About the Karen Human Rights Group

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

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**************  ABOUT THE KAREN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP  ************
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March 27, 1994

Filename: khrg

The Karen Human Rights Group is a small and independent group operating out
of Manerplaw, headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU) and Burma's
democratic forces.  The Group was begun in January 1993 by Kevin Heppner, a
Canadian volunteer who had been documenting some of the SLORC junta's abuses
of Karen civilians through 1992.  The Group now consists of foreign
volunteers and young Karen volunteers, and has the objectives of:

1) systematically reporting human rights abuses in Karen regions,

2) training and equipping Karen volunteers to gather and process human rights
   information, and

3) to help get Karen people, and particularly Karen youth, more aware and
   involved in documenting the situation of their people.

Although the Karen Human Rights Group relies on the logistical support of the
KNU and also has the KNU's moral support, the Group is independent and
apolitical.  Its actions and its reports are in now way controlled,
restricted, or censored by the KNU or any other group or organisation. 
Although the focus is on human rights abuses by the SLORC in Karen regions,
the Group also documents abuses against other ethnic peoples in Burma
whenever firsthand information is available.

The Karen Human Rights group currently uses the media of written reports,
audio cassettes, photos and videos to document the human rights situation,
and these are distributed to human rights groups, Burma activist groups,
sympathetic politicians, aid organisations and journalists worldwide.  The
documentation is in a raw form, usually simply consisting of the transcribed
or recorded statements of villagers and refugees who have suffered or
witnessed human rights abuses.  The Group feels that it is the villagers
themselves who can best express their suffering.

Contributions are always welcome, whether to cover office and mailing costs,
logistical costs, or equipment which can be used to gather or process
information in the field.

Karen Human Rights Group
Box 22
Mae Sot, Tak 63110
Thailand

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Email for the KHRG sent to strider@xxxxxxxxxxx will be forwarded to them

Note: Although BurmaNet will post reports from the Karen Human Rights Group
as they become available, BurmaNet and the KHRG are not affiliated in any
way.  BurmaNet has sought ought and posted the KHRG's reports because they
are of a high quality and getting better.  Also, unlike most news reports,
however good they may be, the KHRG provides primary source accounts of the
situation in Burma which are currently unmatched by anything else on the net.