Since the November 2015 formation of the JMC, both the Burma Army and the ethnic NCA signatories have closely monitored the ceasefire areas covered by the agreement, which was signed by the government and eight of the country’s more than 20 non-state armed groups in October.
The complaints reported to the JMC involve many incidents of extortion and some gunfights, and have largely been filed by the Burma Army against ethnic armed groups, and vice-versa, according to staff from the once government-backed Myanmar Peace Center (MPC). Yet locals have also filed some complaints against both sides.
Dr. Min Zaw Oo, the director of Ceasefire Negotiation and Implementation—a department which
receives support from the MPC—and one the 26 members of the Union-level JMC, said that while the JMC has been able to resolve dozens of complaints, more terms of reference (ToRs) need to be drafted which would provide unbiased ways of addressing the problems which are brought forward.
While it appears that the MPC—a relic of the former Thein Sein government—might soon close, JMC staff will continue their work for the next three months, their mandate extended in this interim period as Burma settles in to new national leadership.
Two more state or regional JMCs will soon be formed in Karen and Mon states, also in areas where the KNU is active.