Karen Communities Worldwide Call for Action to Stop Attacks on Civilians

2010-03-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

Statement from Karen Communities Worldwide

For Immediate Release March 9th 2010

Karen Communities Worldwide Call for Action to Stop Attacks on Civilians

Karen communities in 10 countries are joining forces for a global day of action on Tuesday 9th March, calling on the international community to take action to stop new attacks by the Burmese Army against Karen civilians. Since mid January more than 2,000 civilians have been forced to flee new attacks.

• Villagers have been shot on sight
• A school has been mortar bombed
• One villager has been beheaded
• More than 80 homes have been destroyed
• Schools and health clinics have been burned down
• Food stocks being stolen and destroyed
• The regime is stopping aid reaching people who are hiding in the jungle

Karen communities call for immediate practical action to stop the attacks.

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must demand an immediate end to the attacks, which break international law
• Governments, including the European Commission, must provide funding for cross-border aid, which is the only way to get food, medicine and shelter to those on the run from the new attacks
• The United Nations (UN) should set up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the dictatorship.

Karen people have been under attack for more than 60 years. The new wave of attacks is linked to the Burmese dictatorship’ s fake elections due later this year. The dictatorship is trying to crush all resistance forces to their rule. They are following the doctrine of the Burmese Army: ‘One Blood, One Voice, One Command’. The new constitution drafted by the dictatorship guarantees no rights or protection to ethnic nationalities. In fact, it is a death sentence to ethnic diversity in Burma. The international community must stop ignoring what is happening to ethnic peoples in Burma.

We, the Karen Communities Worldwide, desire genuine democracy, peace and national reconciliation, but not military threats and attacks by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) army to destroy our homeland and our dreams for a peaceful federal Burma.

Karen Communities in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Korea are coordinating the day of action, which is supported by people from Burma and human rights groups.

Contact:

UK – Pa Saw Htee – Karen Community Association +447828168180
Australia - Saw Lwin Oo, Australia Karen Organisation +61 4123 44009
Canada – Mahn Kyaw Shwe, Karen Canadian Community +;1519-434-0139
Germany – Mahn Aung Lwin, Karen National Community Germany +491752433418
Norway – Nan Kyi Aye, Karen community in Norway +4741847953
USA – Stephen Dun, Karen American Communities Foundation +12062958553
Korea – Saw Kenneth Moe, Karen Youth Organisation +821087147019

My Speech as KNU Representative in the UK on Global Day of Action in London - By Bwa Bwa Phan

2010-03-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

March 9th 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and supporters, thank you for coming to today’s global day of action. We are not here to criticise the British Government, we are here to ask for their support to our cause. As you all know, Karen civilians are being attacked in eastern Burma by the Burmese Military Junta. This fact is well documented by independent human rights groups. The United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has issued an `expression of concern’ regarding the new attacks on the Karen people. The Karen National Union (KNU) does not believe that this alone is an adequate response.
We need the attacks to stop.

Over the years there have been many `expressions of concerns’ by the General Secretary and Presidential Security council statements. However, none of them have halted the attacks or persuaded the military Junta to enter into genuine dialogue, with the democratic forces in Burma. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma has described the attacks on ethnic peoples in eastern Burma as being a breach of the Geneva Convention, but still the attacks go on.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) is the only protection Karen civilians have from the Junta’s attacks. Without the KNLA, no humanitarian aid would be able to reach Internally Displaced People, who are in hiding. Since the regime is blocking aid reaching people who are hiding in the jungle, cross-aid is the only way to provide food, medicine and shelter to those on the run from the new attacks. Unlike the dictatorship, the KNU agree to meet all requirements regarding aid delivery. The KNU would like to make it very clear to the world, we have repeatedly tried to enter into dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the problems in Burma and are ready for any future talks. But the Military Junta demands what amounts to a total and unconditional surrender.

Who will then protect the Karen civilians, the UN?

The UN Special Rapporteur often has to wait for weeks to get a visa just to enter Burma, at times they have not been allowed to talk to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or the 2100 political prisoners that are held unjustly and in appalling conditions. What hope is there of UN protection for vulnerable Karen civilians in the jungle. The reality is none.

If the attacks by the Junta are to stop we need real pressure by the UN. We need genuine dialogue with all stake holders, for national reconciliation and peace. We have made these facts plain in many letters to the UN and governments but they have gone unheard.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is why we are here today. If our letters go unheard, then our voices should not.

The attacks on Karen civilians in eastern Burma must stop.

Thank you

Nobel Women’s Initiative - Press Release: International Tribunal on Burma Calls for End to Impunity of Military Regime - FULL TEXT | Nobel Women's Initiative

2010-03-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Nobel Women’s Initiative - Press Release: International Tribunal on Burma Calls for End to Impunity of Military Regime - FULL TEXT Nobel Women's Initiative

POLITICS-BURMA: Conflict Pushes Karen Women to be Village Chiefs - IPS ipsnews.net

2010-03-01T09:24:00.001-08:00

POLITICS-BURMA: Conflict Pushes Karen Women to be Village Chiefs - IPS ipsnews.net

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Attacks on displaced villagers in Nyaunglebin District - KHRG

2010-01-23T07:13:00.001-08:00

At least 1,000 villagers have fled from ten villages during the last five days following the establishment of a new SPDC Army camp in central Nyaunglebin District. Two villagers in the area of the camp are confirmed to have been killed by soldiers from this camp. Three other villagers are missing after another SPDC battalion attacked a party of villagers that had escaped from an SPDC relocation site to tend to their farms. Read more

FBR REPORT: UPDATE OF BURMA ARMY ATTACKS, MURDERS, DISPLACEMENT AND FORCED LABOR IN KAREN STATE, BURMA

2010-01-23T07:06:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,
This is an update with photos of Burma Army attacks, murders, displacement and forced labor against villagers and IDPs in Karen State, Burma. There are no large scale offensives at this time but over 2,000 people have been displaced in attacks this week while villagers were shot to death by Burma Army patrols. Yesterday while doing a reconnaissance of a Burma Army camp, we saw Burma Army troops with villagers they were forcing to carry loads for them. In every area here that the Burma Army controls, they force villagers to carry loads and work for them. Read more

The Displaced and Rangers Celebrate Christmas Together - FBR

2009-12-31T09:48:00.001-08:00

Dear all,
Merry Christmas from here in Toungoo District, Northern Karen State, Burma! We are still up here as there is more Burma Army activity against the population. We spent the last three days watching the road while some of the team treated patients and did the Good Life Club Program (GLC). This part of Toungoo district is at the edge of the black zone and the brown zone- we are with the last IDPs before it becomes almost totally Burma Army controlled. Read more

Refugees protest Catholic Charities Center - Pittsburgh Post Gazzett

2009-11-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Refugees from Myanmar picketed the opening of a new welcome center for clients of Catholic Charities at its Downtown office yesterday.
Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, who dedicated the Susan Zubik Welcome Center in honor of his late mother, went out to meet the protesters, who spoke little or no English. Counting children, they included more than 30 ethnic Karens, who carried handwritten signs such as, "We demand a professional translator who speaks our language. Read more

IDPs at Noh Boe Camp in Thailand

2009-11-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

2009-11-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

IDPs from Ler Per Her camp who fled to Thailand Noh Boe temporary refugee camp during SPDC and DKBA attacks on their village in June 2009. These IDPs suffer from eye infections and skin disease and are in need of help. Phan Foundation is helping, but funds are limited. Donations can be made at;

www.phanfoundation.org.

Who will stop the Dictators? - FBR

2009-11-19T16:41:00.001-08:00

We are putting together this Day of Prayer for Burma from inside an ethnic area of Burma that is under attack by the Burma Army. We are training multi-ethnic relief teams and going with them to bring help, hope and love to the displaced. The people of Burma live in terror and are attacked, raped and killed by their own government. Who will come to their aid? Who will help them? As talks are held, who is defending those under attack? In Burma, no one protects except the pro-democracy resistance. In spite of this, there is no large scale support for the resistance groups and thus no way to provide adequate protection to the people under attack. Read more

KNU Submission to US House of Representatives

2009-11-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Submission to US House of Representatives 21 Oct 2009
OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS KAREN NATIONAL UNION...
Read more

Dying Alive Video

2009-11-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEwqI98vNvs&feature=related

Press Conference by Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar (UN)

2009-10-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

The human rights situation in Myanmar remained alarming, with a pattern of widespread and systematic violations that prevailing impunity allowed to continue, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar said today.
During a Headquarters press conference today, Tomás Ojea Quintana described the findings and recommendations on a range of critical human rights issues in Myanmar. Mandated by the Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteurs are independent, but work under the auspices of the United Nations.
Mr. Quintana noted that his report to the Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) addressed the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other prisoners of conscience, fair trial and detention conditions, issues of free assembly and association, as well as situation of civilians affected by armed conflict in some areas of the country. (See Press Release GA/SHC/3957.) Read more

KNU adopts new doctrine on front line - Mizzima

2009-10-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Bangkok (Mizzima) - When two explosions rocked the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army compound in the middle of the night, destroying a bulldozer and excavator, the Karen National Liberation Army’s Special Warfare Branch headed for the hills.
It was a rude post-midnight awakening for the DKBA soldiers of Brigade 999, but they quickly assembled a pursuit team.
And they struck out from Ta-ah Tah village, straight up into unforgiving terrain of the Dawna Mountain Range.
They had been hit by a KNLA strike deep behind the lines, a tactic favoured by Karen National Union Vice President David Thackrabaw, and they knew there would be hell to pay for destruction of such expensive machinery. Read More

DKBA Takes Aim at Brigade 5 - Irrawaddy

2009-10-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

About 2,000 Karen villagers have been forced to relocate by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) since May, as the pro-junta ethnic army takes up position to move into northern Karen State where the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Brigade 5 is based, according to Karen sources. Read More

Beijing & Burma no longer the best of friends - Bangkok Post

2009-10-11T06:38:00.001-07:00

Burma is increasingly disillusioned with China as an ally and may be looking to the West to balance its dependence on Beijing. There are increasing signs there is a growing rift between the two neighbours, especially over problems along the border. The junta has snubbed China publicly on several occasions recently, while Beijing has also shown signs of their dissatisfaction with their ally. More

Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) chair clarifies group's position

2009-10-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 06 October 2009

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Chairman of the Ethnic Nationalities Council in exile, a coalition of ethnic political organisations, on Monday made it abundantly clear that the Council’s position does not support the Burmese military junta’s 2010 elections plans.

