• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home In Person

‘There Is No Peace for Us’

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
May 10, 2018
in In Person
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Nyar Kee Htoo leads a community meeting at the Luthaw Karen Indigenous Center in Karen State’s Luthaw Township. / Hsa Moo / KESAN

Nyar Kee Htoo leads a community meeting at the Luthaw Karen Indigenous Center in Karen State’s Luthaw Township. / Hsa Moo / KESAN

5.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

CHIANG MAI, Thailand – “I have been running from war since I was an infant, and it’s not over yet,” said Saw Nyar Kee Htoo, 53, a leader at the community-based Luthaw Paw Day Karen Indigenous Centre, in Luthaw Township, in Karen State’s Papun district.

Saw Nyar Kee Htoo was a good friend of Saw O Moo, who was shot dead by Tatmadaw troops on April 5 on suspicion of being a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldier. The two worked together on community development and awareness-raising activities among indigenous Karen, particularly relating to the conservation of cultural traditions, community forest protection, building seed banks and food security, and vocational training.

As a community leader, Saw Nyar Kee Htoo dedicates most of his time to helping out displaced villagers. His village, Bana Eh Beh Kho, is one of five village tracts in Ler Mu Plaw, an area that has been affected by the recent resumption of fighting between the KNLA and the Myanmar Military (or Tatmadaw).

RelatedPosts

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

July 7, 2025
1.2k
Myanmar Junta Battles to Recapture Key Positions in Karen State

Myanmar Junta Battles to Recapture Key Positions in Karen State

June 25, 2025
1.7k
Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Cluster Bombs in Deadly Attack on Karen Village School

Myanmar Junta Accused of Using Cluster Bombs in Deadly Attack on Karen Village School

June 11, 2025
878

“We were recording the number of people who had fled from their villages, and providing food and assistance to them,” he said, recalling that the day Saw O Moo (aka Saw Klo Par) was killed.

“He returned home at around 2 pm. At around 5 pm we heard gunshots, but we didn’t know immediately that it was the sound of the shots that took his life. Later there was a notice from the soldiers telling us to come and see them.”

In Ler Mu Plaw, before entering an area military officials communicate with villagers by posting a notice at the entrance or somewhere nearby stating what they want, Saw Nyar Kee Htoo said. These notices do not include a letterhead or author’s name, but simply identify the unit commander at the end. While military personnel in the region regard it as a normal form of communication, the practice is taken as a sign of disrespect by villagers.

Due to the war and instability in the region, Saw Nyar Kee Htoo never had chance to receive formal schooling, but that did not prevent him from becoming a leader at the community center. He started collaborating with the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network in 2007 and launched the Luthaw Paw Day Center in 2012.

The villagers of Luthaw Township were only able to resettle in the areas in 2012, after the Karen National Union (KNU/KNLA) agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with the Myanmar military. Saw Nyar Kee Htoo said that at that time there was hope for genuine peace in the region.

Continuously subjected to persecution

Since his childhood, Saw Nyar Kee Htoo’s life “has been all about fleeing.” Recalling the 1990s, when the Tatmadaw employed a “four cuts” policy to suppress ethnic rebels, he said, “Our homes and our barns were torched and our cows and buffalos killed.”

Under the military junta, Luthaw Township in Papun district was subjected to further persecution. Locals believe this was partly because the area is the birthplace of General Bo Mya, the legendary leader of the Karen revolutionary struggle.

“There is no peace for us; there are now more military troops. There is no guarantee of our safety and the villagers are afraid due to the heavy presence of the Bamar troops,” he said, referring to the Tatmadaw. They never go back. We want them to go back,” he said.

Since March, militarization in the area has intensified due to the Tatmadaw’s rebuilding of an old road connecting Kay Pu and Ler Mu Plaw in Luthaw Township. The increased military presence has left the villagers in fear, Saw Nya Kee Htoo said, adding that whenever word spreads that Tatmadaw troops are coming, people flee their homes. Their instinct for survival has taught them to stay safe by hiding, especially women, who fear rape and torture at the hands of soldiers, he added.

“We don’t want the Tatmadaw to build this road; we don’t need it and if we did, we could build it on our own,” Saw Nyar Kee Htoo said, adding that the Myanmar Military troops should respect the principles established in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

Advocacy groups such as the Karen Peace Support Network do what they can to raise awareness of the IDPs’ suffering, but these have been disrupted by the Myanmar military. Last month, Thailand’s military government blocked the launch in Chiang Mai of a report on the humanitarian crisis in Karen State.

For more than two months now, Saw Nyar Kee Htoo’s family and others have taken shelter in the forest near Luthaw Township’s Ler Mu Plaw area. They are living on rice saved from last year. This year, he said, they have not bee able to harvest their crops, raising concerns over their future livelihoods.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ConflictIDPsKaren StateTatmadaw
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA
Burma

‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA

by The Irrawaddy
October 10, 2023
18.8k

Death toll expected to rise after bombs obliterated village for internally displaced persons in Kachin State shortly before midnight on...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar General Jailed Over Humiliating Battlefield Defeat Near Thai Border
Burma

Myanmar General Jailed Over Humiliating Battlefield Defeat Near Thai Border

by The Irrawaddy
July 16, 2024
12.3k

Brigadier-general sentenced to 14 years in prison over his division’s hasty retreat from a base protecting Myawaddy to safety beneath...

Read moreDetails
UK Hits Myanmar Border Guard Force Colonel, Two Others, With Sanctions
Burma

UK Hits Myanmar Border Guard Force Colonel, Two Others, With Sanctions

by The Irrawaddy
December 9, 2023
10.8k

Saw Chit Thu and two others linked to a massive gambling project in Karen State were sanctioned over allegations of...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
The Junta is Losing Control of Southeastern Myanmar: Report
Burma

The Junta is Losing Control of Southeastern Myanmar: Report

by The Irrawaddy
September 28, 2023
10.6k

Regime also risks losing control of its transport artery between Yangon and Naypyitaw.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
--

2008 Charter: The Military's Version of Democracy

U Nanda Siri. Photo / Tha Luk Kwa Police Station

Abbot Sought Over Rape of Three Girls in Pathein

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.3k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

14 hours ago
681

Most Read

  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.