"Statement from Karen Communities Worldwide:
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Villagers have been shot on sight.
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A school has been mortar bombed.
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One villager has been beheaded.
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More than 80 homes have been destroyed.
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Schools and health clinics have been burned down.
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Food stocks being stolen and destroyed.
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The regime is stopping aid reaching people who are hiding in the jungle.
Karen communities call for immediate practical action to stop the attacks.
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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) must demand an immediate end to the attacks, which break international law;
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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;
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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 coordinate the day of action, which is supported by people from Burma and human rights groups."
Contacts:
For more information please contact Nan Kyi Aye, Karen community in Norway +4741847953.
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The Karen (Kayin) are indigenous to Burma and Thailand, they are one 
of the largest ethnic minority groups in Burma (Kayin State, a state of Burma, map on the left), in Thailand they are described as a hill tribe. Karen people have a strong sense of history that they trace back over 2700 years. They speak several related languages which are quite different from other langauges in the region. They have their own distinctive culture, customs, traditions, and festivals. The Karen have fought for independence from Burma since 31 January 1949, they still seek the autonomy and democracy. The total number of Karen is difficult to estimate. The last reliable census of Burma was conducted in the 1930s. A 2006 Voice of America article cites an estimate of seven million in Burma. There are another 400,000 Karen in Thailand.
