The public will be encouraged to take part in ceasefire monitoring activities, according to a press conference after a Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) meeting at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Yangon yesterday, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on 30 October.
The joint ceasefire monitoring process is not only for signatories—the government and eight ethnic armed organisations—but also for the people, said Sai Khuensai, the managing director of the Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue.
The managing director, who was also one of attendees of the meeting, highlighted the importance of mass participation in the process. He said possible recurrences of conflict between the parties could be prevented thanks to the participation of the public in monitoring activities.
Trust-building through successful implementation of monitoring activities will act as a good example for putting an end to recent fighting, he added.
During the first day of the meeting, which will run until 31 October, the two sides wrote a draft of the code of conduct for the NCA signatories, said Dr Min ZawOo, a programme director at the Myanmar Peace Centre.
The code of conduct instructs troops from both sides on how to abide by the truce, so it will be written in Myanmar and ethnic languages, using words and illustrations that are understandable to ordinary people, he added.