The clarification by Khu Hte Bu Phe, Chairman of the ENC, came days after a letter sent in the name of the Council to US Senator James Webb, a strong advocate of engagement with the Burmese regime, before hosting of a Congressional hearing on Burma.

The letter, signed by the Secretary General of the ENC and dated September 28, explained to the US Senator of ENC’s position on the Burmese junta’s 2010 election plans saying, in principle the ethnics in Burma do not accept the 2008 constitution and the forthcoming 2010 elections. Read more

KNU Response to ENC Statement

2009-10-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

The Karen National Union (KNU) made the statement in reaction to a letter sent by the umbrella Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) to US senator Jim Webb, suggesting that elections might herald change in Burma.

Oct 6, 2009 (DVB)–Burma’s elections next year are not a sign of progress towards democratization, according to a prominent ethnic opposition group who said that repression will continue beyond 2010. More

KNU Leaders on Assassination List

2009-10-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

October 5, 2009

Leaders of KNU and Burmese democracy activists based in Mae Sot, Thailand are on the alert because of news that the DKBA is plotting to assassinate high ranking officials among them.

According to one of the KNU Leaders, who requested anonymity, since early September they received information that SPDC has assigned the DKBA to assassinate leaders of KNU and Pro Democracy groups.

The source said that DKBA sent 12 of it's agents to work together with Thai businessmen in planning the assassinations. The plan includes assassinating 4 top KNU leaders, 4 Federation of Trade Unions - Burma (FTUB) leaders and other Pro Democracy Leaders based in Thailand.

The source also mentioned that KNU Leaders and brigade & battalion commanders from other areas traveling back and forth to Thai border are also put on alert.

The above is a translation from a news article in Karen which appeared on Kwekalu

Activists fling shoes at Burmese FM in New York - Mizzima

2009-09-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burmese activists in New York on Monday threw shoes at visiting Foreign Minister Nyan Win, an act of opposition against his representation of the Southeast Asian nation at the 64th United Nations General Assembly. Read more

Junta's military rulers play with the West - Bangkok Post

2009-09-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

Releasing thousands from jail is only a ploy to gain some credibility

Burma's military rulers are up to their old tricks, trying again to hoodwink the West. Just before the United Nations General Assembly gets underway in New York this week, the regime announced the released more than 7,000 prisoners to try to deflect attention from them. Usually in this annual UN session Burma's human rights record and progress to democratic elections are thoroughly reviewed; a strong resolution demanding the release of all political prisoners, national reconciliation and the return to democracy is adopted by the international body. Read more

Patrols, movement restrictions and forced labour in Toungoo District - KHRG Field Report

2009-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

This report documents the situation for villagers in Toungoo District, both in areas under SPDC control and in areas contested by the KNLA and home to villagers actively evading SDPC control. For villagers in the former, movement restrictions, forced labour and demands for material support continue unabated, and continue to undermine their attempts to address basic needs. Villagers in hiding, meanwhile, report that the threat of Burma Army patrols, though slightly reduced, remains sufficient to disrupt farming and undermine food security. This report includes incidents occurring from January to August 2009. Read more

Serious Illness Hits Kachin and Karen Children-Burma Campaign - UK

2009-09-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

Serious Illness Hits Kachin and Karen Children
23 Sep 2009
The Burma Campaign UK is deeply concerned by reports it has received from Kachin and Karen State of a serious unknown disease which is particularly affecting children. Almost 2,000 people have contracted the illness so far, and symptoms in both states are similar. More

Livelihood consequences of SPDC restrictions and patrols in Nyaunglebin District - KHRG Report

2009-09-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

September 22, 2009.
This report presents information on abuses in Nyaunglebin District for the period of April to July 2009. Though Nyaunglebin saw a reduction in SPDC activities during the first six months of 2009, patrols resumed in July. Since then, IDP villagers attempting to evade SPDC control report that they have subsequently been unable to regularly access farm fields or gardens, exacerbating cycles of food shortages set in motion by the northern Karen State offensive which began in 2006. Other villagers, from the only nominally controlled villages in the Nyaunglebin's eastern hills to SPDC-administered relocation sites in the west, meanwhile, report abuses including forced labour, conscription into government militia, travel restrictions and the torture of two village leaders for alleged contact with the KNLA.

Click the link to read more http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f15.html

Security concerns for new refugees in Tha Song Yang - KHRG Report

2009-09-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

September 22, 2009.
At least 4,862 refugees from the Ler Per Her IDP camp and surrounding villages in Pa'an District remain at new arrival sites in Thailand. Though the fighting that precipitated the flight of many of these refugees in June has decreased, the area from which they fled continues to be unsafe for them to return. This bulletin provides updated information on landmine risks for refugees who may return, or who have already returned, including the maiming of a 13-year-old resident of the Oo Thu Hta new arrival site who returned to visit his village to tend livestock. Refugees face other threats to safe return as well, including widespread conscription as forced labourers, porters and "human minesweepers" by the SPDC and DKBA, as well as forced military recruitment by the DKBA and potential accusation and punishment as "insurgent supporters.

Ckick the link to read more http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09b10.html

Interview with Thramu Htoo Ku on August 6, 2009

2009-09-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Question: Could you tell us about your life experiences as a refugee in the camp?

Answer: We are a typical Karen family who originally came from a village called Wai-may-ta in Tavoy Township. Due to oppressions and violence by the military, my family and villagers in that area had to flee to the jungles. We had to live in the jungle within Burma for 10 years before moving to the refugee camp on Thai soil. We have lived in the camp for 20 years before being resettled in this country.
In the Karen state, we saw death everyday. We lived as though we’re waiting for the day of our death, asking ourselves, “When will my turn come?” One after another our leaders and fellow villagers were killed and wounded. The repeated attacks by the Burma army made us run away and hide in fear like wild chickens. We had to live in fear all the time.
In the end, there wasn’t anywhere for us to escape within the country but to flee into Thailand and lived in camp for more than 20 years. Compare to our life in Burma, there was a little peace and goodness there. However, we’re not able to stand up as a people. Although we’re provided with food and shelter by the NGOs, there was no freedom of movement or expression which is the basic right of every human being. Life there was just like a human zoo as we’re surrounded by fences. We’re not allowed to go anywhere; we only had to eat food given to us. We couldn’t speak out about our sufferings and needs. We’re completely restricted by the Thai authorities. In 2005, the UNHCR arranged for us to resettle in a third country. There isn’t any hope at all for the future of our children at these camps; life there is basically dead.
Today, due to the arrangement by the UNHCR, we’ve had the chance to resettle here in this country, although we weren’t given any chance to choose which country we wanted to go to. We’re grateful to the government of this host country for resettling us and taking good care of us. However, one huge problem is the difference in language, weather and culture. It is very hard for us to adjust to life in this developed country, coming straight from the camps. Especially for older people, not able to speak and understand the language at all makes it hard for them to get jobs. Even those of us who are professionals back home, nurses like my husband and I can’t get employment in our field of work. Language is a major barrier for us to go through life here, and this makes us feel very discouraged. But, on the other hand our basic needs are well taken care of. Moreover, we’re able to live without fear, which we’ve always yearned for. No longer do we have to fear soldiers torching our villages and killing us. Our dream in this respect is fulfilled. We’re free to go anywhere we want, express our thoughts frankly, and look for jobs in freedom. There are opportunities for our young sons and daughters to get education hoping that they will be good and smart children. Adults like us can also acquire education. There’s no major hardship for us. These are my experiences I’ve gone through in my life.

Question: Could you tell us about young girls and women abused and raped by the Burmese soldiers?

