Shan Herald Agency for News |
| Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee: A tool to prevent the recurrence of hostilities Posted: 12 Jan 2016 11:58 PM PST  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:
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. | ||
| Can the broken pieces of Burma ever be put back together? Posted: 12 Jan 2016 11:04 PM PST Sao Noan Oo is the descendent of the saophas, or hereditary rulers, of the Shan princely state of Lawksawk, in southern Shan State. She is the author of the memoir, My Vanished World: The True Story of a Shan Princess. Born in 1931, she now resides in the UK and also writes under the name Nellie Adams.  Following the recent election in Burma, 2016 could be another historic year for the country. A civilian party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, has won the 2015 general election. Judging from the election results, one could think that there would be a change of government, from dictatorship to democracy, but will this happen? Soon after she won the election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led the people in her constituency—the township of Kawhmu in Rangoon—to clean up the rubbish of packaging materials, which are the consequences of Western food and drink companies gaining access to Burma. This campaign inspired many and was followed up by people in other parts of the country, including many townships in the Rangoon region as well as in Lashio, Taunggyi, Monywa, Moulemein, Meikhtila, Indaw, Tavoy, Myeik, Kyaukpadaung and Shwebo. Cleaning up the rubbish is a safe and easy task where the population can become freely and voluntarily involved, a task of which even the dictators will not disapprove. But scrubbing away the political dirt that has plagued the country for more than half a century is going to be a very different and difficult job; the most difficult part of the task will be putting the broken pieces of the Union back together. Two successive military regimes destroyed the Union which was established in 1947 through the Panglong Agreement, signed by the Burmans represented by Bogyoke Aung San, and leaders of the Shan, Kachin and Chin. Some of the Burmese Nationalists did not approve of the Constitution based on the Panglong Principles. According to the Burmese Dobama (We Burmans) Association, Bogyoke Aung San 'had to go' so he and his members of the Constitution Drafting Committee were assassinated on July 19, 1947. The institution did not approve then, and judging by the tone and reading between the lines of speeches made by many of the members, it does not seem that they do now. The two military regimes broke up the Union and tried every possible means to put it back together in a different shape and form. In spite of having usurped absolute power and using extreme force to bully and terrorize non-Burman ethnic nationalities into conforming to their ideology, the Tatmadaw has failed to make Burma whole again. It is human nature that the greater the force used, the more that the people will resist or rebel. In his New Year's speech, Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, said on behalf of the Tatmadaw, "I wish all my beloved national people, health and happiness." Who does he meant by the phrase "my beloved national people?" Definitely not the Shan and other non-Burman ethnic nationalities, as he is still declaring war on them. Actions speak louder than words. In 1947, the Panglong Agreement was signed so that the non-Burman ethnic nationalities might live together as a Federal Union. They envisioned a union of equal states, with a center that is federal and constituted by member states working together in a functional and friendly manner. But the Tatmadaw as an institution cannot accept the fact that Burma cannot be converted into a unitary nation state. Whether they like it or not, it is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country with defined territorial boundaries, each territory with its own rights of internal self-determination. The ethnic nationalities have the same rights as the Burmans. There can never be peace in Burma, nor can the conflict be resolved, until the Tatmadaw understands and accept the rights and needs of the other nationalities. They must examine their own hearts and put themselves in the place of those whose rights they violate. With the Burmese military there is a complete lack of consideration and compassion for the non-Burman ethnic nationalities as human beings: how they feel, how much they suffer and how they feel when they lose their families or when these loved ones are killed or raped by the Burmese soldiers. Even during the 'peace process,' the Tatmadaw still continues to bomb and burn Shan villages, causing people to flee just because they happen to exist in their own homeland with their own identity. These refugees would like to return to their own homes and villages, and this has also been refused. What have ordinary, innocent villagers ever done to the Tatmadaw to deserve such treatment? The members of the Tatmadaw, like other dictators in the world, including Syria and Libya, seem to have nothing in their hearts but anger, hate and resentment for those who hold different ideologies and values than themselves. General U Min Aung Hlaing, in his speech said, "I promise solemnly that the Tatmadaw will work with national people in harmony and unison and in oneness for further enhancing peace and stability and prosperity of the country in the year. May you all enjoy peace of mind in this New Year." When the General said 'oneness,' does he mean, one unitary nation, one ethnicity, one language, one culture and one religion? And does 'peace and stability' have to be maintained by using extreme force and terrorizing the people into submission and silence? Now that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has won the election, it is time that the Tadmadaw Institution give way to the incoming newly elected government, and let them get on with the job of politics, democratization and mending the Union. They might do a better job. In a true and genuine democracy, the military is accountable to the government and not the other way round. Many people are pinning their hopes on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to change the country for the better. On the eve of her NLD landslide election victory she announced that her first priority was to amend the Constitution to be genuinely federal, by accommodating homegrown ethnic political parties' MPs. And she told Khun Htun Oo of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) that she would not field NLD candidates in SNLD Constituencies, but according to the news, she has already forgotten her intentions. Undoubtedly, she had to work with all the political players, but as a leader and her father's daughter, she will have to be strong enough to resist being manipulated, influenced, indoctrinated or threatened by the Tatmadaw or her own NLD members. Her father was a good man who had the making of a fair and just leader with high principles and values. The 1947 Panglong Agreement is the most historically significant and politically defining document of Burma. It symbolizes the coming together of various nation states, which were formally ruled by Britain to form a new nation state, the Federal Union of Burma. All the territories and ethnic nationalities agreed to establish a union of equal, self-determining states; politically it was envisioned by all, both Burmans and non-Burman ethnic nationalities, as a union of co-independent and equal national states, described in the Burmese language as 'Pyidaungsu'. Having elections and economic progress are not enough to appease the ethnic nationalities. The re-adoption of the 'Panglong principles' and their inclusion in the Constitution are essential if there is to be lasting peace and reconciliation between the Burmese politicians and other ethnic nationalities. The Panglong Agreement is the only glue that can put the broken pieces of the Union of Burma together. The past Burmese rulers must also understand and recognize that they destroyed the Union, and have wronged the non-Burman ethnic nationalities by invading their homelands and robbing them of their human rights, thus damaging the long-term relations between the Burmese political-military institution and the other ethnic nationalities. The Panglong Accord, like the genes in the DNA of human beings, is a permanent part of every ethnic nationality; it is written in their hearts and will be passed down from generation to generation. Bogyoke Aung San said that in order for the ethnic nationalities to be loyal and not leave the Union, the Burmans would have to make sure that they would want to stay in the Union and not leave. So far, since his assassination, the Burman political institution has not yet shown anything good that would make the ethnic nationalities want to stay. But even after such horrendous treatment, the ethnic nationalities are willing to reconcile and work together in the Union, but not by force, war or threat; it must come from sensible discussion and from the hearts and the willingness of the peoples concerned. By Sao Noan Oo / Special Contributor to Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N) The views expressed are the author's own. |
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