Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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
Wednesday, July 8, 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.
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
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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.