Answer: I myself haven’t gone through this kind of violation. But I’ve learned about a few instances from my friends, and from those who have been violated. A friend, a nurse who worked together with me, told me about her friend who was a young virgin raped by Burmese soldiers while she was tending her cattle in a field far from her parents’ house. After being raped, she felt so defiled and ashamed to return home, and hid outside the village because all her clothing was ripped off. Her brother and her father had to take her some clothes and brought her back to the village. When she got home, she was too ashamed to show her face. She kept to her room and wanted to kill herself. I don’t know whether she killed herself or not, but my friend told me the girl didn’t want to live anymore and didn’t want to see anyone.
Another woman was a mother age 30 or so years old who was raped by soldiers when forced to go with them as porter. During daytime, she had to carry heavy loads, and at nighttime, she was raped by these soldiers. She got pregnant and after giving birth to that son she came to live in the refugee camp, the same camp I was in. I got to see her for a short time and spoke with her. But sadly, I couldn’t talk with her much as she would only laugh, talk to herself or cry. The atrocities she had experienced affected her mentally that she sometimes would cry and laugh, and she would neither sleep nor eat. Her mind was sorely distressed that she could no longer function as a normal human being. This was what I had witnessed myself back there.

Question: Now, there are Karens who had gone back to make peace with the Burmese military government. What are your views on this matter?

Answer: This is my personal view. From what I’ve seen from video clips and read in the news, among those who went back to make peace, some said that they could not fight or make sacrifices anymore. They have had enough of sufferings and so want to live in peace. That’s why they decided to make peace with the Burmese government believing that it could provide them with their own region to govern and live in peace. If in reality they can genuinely live in peace and the villagers could also do the same, I personally can accept. However, what follow after that makes it hard for me to accept what they have done at all. They say it’s for peace while there’s no peace at all for the Karen people. There is only peace for one particular group. The Burmese army just uses you to go back and kill your own people, bully them by forcefully collecting taxes, and conscript young men to fight as soldiers in DKBA and Burmese Army. These are atrocities committed against the people and I totally can’t accept what they do. If their particular group can live in real peace, which all Karens want, and live well themselves, this is fine by me. I’m not against it.
Once we’ve learned that the peace agreement was just a ploy by the enemy to kill and destroy the Karen people, and have seen the losses of our Karen people, territories and their being used by the Burmese Army to kill their own people, it makes me truly sad and hurt that I shed tears every now and then thinking about this. Our hearts are broken because of this divisiveness.

Question: Could you tell us what the Karen people who are resettled in third countries should do to help our people back home? How could they do it?

Answer: I’m sure those who now live in third countries, young people, adults, and leaders of the communities, would have their own ideas and suggestions. Personally, what I want is for all Karens to be united in working for the development and progress of ourselves and our people back home. But it is sad that we are divided in the love and concern for our people with differing mindset. My advice is for each individual to discard his/her narrow mindedness and be open minded to accept new ideas that would be of benefit to our people. We need to have foresight. Now that we are in the third country, we have absolute freedom to do anything that are within the law of that country, for the development of our people as a whole or as an individual, as well as for the development of the country we now live in.
Of course, there are many of us who have gone through bad, bitter and heartbreaking experiences, for instance, caused by differences in religions, discrimination between Pwo and Sgaw, etc. These are very ugly conflicts that shouldn’t have happened at all. I am Christian but my great-grandfather was a Buddhist monk. Both religions teach us not to kill or destroy each other or anyone. This divisiveness is the result of some religious narrow mindedness and immature conviction. This divisive factor is a big hindrance in our working together. This shortcoming has given the enemy leverage to divide us. In fact, it is the few people’s weaknesses that have brought us against one another. This weakness has opened the way for the enemy to use it as a weapon to divide us.
Therefore, what I want to ask the Karen people to do is change their mindset and attitude by elevating them to a new and higher level. We must begin this first as an individual, and then gradually move on to family, community and nation as a whole. Don’t let our outdated narrow-mindedness hinder our effort to work together for the progress of the Karens but let us be united in love and make good use of the freedom we enjoy in whichever third country we live in by working together with one mind.

Question: What advice would you like to give to our young Karen people?

Answer: I’d like to tell you about a family who are my close friends. Whenever they are asked the reason why they have come to a third country, the father’s answer is
“For my children’s education and future”. This is the dream of all parents who are already in the third countries and those who have sent their children here. We are here with the hope that our children will seek education, set high goals and raise their standard of living, and eventually be of benefit to our people when they are well-equipped to do so in the days to come. Like other people the world over, the young generations are considered as future adults and leaders. They are our hope and strength. That’s why we need you, my dear young people. Now that you get this opportunity to live in the new country, use it to the best of your ability; take what is good from the country you live in, pursue education to upgrade your life. My children, don’t let the freedom you enjoy here destroy your character and your culture because there are many things that can be destructive to your health, your progress and life, and even the name and reputation of our people. Therefore, take what is good from the culture of the new country, and ignore and avoid whatever that would destroy your life.
You are our hope and strength for the advancement of our people. You are our future elders and leaders. Our people look up to you. They place their hope and trust in you. Pursue education and try to gain knowledge as much as you can. Use this chance and the education the new country gives you to help yourself and your people. Whenever you have the opportunity let other people know about the Karen people without any restrictions. Be proud of who you are and where you came from. Take pride in your culture and language, making sure to maintain them for future generations that will grow up in the new countries. Don’t be ashamed of being a Karen. Don’t forget your heritage. Thank you.

Karen Cultural Event - London September 19, 2009

2009-09-21T16:35:00.001-07:00

Karen Cultural Event - UK

2009-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Karen Cultural Event was held in London on 19th September 2009

The Karen Cultural event was held in London on 19th September 2009 by the Karen Community Association – UK , celebrating Karen Culture. The event was held in the St Ethelberga’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre, featuring traditional food, dancing, singing and a fashion show. There were also speeches and presentations on Karen culture. More than a hundred guests came to support this event.

“This event is to educate people in the UK about our culture, and to make sure Karen people in the UK don’t lose their culture, especially younger generations,” said May Pearl Tun, one of the speakers at the event. “It will be the biggest Karen cultural event we have ever organised in the UK .”

More than 400 Karen people live in the UK , most have come to the UK as part of United Nations resettlement programme.

As well as cultural events, the Karen Community Association UK campaigns for human rights and democracy in Burma , helps the Karen community, and raises funds for refugees and internally displaced people.

This Karen Cultural Event was sponsored by the Phan Foundation & Karen National Union – UK .

The pipeline to riches

2009-09-14T17:42:00.001-07:00

13/09/2009 : The international community may finally have the information it needs to effectively prod the intransigent Burmese military regime to change its repressive ways - the specific offshore location of the regime's illicit multi-billion dollar natural gas revenues has been revealed...... click the link to read more

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/23791/the-pipeline-to-riches

Burma Army Troops Rape Karen Women

2009-09-13T17:29:00.001-07:00

FBR REPORT: Burma Army Troops Rape Four Women as Abuses Continue Against Villagers in Northern Karen State
Karen State, Burma
26 August, 2009 - Click the link to read more;
http://www.freeburmarangers.org/Reports/2009/20090904.html

Letter to Secretary Clinton

2009-09-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Re: Burma Policy Review
Dear Secretary Clinton:
We write to you again about the human rights and political situation in Burma and the current US policy review. We believe it is important for the US government to conclude the policy review you announced in February so that American policy and strategy towards Burma will be clear to all concerned. We also believe that as intractable as the situation in Burma may seem, the United States does have options that could have a positive impact on the human rights and political situation in Burma. More

Burma: Army Attacks

2009-09-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Burma: Army Attacks Displace Thousands of Civilians Human Rights ...
Aug 14, 2009 ... (New York) - Burmese army attacks against ethnic Shan civilians in northeastern ... Stay Informed » Get action alerts, breaking news and updates .... forced some 5000 ethnic Karen across the border into Thailand in June. ...www.hrw.org/.../news/.../burma-army-attacks-displace-thousands-civilians Read more...

We're not a spent force, says Karen military leader - Bangkok Post.

2009-09-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

News » Investigative Report

It may be spread thinly, but the KNLA soldiers on

Writer: By Phil Thornton
Published: 6/09/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Spectrum

General Mu Tu is angry. He's angry at the Burmese military regime for attacking thousands of unarmed Karen villagers and forcing them to take refuge in jungle hideouts. He's angry with media pundits and academics for deciding the Karen are a spent force and their struggle dead. And he's angry with the international community for not doing more to free Burma's 2,100 political prisoners and to stop the displacement of hundreds of thousands of ethnic people.

Gen Mu Tu waves a newspaper clipping and says: "The international community needs to send its 'experts' to come and investigate displacements in Karen State instead of relying on what some academics and journalists write. I don't know where they get their information - it's not from going inside, and it's certainly not from us."

Gen Mu Tu is the leader of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). He looks more like the grandfather he is than the leader of the largest resistance force fighting the Burmese military regime. But looks can deceive. We met in a safe house on the Thai-Burma border where he discussed how the KNLA has had to adapt its battle plans to match its loss of territory and inability to renew its weaponry.

In June, 1,300 government troops attacked Ler Per Her displacement camp, situated on the Burmese side of the River Moei. Thai authorities say more than 4,000 Karen villagers living in the camp and in the surrounding area sought safety in Thailand. Before Burmese soldiers left Ler Per Her, they booby-trapped and land-mined walkways; waterholes, rice stores, schoolyards and homes, making the old village uninhabitable.

