CityNews – On 15th October at a weekly press conference at Chiang Mai Town Hall, 20 people from the Karen Network for Culture and Environment issued a complaint to the Chiang Mai Governor to pass on to the Prime Minister. The complaint was in relation to a magazine article that has upset many Karen people.
Bunchan Chanmor, the coordinator of the Karen Network for Culture and Environment, said that Off Road Magazine issue 222 of October 2013 mention the Karen in an interview with Bunkiat Chuthanukan by Sompop Intharak.
The interview went: “Those who aim only for profit and use others for the production in their business are called ‘Karen’. Eventually they will collapse.”
This has damaged the image of the Karen and hill tribe people, said the Network. It has upset Karen people very much.
The editor wrote a letter to apologize to the Karen people on 9th October and promised that it will never happen again.
“We accept the apology, said the Network. But they added that racism and misunderstandings relating to Karen people still exist, and the same goes for negative attitudes towards Hmong, Lisu, Lahu, to name a few hill tribes. This needs to be corrected,” Bunchan said.
The letter also suggests that:
1. The magazine publishes an apology letter in the next issue.
2. The public should be careful about publishing anything that could cause misunderstandings in society.
3. The Ministry of Culture should educate people about a variety of issues surrounding the integrity of Karen people and their identities.
4. The Ministry of Education should have lessons on multicultural community students, and education staff should understand and respect human rights.
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