Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee: A tool to prevent the recurrence of hostilities
On January 9,
the first state-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC-S) was set up
in Shan State, almost three months after the union level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring
Committee (JMC-U) was formed in October, following the signing of the
Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).
The structure
of the JMC-S, in Shan State as well as in other states/regions, where the NCA
has been signed in the state concerned, is as specified by the JMC-TOR (Terms
of Reference), approved in November:
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1. Chair (Government) Designated Regional Commander
2. Vice Chair#1 (EAO) Designated Brigade or Sector Commander
3. Vice Chair #2 (civilian) -
4.Member, (Government) State/Region
Security and Border Affairs Minister
5. Member, (Government) Secretary
State/Region General Administrative
Department
(GAD)
6. Member, (Government) Director,
State/Region Police Force
7. Member, (EAO) – as designated
8. Member, (EAO) – as designated
9. Member, (EAO) – as designated
10.Member,
(Civilian) as agreed
11.Member,
(Civilian) as agreed
12.Member,
(Civilian) as agreed
13.Secretary
#1 (EAO) – as designated
14.Secretary
# 2 (Government) Staff Office Grade 1
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For Shan State
Maj-Gen Win Min Tun
Col Aung Mya
Nang Shwe Nwe Win
Col Soe Moe Aung
U Myint Aung
U Aung Aung
Maj Sai Oo (RCSS)
Maj Deving (RCSS)
Maj Nang Phyu Pya (PNLO)
Nang Zing Chae
Khun Soe Tun Aung
U Win Tint
Lt-Col Zoy Hto(PNLO)
Col Thaung Htike Oo
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The JMC-S
job, among others, is:
·
To see that the terms of NCA
and Military Code of Conduct (CoC) are strictly observed by both parties
·
To verify and jointly resolve
disputes (without using force)
·
To monitor redeployment of
troops as agreed by both sides
·
To coordinate between
NGOs-INGOs and government-EAOs over humanitarian assistance programs for IDPs
and conflict victims as well as demining programs
·
To give guidance to local level
Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committees
(JMC-L)
JMC-Ls are to
be formed in the following way:
1.
Chair (Government) Military
representative
2.
Vice Chair #1 (EAO)
3.
Vice Chair #2 (Civilian)
4.
Member(Government)
Representative, Township General Administrative Department (GAD)
5.
Member (EAO) –
6.
Member (Civilian) –
7.
Secretary #1 (EAO)
8.
Secretary #2 (Government)
Civilian
representatives, according to the JMC-TOR, must be persons “trusted and
respected by the many” and accepted by both parties.
Complaints
can be lodged to JMCs through EAOs’ liaison offices, wards/village tracts and
district/township GAD offices.
Violations
are categorized into three:
·
Minor Violation -Violators are taken action by
party concerned
·
Serious Violation -JMC shall inform party concerned
that it has been committed. Party
concerned takes action in accordance with its laws.
·
Critical Violation -JMC-U will form verification
team. Findings will be informed to
party concerned to take action in accordance with its laws
Something does
need to be said about the Military CoC here. The objective, it says, is to
build a Union based on democracy and federalism by creating trust and stable
conditions through removal of burden from the people and reduction of
hostilities between both parties.
Protection of
the civilians involves 17 do’s and don’t’s
for both sides, such as:
b. Avoid
violence, extrajudicial detention, kidnapping, torture, inhumane treatment,
imprisonment, killing
c. Avoid forcible displacement or
relocation of local populations
d. Avoid forcibly taking money,
property, food, labor or services from civilians
f. Avoid forcible confiscation and
transfer of land from local populations
m. Avoid
any form of sexual attack on women, including sexual molestation, sexual
assault or violence, rape and sex slavery
All in all, a
very tall order, no doubt. But for those who really want peace, nothing is
going to be impossible.
By SAI KHUENSAI / Director
of Pyidaungsu Institute and Founder of Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)
All
views expressed are the author’s own.
Tags: Opinion