Gen Mu Tu says the regime uses its soldiers and its militia gangs to force hundreds of thousands of Karen villagers from their homes in an attempt to bring them and their land under its control.

The regime argues that it is a result of the conflict with the KNLA that so many civilians are displaced. It is an argument that Professor Desmond Ball from the Australian National University Defence and Strategic Studies Centre disputes.

DEFIANT: Gen Mu Tu holds the KNLA flag.

"These attacks are against civilians, not Karen soldiers. The Burmese military have a total disregard for international law. The Karen army is a fraction of the size of the Burmese army, and can offer little in the way of resistance. Most of its work is spent moving people out of harm's way."

Gen Mu Tu says the Burmese army has a third of its forces based in Eastern Burma, and blames displacement on the Burmese army occupation and militarisation of ethnic land.

"We have 5,000 fighting men, they have about 180,000 soldiers in Eastern Burma. They retaliate against villagers if we take action. As a military man I want a fair fight, arms against arms, but what the regime does to our people is not fair. They are using their army against unarmed civilians."

Gen Mu Tu is keen to explain the Karen's first priority is to try to find a peaceful solution.
"Burma is a political problem. We want peace and we want equality. All we want is to live as free people. We don't want to take up arms, but we have to resist if we are to defend our people."
Gen Mu Tu says the regime has told the Karen they can have peace if they give up their arms, an offer Gen Mu Tu forcibly declines.

"They want us to give up our weapons; that's surrender, not peace. If we return to their so-called 'legal fold' our situation will be more critical than it is now. Now we have weapons and they still do this to our people. Image what they'd do if we didn't have arms?"

PLANNING HIS NEXT MOVE:Gen Mu Tu studies a map.

Moe Kyaw, a Burmese army officer who deserted, says the regime does not want peace with the Karen.

"The Karen is the only armed group that we are worried about, but we planned to split and weaken them. The aim is to use the ceasefire groups against the ethnic organisations. We know most of the Karen [people] support the KNLA, they have won the hearts of their people."
While Moe Kyaw may have a grudging admiration for the KNLA, he only has harsh words for the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

"We knew that only their top level officers [of the DKBA] were with us. They're like gangsters out for their own gain. We disliked the DKBA. We don't respect them. Why would we? They are traitors to their own people. If they are willing to destroy their own people, how could we trust them?"

The general says the Burmese military regime is intent on destroying Karen culture and their way of life.

"The Burmese army burns our schools, cuts down 60-year-old orchards and plantations, poisons our waterways and mines farmland. Is this is the work of people who want peace?"
The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), in its latest report, Displacement and International Law In Eastern Burma, estimates "that more than 3,200 settlements were destroyed, forcibly relocated or otherwise abandoned in Eastern Burma between 1996 and 2007".

Between 2006 and 2007, the Burmese army burned down villages, laid landmines and drove more than 76,000 villagers from their homes into jungle hideouts. Many more made the arduous journey to makeshift camps on the edges of the Thai-Burma border.

DRIVEN FROM HOME: Naw Haynaytha in tears.

Naw Haynaytha was one who survived the long journey to Ei Tu Hta camp on the Burmese side of the Salween River. She said at the time that she left because soldiers smashed her home and destroyed her land.

"We grew fruit trees, mango, banana, jackfruit and betel nuts. We caused no harm, we're villagers. I don't know why they hate us, but they do.

"We stayed in our village, but still they kill us."

Naw Haynaytha, 30, has first-hand knowledge of the regime's military policy towards the Karen. She fled her village when the soldiers set up a base near her village.

"I just took the children and left. I'm afraid of them because they will kill me if they catch me. Every person they arrested is killed. They never come home."

Gen Mu Tu says stories like Naw Haynaytha's are the reason the KNLA continues to fight. He sips coffee and points to numerous pock-marks in the doors, walls and ceiling, and says they were caused by three separate unsuccessful grenade attacks on him.

"People need to understand we don't take our fight to their cities. We fight in Karen State to defend our people. Nothing more, nothing less."

The general says his army may have lost territory, and may be small, but he considers it deadly.
"Loss of territory is not important at the moment. We're still holding arms and we're prepared to fight. It's true they have taken our lands, but now we know where they are. They are visible and static. That suits us."

Mr Ball says there are not many armies better at guerilla warfare than the Karen. "Their soldiers are tough, they know how to walk for days, live off the land, they may have limited weapons, but they know how to fight."

Gen Mu Tu says he has been fighting since he was 16.

"Fighting is to kill, and we know how to kill. We're like shadows, hard to catch and we will kill specific targets - the officers and the soldiers who are hurting our people."

Major Ghu Thaw, who is second-in-command of a small KNLA battalion fighting the Burmese army two hours north of Mae Sot and two days walk into Karen State from a River Moei border crossing, confirms what Gen Mu Tu says.

"We're 60 against 320, we're low on ammunition, but we're not going head-to-head, we're picking our targets. We've just killed a platoon commander from their Infantry Brigade 81 and another commander from Light Infantry Brigade 205." Maj Ghu Thaw says the Burmese army has been raping and abusing people during the conflict.

STILL BEARING ARMS: The KNLA’s 7th brigade, left, is still a strong fighting force.

"Two Karen women, Naw Pay, 18 and eight months pregnant, and Naw Wah Lah, 17, were both raped and murdered by soldiers. The soldiers responsible were from Light Infantry Brigade 205, led by Lt Col Than Hteh and Capt Kyi Nyo Thant."

The Committee of Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) confirmed the deaths and rapes.

Gen Mu Tu says the number of clashes over a six-month period between his men and the Burmese army supports his argument that the Karen are capable of killing the regime's soldiers.

According to statistics collected by the Karen National Union from Jan 1 to June 30 2009, the KNLA and Burmese army fought 532 times. The KNLA killed 341 Burmese soldiers and wounded another 697. The Burmese army killed five KNLA soldiers and wounded nine. The Karen killed 15 officers across the command spectrum - including a brigadier-general, company commanders, majors and captains.

"We want the regime to understand that Burma is a political issue. It cannot be solved on the battlefield. If they really want peace and if they are fair, this issue can be resolved around the political table. To negotiate is not to surrender."

Gen Mu Tu says the regime needs to take his words seriously.

"I want the regime to understand they cannot win, even if they do have the military might, because we can kill them. They have to understand the only way to solve this problem is by political means."

Mr Ball says factional splits have reduced the effectiveness of the armed resistance to the regime.

"It's in their own interests to help each other. If one falls, it will hurt them all. If they cooperate as the Karen and the Pa-O did in Shan State recently, they can be effective."

To outsiders, Burma is a difficult story to report. The regime has banned international journalists. It's hard to verify information. Getting access to isolated conflict zones or crimes scenes is almost impossible.

To better understand the rationale behind why Burmese soldiers did what they did to Karen villagers, a Burmese army defector, an officer, explains.

The ex-officer is neat, fit and had the chunky muscles of someone who still worked at keeping them hard.

Maung Aye (not his real name) had been a Burmese army officer for 25 years, 10 as a trainer, before defecting to Thailand. "We indoctrinate our troops, we give them a reason to fight the ethnic people. We tell them we're fighting to stop the country from disintegrating. The Karen is the enemy. We instill in them fear and hatred. We tell them if a young Karen grows up he will become a soldier and kill you, better to do it now to him."

Maung Aye talked about civilian deaths in-a-matter-of-fact-voice.

"Our strategy is to destroy the villages and forcibly relocate them. Put simply, if you drain the lake, the fish will die. Relocating villagers disrupts the guerrillas' capacity to fight, it ties up all their resources trying to get food, medicine and shelter for the thousands of displaced villagers. This is systematic, some villagers resist, so we do some killing to sap their morale and to cow them into submission."

Maung Aye's admission reveals a strategy so effective in is simplicity it is mind-boggling. Displace half-a-million people, force them into jungle hideouts without food, education or medical care and then let the opposition eat up their meagre resources trying to keep them alive.

Displacement is regarded as the by-product of armed conflict between the KNLA and the Burmese army, but as Maung Aye explained, it is - regardless of skirmishes with the Karen - the planned-for result.

And it works. Most international governments and NGOs will not deliver cross-border aid and health care to displaced people, often citing "we can't as it is does not fit our criteria or our mandate".

Maung Aye says there are some troops who he describes as "no-brain soldiers" who are only too happy to rape, plunder and kill.

"Commanders have to meet their objectives, and if they don't they know they will be punished by their superiors. So they legitimize this behavior and will never discipline soldiers for abuses."

In early June 2009, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School launched its report, Crimes in Burma, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.

Writing in the report, Justice Richard J Goldstone, the first prosecutor at both the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and Patricia M Wald, a former Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, petitioned the UN Security Council to act on Burma.

"We call on the UN Security Council urgently to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate and report on crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. The world cannot wait while the military regime continues its atrocities against the people of Burma."

Let's build a new army for Saw Ba U Gyi - By Zoya Phan

2009-09-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

'Give me liberty or give me death’ read a sign at Manerplaw, which for many years was the headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU). We have fight for our liberty, as if we don’t our people will continue to be killed, and our culture destroyed. If the dictatorship carries on like they are now there will be no Karen left in Burma. Faced with this choice, as Saw Ba U Gyi said, surrender is out of the question.

When Manerplaw was overrun by the Burmese Army there was much speculation about what it meant about the future of the KNU. Many observers predicted the end of the KNU, and the end of our struggle for liberty.

For myself, as a 14 year old child who had been born and brought up in Manerplaw, it seemed like the end of the world. It was a personal disaster for all of us who had been forced to flee for our lives, and seemed like a major disaster for Karen people and our struggle for freedom. I feared for the future, but there was no surrender. The struggle continued.

The recent media articles and comments about the fall of the 7th Brigade headquarters are very similar to what was written 14 years ago. Once again observers are predicting the imminent end of our struggle, and the demise of the KNU. Once again, they are wrong.

Predictions of the end of our struggle are nothing new. They were also made when we were forced out of Insein in 1949.

On 27th February 1950 Ne Win told a New York Times (an American newspaper) journalist that victory over the ‘insurgents’ would be completed by May that year. Fifty-nine years later he is no longer alive, but our struggle continues, we have not been defeated.

When we lost Toungoo, our first headquarters, in 1950, and when many of our soldiers were forced out of the Delta in the same year, again we were told the days of our struggle were coming to an end. The predictions were wrong then as well.

After 60 years of struggle, why do we keep fighting? Because as the slogan in Manerplaw said, we have a choice of freedom or death.

But it cannot be denied that the loss of 7th Brigade headquarters is serious. It has humanitarian, political, military and financial impacts. It is likely that the military attacks by the Burmese Army, and their DKBA allies, will continue. We are outnumbered and outgunned. The brave men and women of the KNLA and KNDO continue to risk their lives and suffer hardships to protect our people. We don’t have the people or resources to force the Burmese Army out of Kawthoolei, and thousands of us have been forced to flee thousands of miles from home. But there are other battle grounds we can and must fight on, and those of us in exile have the opportunity, and responsibility, to do so.

In 1950 Saw Ba U Gyi, founder of the KNU, was killed in an ambush by the Burmese Army. But he was not on a military mission at the time. He was on his way to Thailand. He wanted to go to Bangkok, where many journalists and diplomats were based, and make sure the whole world knew about our struggle. He understood that we needed international pressure as well as fighting and organising to defend our people.

Fifty-nine years later we must follow in the footsteps of Saw Ba U Gyi. We must follow the strategy he did not live to implement. We must mobilise the international community to take action.

Under the leadership of Naw Zipporah Sein we have seen the KNU increase its international advocacy. Statements responding to new events have raised the profile of the KNU, and ensured our voice, and the truth about what is happening to our people, is reported in media and reaches governments and the United Nations.

The resettlement programme means that Karen people now have a new army. Perhaps as many as 40,000 Karen are now in western countries. This army must fight on the battleground of the international community. We must raise awareness and lobby governments and the United Nations to take action. Our voice can now reaches places and people that they never could from the Delta, from the mountains of Kawthoolei, and from the camps on the border.

Earlier this month Karen from across Europe came together to form the European Karen Network. Karen people are organising in the USA, Canada and Australia.

We know that advocacy can make a difference. In Britain, thanks to campaigning, the government has increased funding to refugees, and has started to fund the Mae Tao Clinic. The British government has also raised the situation in Eastern Burma at the United Nations Security Council, and recently the European Union made its first ever public statement about attacks on the Karen. Much more needs to be done, but these are important first steps.

We would all rather be back home in a free and democratic Burma, when we can freely be Karen without fear of death or persecution. But as my father, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, said, freedom won’t be given to us. We will have to work for it. We must keep working for it even if we are thousands of miles from home, and perhaps we have even more responsibility to do so than when we were in Burma or on the border. We have more freedom and opportunities now.

Let’s build a new army for Saw Ba U Gyi, thousands of Karen around the world forcing the international community to take notice, and take action. Wherever we are, we will continue the struggle. We will never surrender. The Karen will be free.

Published in www.kwekalu.net (Karen Language) August 2009

Continued Atrocities - KHRG Report

2009-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

September 8th, 2009

Abuse in Pa'an District, Insecurity in Thailand: The dilemma for new refugees in Tha Song Yang
This report presents information on abuses in eastern Pa'an District, where joint SPDC/DKBA forces continue to subject villagers to exploitative abuse and attempt to consolidate control of territory around recently taken KNLA positions near the Ler Per Her IDP camp. Abuses documented in this report include forced labour, conscription of porters and human minesweepers as well as the summary execution of a village headman. The report also provides an update on the situation for newly arrived refugees in Thailand's Tha Song Yang District, where at least 4,862 people from the Ler Per Her area have sought refuge; some have been there since June 2nd 2009, others arrived later. This report presents new information for the period of June to August 2009.
To view the field report click here

Is he a credible person??

2009-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

In his message at Pryor Creek Community Church in the US, Timothy Laklem claimed he was not a politician but a man of God.

Click here to listen to Timothy's message

God wouldn’t want His people to be the cause for discord among their own people. Jesus, when he was crucified on the cross, even prayed for those who tortured and killed Him instead of saying bad things about them. Did Timothy lead that kind of life to be called a man of God? When he was not elected to the KNU Central Committee at the KNU 13th congress he was furious and made unjustifiable personal attacks on the leadership of KNU. God wouldn’t want any individual to take vengeance on others for not fulfilling his wishes, instead God would want His people to forgive, even their enemies.

He also talked about striving to achieve peace with the adversary when all the time he was sowing disunity among his own people.Did he even achieve genuine peace for his people, the Karens? In February 2009 when the UN Human Rights Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana traveled to Karen State Timothy made a statement to Quintana claiming that the war was over and peace has been achieved. He urged the UN, which he called useless in his message at Pryor Creek Community Church, and the international community to work with KNU/KNLA Peace Council and the Burmese generals to close down all refugee camps in Thailand and send back the refugees to Burma. Little did he realize (or was he ignoring?) that while he was making that false statement, crimes against Humanity by the SPDC was going on full speed in Eastern Burma in the Karen State. Click the link below to see the report compiled by KHRG.

http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f12.html

And now a Major General in KNU/KNLA Peace Council, he will keep on lying as long as there are people who will listen to his smooth talking and believe without finding out the truth for themselves. As long as there are groups supporting him and believing him one sided without hearing out the majority of the Karens, he will continue to deceive them with his rhetoric.

Now he is even going ahead with plans to have talks with the Thai authorities for the closure of refugee camps, sending his people into the camps and threatening the refugees to go back to Burma. That is not the work by a man of God. Almost all the Karens, inside and outside of Burma, don’t approve of what he’s been doing politically all along.
A few years ago, a non political religious and human rights foreign organization terminated their working relation with Timothy and ATM (Asian Tribal Ministries) due to Timothy’s involvement with the KNU/KNLA Peace Council where he was the major catalyst for the Peace Council’s split from the main Karen resistance organization, the KNU and his relation with DKBA, another breakaway group of KNU and with SPDC, as well as serious concerns over accountability and transparency and possible misappropriation of funds.

The International Community should think twice and find out the reality before believing and supporting this kind of individual who claimed to be a man of God and then changed to be a politician and an army officer.

Eyes of the Storm - from PBS Broadcasting

2009-08-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

The struggles of several orphaned children left to fend for themselves and rebuild their shattered lives in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, please click on the following link to view the episode in its entirety. While I weep with my fellow Karens who came from the Thai/Burma border who had to endure carnage, I can also personally relate very well to what was portrayed in “Eyes of the Storm.” The evil-doing of the government is indisputably far-reaching. Atrocities committed inside Burma is often the unheard story of the other Karen and Burmese people. On the border, you have organizations such as Free Burma Rangers to document killings and torturing, but it is much harder to document what’s going on inside Burma . Perhaps blatant killing and torturing is not as prevalent inside Burma ; nevertheless, things are not less dire there. Slow killing and torturing are taking place and these people cannot escape anywhere.

Uncensored news from the heart of Burma is scarcely reported and this is a must watch for everyone who love the people of Burma . This news piece made me rethink of how I spend my life and how I use my resources.

http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=9363628&msgid=388098&act=I899&c=140467&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwnet%2Fwideangle%2Fepisodes%2Feyes-of-the-storm%2Ffull-episode%2F5457%2F

THE SECOND KAREN CANADIAN YOUTH CONFERENCE ACCOMPLISHED

2009-08-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Karen Canadian Youth- Canada
Contact: Saw Joe Teeshara and/or Saw Hsa Htu Wah
Communication Department, KYO-Canada
Email: sawjoe2001@hotmail.com, mailto:hsatu@hotmail.%20com

August 4, 2009- The second Karen Canadian Youth Conference held in Edmonton, AB, from July 31st to August 3 was organized by Karen Canadian Community (KCC) and hosted by Edmonton Karen Canadian Community. About three hundred people attended the conference. Participants came from different cities across Canada. Karen communities from Calgary, Edmonton, London, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Windsor, Winnipeg, and Vancouver were able to send their delegates

While some observers also came from the United States.

Slone Phan, the Karen Canadian Community youth coordinator who initiated the conference, explained that the objectives of the conference were to make Karen youth residing in Canada build strong connection with the headquarters of Karen Youth Organization, Kawthoolei, and other Karen youth from different parts of the world. The conference involved different sessions that focused on leadership, overview of Karen history, Karen resettlement issues in Canada, while some sports’ competitions were also performed.

The second day of the conference comprised of the Karen Martyrs Day commemoration in memory of Saw Ba Oo Gyi and the fallen of all Karen soldiers and innocent civilians in Burma. Mahn Kyaw Shwe said "our Karen youth need to learn from our leader Saw Ba Oo Gyi who unselfishly sacrificed himself for the cause of freedom and liberation of the Karen people in Burma".

The newly-elected president of Canada Karen Youth Organization, Andy Soe said "I was so delighted to see more youth coming to participate in this conference than the previous conference and am happy to see their eagerness and cooperation for the betterment of our Karen Youth Organization”.
At the end of the conference, the most frequently asked question is “when and where the next Karen Youth Conference will be”. Three days of the Karen Youth conference may be short, but the Karen Youth who had attended the conference made the best of it by networking, sharing information, and socializing with each other.

IDPs in Paan District - June 2009

2009-07-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Education for IDP Children

2009-07-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Education is of utmost importance for a people to develop and survive. A race without educated people can be easily manipulated and exploited until the race is annihilated from the face of the planet. The Burmese SPDC regime is systematically destroying the Karen race by forcing villagers to flee from their homes and let children lose their opportunity of getting even basic education. The irony is that even some unscrupulous Karens are lured into their scheme and have joined hands with them in destroying schools, hospitals and even places of worship.
But there are many young Karens who know that education is the main ingredient in the development of a people.

The pictures below show volunteers doing field work teaching at temporary shelters for refugees displaced during June 2009 offensive on KNLA Brigade 7 in Pa-An District.

Karen Flag Flying in Canada

2009-07-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

On July 10th the Karen National Flag was hoisted side by side with the Canadian Flag in the city of Orillia, Ontario. The event organized by Project Umbrella Burma founded by Cathy and David Downhams was attended by Karen communities from London, Woodstock and Hamilton. Speeches were also delivered by the Mayor of Orillia and Members of Parliament from the Parliamentary Friends of Burma.

It is learnt that the Karen Flag will be flying for 10 days from July 10 to July 20 at the Opera House of Orillia to commemorate the history and traditions of the Karen people who are the victims of ethnic cleansing in Burma.

Below is the speech delivered by Mahn Kyaw Swe, President of Karen Canadian Community at the event;

Good morning your honorable guests, Karen friends, and Canadian supporters!
First of all I would like to say thank you to Cathy and David from Project umbrella Burma for doing this public awareness event for the Karen people who are the victims of ethnic cleansing in Burma.

Today, we celebrate the Karen flag raising ceremony of Honor. A day set aside to commemorate the history and traditions of the Karen people of Burma. We can look back in our history at over 73 years. One day in 1936, during the British Rule of Burma, the Karen Central Organization decided to demand Karen National day, Karen National Anthem and Karen National flag from the Burmese government led by Dr. Ba Maw. In order to achieve those demand a group of Karen members and the House of Representatives requested to local Karens to design Karen national flag. Initially, 100 flags were chosen from all different regions of Burma. Then 12 flags were selected out of 100, then 3 of them were chosen. Finally, they picked the Karen National Flag we have been using until today. The Karen flag includes a drum, a rising sun with 9 rays and the colors of white, red and blue.

The red represents bravery, and the white represents simple life of Karen people and the blue represents loyalty to their ruler or the government. The rising sun represents social development of Karen people and 9 rays represent 9 rivers, those were used when Karen people came from Mongolia to the Burma. The drum is a symbol of Karen culture and tradition.

In 1938 Karen National Flag, Karen New Year Day together with Karen National Anthem were recognized by British government and allowed to raise the flag on Karen New Year day. Forever since entire Karen population considers national flag as a sacred symbol. Starting from the first Karen New Year Day celebrated in 1938 Karen flag is raised every Karen New Year Day celebration which is a special event in Burma.

In March 1997, during a televised surrender ceremony with a battalion of Karen freedom fighters, General Maung Aye from Burmese Army, the Chief of staff laid down Karen national flag on the ground and stepped under foot. All Karen people were considered it was very humiliating an insult to entire people and outraged. In another event, Brigadier General Maung Hla of Burmese Army said that one day the Karens would only be seen in the museum. Those incidents proved that the clear message of the Burmese military regime’s seriousness about ethnic cleansing campaign against Karens and other ethnic minority of Burma.

Very recently, at the beginning of June 2009, the Burmese regime started another military offensive against Karen resistant using its proxy group of Karen Democratic Army. In this latest military campaign, the innocent villagers mostly women and children were targeted and forced to flee their homes and villages. For the result, over 6000 Karen civilians had to flee to Thailand and living in newly established refugee camps camp.

However, Karen people still survive inside Burma, or in refugee camps in Thailand, in Canada, in Australia, or in the United States of America because of those people like Cathy and David who protect, who care and serve victims of ethnic cleansing. We not only Karen people who could come to Orillia, but also Karens people from around the world are so proud to present at Orillia to see raising Karen National Flag. We thank you for doing this special event.

Today July 10th 2009

Who killed Col. San Pyone? - by Daniel Pedersen (Maesot)

2009-07-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2009

One of Pado Mahn Sha’s alleged killers has met the same fate.

Former Karen National Union general secretary Pado Mahn Sha was assassinated on Valentine’s Day 2008 at his home in Mae Sot.

But who killed Colonel San Pyone, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army’s commander of Battalion Seven under Brigade 999?
The Colonel, for whom arrest warrants had been issued by a Thai Criminal Court for his alleged part in Mahn Sha’s death, was shot to death on June 26 by parties unknown.
He was traveling in a military flotilla of seven boats.
Six soldiers were killed and 20 injured in the attack, which was apparently launched from both sides of the Moei River.
The prime suspects, of course, would be gunmen of the KNU.
But KNU vice president David Thackrabaw said the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, was not active in the area.
The attack occurred in KNLA Seventh Brigade region, an area recently ceded to the Burma Army and the DKBA.
Brigade 999 has a fearsome reputation among Karen villagers for forced recruitment, brutal treatment of its recruits and a murderous approach to the local populace.

But if the KNU did not kill San Pyone, then who did?

There is no motivation for the Thai Army to act in such a manner.

Some observers have suggested the Burma Army might have been behind the killing, citing a perceived need for the DKBA’s overseer to keep rogue commanders of its slave militia in line.
With the DKBA’s transformation into a border security force, senior military commanders will become increasingly irrelevant.

KNU Statement in 1997

2009-07-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

The following is KNU Statement in connection with Maung Aye (SLORC Leader now SPDC) and group stepping on Karen Flag. It is clear that they are out to destroy the Karen race. All Karens, inside and outside of Burma, should take this as a renewed wake up call to join hands and stand up togethar against the enemy and the traitors.

QUOTE:

Subject: KNU STATEMENT REGARDING CASE OF GEN. MAUNG AYE AND GROUP STEPPING UNDERFOOT THE KAREN NATIONAL FLAG

O F F I C E O F T H E S U P R E M E H E A D Q U A R T E R S
K A R E N N A T I O N A L U N I O N
K A W T H O O L E I

KNU Statement regarding the Case of Gen. Maung Aye and Group Stepping Underfoot the Karan National Flag

At the surrender ceremony of the 16th Bn. Commander of the KNU, Thumu Heh, in Kuaikdon, the SLORC Gen. Maung Aye:

1. Made Thumu Heh to kneel in front of SLORC leaders and apologise for his past mistakes,

2. Step underfoot the Karen national flag laid down on the ground.

It is not something unusual for Thumu Heh, who had surrendered to the fascist military dictatorship of the SLORC, to perform the humiliating rite. We are certain that he will be further humiliated by the SLORC in the future.

However, the stepping underfoot of the Karen national which is held as a sacred symbol by the entire Karen people, by SLORC Gen. Maung Aye and his entourage, in public, demonstrates the vileness and the true nature of the SLORC. This incident also proves
beyond all doubt that the SLORC;

(1) Regards the entire Karen people as its enemy;

(2) Regards all the oppressed nationalities as its enemy, as it does towards the Karen people,

(3) Has no intention to resolve the political problems of the country by peaceful means and that it is politically bankrupt.

Dear Karen Resistance Fighters and the Entire Karen People,

We, the KNU, have held four rounds of talks with the SLORC, with the intention of resolving political problems by peaceful means and bearing in mind the basic and just interest of the Karen people as well as the interest of the entire people of the country. In the talks, the KNU had proposed for a cease-fire and resolution of political problems, that had been the underlying causes of the civil war and instability through dialogue. However the SLORC just heinously demanded the KNU to return to the legal fold or, in other words, to submit to its fascist domination. Without formally replying the KNU's request for the 5th round of talks, the SLORC unilaterally abrogated the dialogue process and wickedly launched a large-scale military offensive against the KNU and the karen people. As usual, the SLORC troops perpetrate, daily, atrocities against Karen civilians, such as arbitrary arrest, torture, execution, rape of women, forced labour, burning down villages and etc.., at a higher rate, in the offensive. Now, to crown their wanton acts, the SLORC leaders publicly step underfoot the Karen national flag which is held in high respect by the entire Karen people. Therefore, we, the KNU call upon the entire Karen people:

(1) To resolutely oppose and fight until the annihilation of the SLORC military dictatorship, bearing in mind the exhortation "for the Karen people, surrender is out of the question," made by our heroic leader Saw Ba U Gyi;

(2) To unite absolutely, without discrimination as to dialects, religious creeds, regions or ideological differences;

(3) To continue the struggle for freedom and democracy by joining hands with all the anti-SLORC forces.

* Domination of the fascist SLORC must fall!
* The Just Resistance of the Karen People Shall triumph!

Central Executive Committee

March 3, 1997

UNQUOTE:

Proof - SPDC Behind Karen fighting Karen

2009-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

SPDC Flies Burmese Flag

2009-07-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Junta of Burmese military dictators denied EU calls for ceasefire and said that they were not involved in fighting against the KNU.
They stated that it was only Karen (KNU) and Karen (DKBA) fighting against each other.
Now they have hoisted Burmese flag on 27th June, 2009 at 3:16 pm local time.
Isn’t this proof enough that Burmese-SPDC was the main enemy and behind all these attacks?

Contributed by a Karen.

Funeral - Hsan Pyote

2009-07-03T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hsan Pyote Killed in Ambush

2009-06-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Around 8 am on the morning of June 26, boats carrying DKBA troops coming back to Shwe Kokeko were fired upon by unknown armed groups on arrival at Maw Kala Kin.

The report said that Hsan Pyote aka San Pyone, an officer of DKBA was killed and about 4 DKBA soldiers were injured. The exact number killed and injured could not be confirmed.

The shootings reportedly came from the Thai side and the DKBA blamed the KNU for the ambush. The KNU however denied saying that no KNLA troops were operating in that area at that time.

Hsan Pyote was one of the masterminds in arranging the assassination of the Karen National Union General Secretary P’Dho Mahn Sha La Phan in February 2008.

There were altogether 10 boats but only 2 reached their destination and the DKBA troops were on their way back after taking Brigade 7 of the KNLA. Maw Kala Kin, where the ambush took place, is the base where Htain Maung’s Peace Council, which split from the KNU, settled after it’s peace agreement with SPDC.

Australia Karens Movement

2009-06-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Thailand Forcing Karen Refugees Back to Burma

2009-06-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2009

The Burma Campaign UK today called on the government of Thailand to stop forcing Karen families who have fled a new military offensive back into Burma.

According to Burma Campaign UK sources, 3 Karen families have been forced back into Burma, and others are being placed under pressure to return.

Up to 6,000 Karen have fled a new military offensive by the Burmese Army and its allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. Most have fled to Thailand, and Thai authorities have been helping the refugees. However, now that there is less fighting in some places, Thai authorities apparently want the refugees to return to Burma.

“It is not just a question of whether or not there is gunfire and mortar bombs,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. “The area that these people lived in is now under the control of the dictatorship, and any Karen returning will face the danger of severe human rights abuses. Only a week ago two teenage girls were raped and killed, one of them was eight months pregnant. Thailand must give the refugees sanctuary.”

More than 110,000 refugees are in refugee camps on the Thailand Burma border.

The Burma Campaign UK is calling on governments and the United Nations to put pressure on the dictatorship to end its military attacks in Eastern Burma, which have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. The Security Council discusses the protection of civilians in armed conflict when it meets on Thursday 26th June.

Questions that need answers by action.

2009-06-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2009

Time and time again, the plight of the Karens in Burma have been ignored and neglected. While the joint forces of SPDC and DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) are intensifying their offensive on the headquarters of Brigade 7 of the Karen National Liberation Army, the international community is highlighting only the imprisonment and trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her 64th birthday. On June 4 in its statement, The KHRG (Karen Human Rights Group) reminded The International Community not to neglect rural Burma in calling for Suu Kyi’s release.

It is true that Suu Kyi’s house arrest and her present trial are unjust. This indicates the generals’ insult and disrespect for the people of Burma. The aspiration of the majority of civilians in Burma is to see democracy and freedom prevail and it surely needs redress. However, dealing with the problems in Burma does not lie solely on the release of Suu Kyi and all political prisoners. US Senator Mitch McConnell made a statement on Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday saying that the best birthday present Suu Kyi can get for her birthday will be for the SPDC to free all political prisoners showing some good will. This statement is welcomed by all the people of Burma and those who wish to see democracy in Burma. However, we should not forget the ethnic minorities which made up nearly one-third of the population who are suffering without international recognition. Without addressing the plight of these minorities, Burma cannot obtain peace and prosperity through the process on national reconciliation.

Since the beginning of June, the troops comprising SPDC and DKBA launched fierce attacks on IDP (Internally Displaced People) villages in order to take the KNLA’s Brigade 7 headquarters. More than 4000 villagers, the majority of them animist and Buddhist farmers, have fled to Thailand. Many of the fleeing villagers had been working hard on their farms waiting to enjoy their fruits of labor but they had to leave everything behind. They had to flee, leaving all their hard work and livestock behind. Among these villagers are mothers with young babies, some only days old, in torn and ragged clothing. For the children, their school year has just started but all their learning materials were left behind. When the DKBA troops occupied their villages, they burnt down all the buildings including village schools and hospitals. These atrocities have been going on for so many years; not just today.

The curious questions here are why is The International Community so quiet about this matter? Why doesn’t the UN Security Council do anything about this situation? Why is the US Government, champion for democracy, human rights and dignity, still isn’t saying anything? Why doesn’t ASEAN have the courage to rebuke these generals? Don’t they see what is going on? Are they just turning a blind eye to what the dictators are doing in spite of the call for a tri-partite talk from the oppositions? When the internal conflicts of a country cannot be solved by the people themselves who are so helpless, will the world just leave them to their fate and ignore them? When will we get responses to these questions and witness actions taken?

Statement by KCBOs

2009-06-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Statement by Karen Community Based Organizations (KCBOs) on SPDC-DKBA Offensive

June 17, 2009

Burmese military attacks its people in order to secure power in 2010

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) attacked the Karen National Liberated Army Brigade 7 since the beginning of June. This has forced about 3,500 villagers to abandon their villages and flee for their lives in Thailand.

"The villagers were terrified from escaping for their lives. It is heartbreaking to see pregnant women and new born babies in this heavy rainy time struggling."Naw Hsa Moo , Karen Student Network Group Secretary.

The Karen CBOs call on the SPDC/DKBA to immediately cease the attacks in Pa-an district, withdraw their troops and let the villagers return to their villages to live a normal life.

We request the international community to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those recently displaced to Thailand and to support Karen CBOs efforts in providing emergency needs and to further support community development to those displaced civilians in Karen State.

We strongly urge the SPDC to stop all offensives in the border areas of Burma and to invite the Karen National Union to discuss the end to civil war in Karen State. We urge the SPDC to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and to hold open tripartite dialogue with democratic forces and ethnic representatives.

The offensive is one of the indicators of how desperately the SPDC wants their 2010 election plan to have their desired outcome. It is clear that the SPDC is using 2009 to shut down all possible opposition to their plan to ensure that their hold on power is ratified by their highly undemocratic election process next year.

The SPDC has instructed the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and other ceasefire groups to secure the border by launching attacks against non ceasefire groups. The purpose of this offensive is to ensure control of the border, so that they can successfully carry out their sham elections in 2010. These groups have been given responsibility as border security guards.

Since the beginning of the rainy season this year, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, Burma’s military regime) has been carrying out an offensive operation in Eastern Burma, which has led to massive displacement of Karen civilians to Thailand and within Eastern Burma. The offensive will lead to larger numbers of civilian deaths, and the displacement will increase the already high risk of all to landmine injuries, malaria, and maternal and infant death. The people of Eastern Burma have been suffering under one of the most brutal military regime for many years. This offensive is endangering the lives of thousands.

The Karen CBOs compose of ; Karen Youth Organization, Karen Student Network Group, Karen Woman Organization, Karen University Student Group, Backpack Health Worker Team, Federation of Trade Union Kawthoolei, Karen Education Department, Karen Health and Welfare Department, Karen Information Centre, Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People, Karen area Burma Issues, Karen Environmental Group, Karen Volunteer Service. Along the Thai Burma Border and is leading the effort to provide humanitarian needs to the newly arrived families in Thailand fleeing from these attacks.

A Call from KWO

2009-06-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Karen Women Organization
Email: kwocentral@tttmaxne t.com
Website: www.karenwomen. org <http://www.karenwom en.org>

Karen Women’s Organization calls for increased international pressure to end SPDC military Offensives.

16th, June 2009

The Karen Women’s Organization is gravely concerned at the renewed displacement and suffering of civilians caused by the Burmese regime’s latest military offensive in Pa-An District of Karen State, and calls for increased international pressure to bring an immediate end to the fighting.

Since June 2, 2009, troops from five battalions of the regime, the State Peace Development Council (SPDC) and three battalions of the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA) have been shelling and attacking villages close to the Thai border. This has caused almost 4,000 villagers from 20 villages, mostly women and children, to flee to Thailand.

Among the Karen refugees, over 800 are children under thirteen years old, including over twenty breastfeeding babies. There are also 20 pregnant women. The KWO is deeply concerned for the health and welfare of these vulnerable populations, particularly during the onset of the rainy season.“People have fled with frighten and exhaustion said KWO spokesperson Blooming Night Zan. “I saw one mother struggling to care for her two-day-old baby. It made me so sad and angry with the SPDC and DKBA for carrying out these attacks.

”Time and again our people have been forcibly uprooted by such attacks of the military regime. This cycle of displacement and suffering must be brought to an end.

We therefore urgently appeal to foreign governments to use all means, including UN Security Council intervention, to pressure the SPDC to immediately stop this current offensive, withdraw all SPDC and DKBA troops from rural Karen areas, and impose a nationwide ceasefire. A tripartite dialogue process between the regime, the National League for Democracy and ethnic representatives, must be initiated to bring peace and democratic reform to Burma.

We also appeal to the Thai government to continue to provide protection to refugees fleeing from Burma and allow them entry into refugee camps.

KWO is a community-based organization of Karen women working in development and relief in the refugee camps on the Thai border and with IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) inside Burma. KWO aims to empower Karen women in all spheres of life, including education and general living standards, and to develop women's knowledge, and skills in politics and leadership.

Message from Nant Zoya Phan

2009-06-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

Zoya Phan: My People Still on the Run in Eastern Burma

14 June 2009

Zoya Phan

The U.S Government and United Nations have remained silent about a new military offensive in Karen State, Burma, which has forced around 6,000 people to flee their homes.At the beginning of June the Burmese army and its allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) began a new attack in Karen State, Burma. Attacks on my people are nothing new, and sadly, neither is the silence from the UN.

For sixty years the Karen have been under attack by the central government. These attacks escalated when an even more brutal dictatorship took power in September 1988, following a pro-democracy uprising in which thousands were killed when troops opened fire. In the past 15 years more than 3,300 villages in Eastern Burma have been destroyed. Half a million are internally displaced, and almost 150,000 live in refugee camps on the Thailand Burma border. Tens of thousands of people have been used as slave labor by the Burmese army, many used as human minesweepers, forced to walk in front of army columns as they keep no record of where they lay mines. Rape is used as a weapon of war by the regime; women taken as slaves can expect to be raped by soldiers every night, even girls as young as five. Extortion, torture, mutilations- -the list of abuses goes on and on.

"Tens of thousands of people have been used as slave labor by the Burmese army, many used as human minesweepers, forced to walk in front of army columns as they keep no record of where they lay mines."

The dictatorship tries to justify its action by saying it is a counter-insurgency operation, and that the Karen are fighting for an independent state, and want to break up Burma. It simply isn't true. Karen people want a Federal Burma, we stopped campaigning for our own state as long ago as 1976. In a grand offensive in 2006, the Burmese army added days to their journey by avoiding bases of the Karen National Liberation Army on their way to attack defenseless villages. The United Nations has confirmed this, accusing the generals of breaching the Geneva Conventions.

Now thousands more of my people are fleeing for their lives. I know the fear, and the sadness of leaving everything you know behind, carrying just a few possessions, and not knowing if you will ever go home again. I went through the same thing when I was 14 and the Burmese Army attacked my village.

The fact that 14 years later the same thing is still going on, and nothing is being done to stop it, fills me with anger and despair.

Last week, the European Union broke the years of silence and called for an end to the attacks in Eastern Burma. I suppose half the battle is trying to get people to take notice of what is going on, but the lack of concrete action, and silence from the rest of the world, is still frustrating.

The time for a global arms embargo against Burma is long overdue. There should also be a UN commission of inquiry into the crimes against humanity being committed in Eastern Burma. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon must also demand an immediate ceasefire when he visits Burma in July.

When I arrived in Thailand as a refugee I thought the international community would come to our aid and stop the attacks on our people. I was wrong. I know the new refugees in Thailand will be thinking the same thing. I hope that this time, they won't be wrong.

---
Zoya Phan is international co-ordinator at Burma Campaign UK. Her autobiography Little Daughter: A Memoir of Survival in Burma and the West, has been published in the UK and Canada. It will be published in April as 'Undaunted' in the USA .

http://www.guernica mag.com/blog/ 1077/zoya_ phan_my_people_ still_on_ t/

Karen Communities Worldwide Statement.

2009-06-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

Karen Communities Worldwide Statement on SPDC and DKBA Joint Military Operation in Karen State.

Emergency Release 001/09
June 12th, 2009

At the beginning of June the Burmese Army and DKBA began a new military offensive in Karen State, Burma. The Burmese Army offers the DKBA lucrative border trade deals to carry out attacks on its behalf before the 2010 general election. Since this new military operation, Burma Army and DKBA troops committed series of human rights violations. Innocent civilians were taken from their homes and forced to carry weapons and army equipment for Burmese Army and DKBA and have not been given food, clothing or shelter at night.

According to the last updated news, approximately six thousands Karen villagers in the operation areas were forced to flee. Those who crossed the border into Thailand have been facing shortage of food, medical aid, shelter, and many villagers, especially children and the elderly have become ill. Some mortars and rocket-propelled grenades fired by the Burmese Army have landed in Thai soil. This poses an immediate threat to Thai civilians who live along the border area and is another reason why for international concern and intervention.

More than a million Karen people have been forced from their homes and became displaced after decades of attacks targeting innocent civilians as the part of SPDC’s ethnic cleansing campaign. The SPDC is deliberately targeting civilians, which is a war crime, or crime against humanity. Spreading hot bed of killer diseases to neighboring countries became serious issues in the region. Now and again, a new wave of Karen refugees, mostly women and children have to leave their home by forced in this current crisis.

Burma is not a simple internal problem anymore, but become a threat to international peace and security, and became a major problem for neighboring countries. We, the Karen communities who have been forced to flee all across the world result of the military attacks against our villages and homes call on the international community to take serious action to end the crime against humanity being perpetrated by the SPDC regime.

Therefore, we the Karen communities worldwide call for the following demands:

• The United Nations Security Council to pass a binding resolution calling for animmediate end to military attacks, and imposing a global arms embargo against the SPDC, the Burmese regime.

• The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights on Burma to visit the areas where attacks and human rights abuses are taking place and speak to the local Karen civilians in order to get the truth and first hand report about what is happening in Burma currently rather than just go to meet Burmese authorities.

• Burmese authorities to stop all military offensive and start meaningful national reconciliation plan, and let the United Nations Security Council get involved in solving all political, human rights and economic problems peacefully and permanently.

• Burmese and Thai authorities to let the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and NGOs to deliver emergency relief in the area of conflict zone without any restrictions to save the lives of Karen displaced people who were caught in between.

Media Contact Persons
1. Zoya Phan +44 207 324 4712 (UK)
2. Saw Steven Dun +206 295 8553 (USA)
3. Mahn Kyaw Shwe +;1 519 434 0139 (CANADA)

Introducing Phan Foundation

2009-06-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

A Karen friend from UK visited Philadelphia area during the weekend of June 13th, 14th.

Bwa Bwa Phan, co-founder of Phan Foundation and elder daughter of the late General Secretary of the Karen National Union Padoh Mahn Sha, visited Philadelphia area during the weekend of June 13th 14th to introduce the Phan Foundation to the Karens in the US.

Phan Foundation was founded in the United Kingdom on 14th February 2008 by the four surviving children of Padoh Mahn Sha soon after his assassination carried out by agents of the brutal SPDC regime. Bwa Bwa met with some members of the Karen Communities from Philadelphia, Trenton, Lansdale, and Allentown in the area and explained about the inception of Phan Foundation and its aims and objectives. Phan Foundation is solely humanitarian aimed for the Karens regardless of religion and country of residence. The four main objectives of the Foundation are;

1. To alleviate poverty
2. To provide education
3. To promote human rights
4. To protect Karen culture.

Just within one year of it’s founding, the Foundation has presented $2000 dollars as the “2008 Padoh Mahn Sha Young Leader Award”, first of it’s kind, to Naw Paw K’Bla Htoo, a young community worker in Kler Lwee Htu (Nyaung Lay Bin) District in the Karen State. Naw Paw K’Bla Htoo was chosen because of her strong and longstanding commitment in her selflessness community work, her outstanding leadership and dedication in fighting poverty, promoting education, promoting development, and preserving Karen culture.

At present Phan Foundation is supporting IDP (Internally Displaced People) students from Mutraw District (Karen State) and expects to support many more with donations from well-wishers and friends.

To learn more about Phan Foundation or to make donations visit http://www.phanfoundation.org/

Donations by checks payable to Phan Foundation can be sent to:

Phan Foundation
28 Charles Square
London, N1 6HT
United Kingdom

Karen Atlas Media

2009-06-15T18:44:00.001-07:00

June 15, 2009

Click the link below to view video postings on Karen Atlas Media.

www.youtube.com/karenatlasmedia

Welcome

2009-04-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Mid Atlantic Karen Communities - USA Blog