The Armistice Is – When listening to the news about the conflicts that occurred between Israel and Palestine or between Russia and Ukraine in the past few months, Sinaumed’s must haveYou often come across the term “truce” right? Yep, this term is generally used to describe situations that take place during war or conflict on a large scale, which includes the presence of the military. Some people who do not understand the linguistic definition, the term “truce” will actually be interpreted as an attempt to attack using weapons. In fact, this action is actually a positive thing because it is a peace effort between one another. So, what is the definition of a truce? What are some examples of ceasefire incidents that occurred in several countries on this earth? So, so that Sinaumed’s understands these things, let’s take a good look at the following review!
What Is a Armistice?
The term “truce” represents two words namely “truce” and “arms” which of course have different definitions. According to KBBI (Big Indonesian Dictionary), the word “cease” can mean ‘cessation’. So, when translated into more detail, the term “truce” can mean ‘efforts to stop shooting using weapons’.
In short, a truce is an attempt to stop the process of shooting using weapons, especially military weapons in a war situation.
Unfortunately, this truce did not immediately mean that the war conflicts that occurred just stopped. This is because the ceasefire is only temporary and must be agreed upon by both parties involved. Even though it is temporary, this effort can be stated in a formal or informal agreement, depending on the understanding between the two parties involved.
For example, during World War I, Germany and Britain agreed to a temporary truce because they wanted to celebrate Christmas. The armistice that took place on December 25, 1914 was considered an informal agreement between the two because no written agreement was signed. Only after a few days had passed on December 25, 1914, the war was resumed.
Another example is when the Covid-19 outbreak occurred in 2020, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) requested that countries that were involved in war conflicts should first call for a ceasefire. Reporting from infopublic , the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Ms. Retno Marsudi, conveyed the main points of discussion at the UNSC High Level Open Meeting. One of the main points that he conveyed was “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict”.
According to him, during the Covid-19 pandemic which is endemic throughout the world, countries that are in the middle of an armed conflict should be aware and understand very well to stop the conflict temporarily, aka by carrying out a truce. Unfortunately, the facts on the ground show that in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, armed conflict is increasing. Acts of violence due to armed conflict actually increased by 37% in mid-2020 and most occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even though Sinaumed’s knows that the middle of 2020 will be a scary year because Covid-19 is really becoming an epidemic, causing thousands of human deaths.
One example of a country that does not heed the request of the UN Security Council is the Taliban. Even though there have been requests internationally for them to cease fire and prioritize handling the Covid-19 pandemic, they don’t care about this. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan security forces in various places, especially in rural areas. Yep, the Taliban absolutely refuse to declare a ceasefire. However, they said they would stop fighting conflicts in areas that are heavily infected with Covid-19. Unfortunately, according to UN documentation, 533 civilians were killed as a result of the conflict.
If Sinaumed’s often pays attention to the latest news from foreign countries, he must find that there is a conflict of war going on. Starting from the state of Israel with Palestine, to the latest is Russia with Ukraine. Several countries that have declared war on each other have also made this effort, you know . Even if it’s only temporary, at least civil society can feel the peace it deserves.
Armistice In Sociology
The term truce is also widely discussed in Sociology, precisely in terms of accommodation which is a form of associative social interaction. Just a little trivia , associative social interaction is a form of social interaction that results in cooperation between the two or more parties involved.
Well, accommodation itself is a process when individuals or groups of individuals who used to be in conflict with each other then make adjustments to each other to overcome tensions. One form of this accommodation is a truce. In this Sociology, a truce also has the same definition as before, namely in the form of a suspension of war for a certain period. Then, during the suspension period, it can later be used to find efforts to resolve conflicts that occur between the parties involved.
According to Wikipedia , the main purpose of carrying out a ceasefire is not only to stop violence, but also depends on the goals of each country involved. In the short term, this effort is intended to meet limited needs, for example humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, the resilience of a formal ceasefire agreement is influenced by several factors. Starting from the demilitarized zone, withdrawing troops, to guarantees that third parties will monitor that there will be temporary peace. During 1989-2020, there were at least 2,202 similar attempts in 66 countries in 189 conflicts.
Types of Armistice
Reporting from bbc.com , there are several types of “temporary peace” efforts that are taking place in this world, namely.
1. Truce
This type is more indicative of an Ad-Hoc alias ‘meant for one purpose only’. Apart from ending the war, Truce certainly does not carry out formal negotiations. An example of Truce’s actions is the Syrian government and the Homs rebels. In its action, the Syrian government allowed to carry out a partial evacuation of the western suburb of Al-Wair.
2. Cessation of Hostilities
In the second type it is done more formally. This means that temporarily there is no fighting, but efforts are still being made to stop the war so that it doesn’t go on for too long. An example is the conflict in Syria. Through this Cessation of Hostilities effort , the Syrian government and opposition forces are trying to pave the way for a more formal ceasefire agreement.
3. Ceasefire
In this type, efforts to “temporary peace” are carried out formally with agreements and commitments to one another to ease the fighting. This means that the parties concerned will withdraw their weapons and reposition their troops in the safe zone, demilitarized zone and other dividing lines.
4. Armistice
In this type of Armistice , it is done to actually end hostilities and negotiate a peaceful settlement. At this Armistice, a truce would be a legally binding agreement. An example is the world war.
Examples of Armistice Events in World Countries
Previously, an example of a “temporary peace” event that occurred in this world was given, namely between Germany and England during World War I. Even though now there are world peace organizations such as the United Nations, that does not mean that all countries are immediately at peace without any conflict immediately. . Not infrequently, UN requests for countries in conflict to make peace, at least in the form of a temporary truce, are completely ignored. So, of the many efforts that have taken place, here are a few examples and they have been successful.
The Christmas Truce of 1914
Previously, it was briefly explained about examples of “temporary peace” efforts from the World War I era between Germany and the Allies (especially Britain and France). Well, here’s a full explanation.
Reporting from historia.id , at the beginning of World War I, precisely on 19 October – 22 November 1914, between Germany and the Allies actually fought each other, causing thousands of deaths. However, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1914, both sides declared a truce to celebrate Christmas Day.
Uniquely, the German and Allied soldiers both decorated their respective trenches with Christmas trees. Not only that, they even sang Christmas carols together as if there had never been a conflict before. The atmosphere was so friendly with the meeting in the empty land that separated the ditches. Apart from that, they also greeted each other, exchanged cigarettes, played football together, and exchanged Christmas gifts. This momentum was documented in letters and diaries of soldiers.
Korean Armistice Agreement
Other countries that are also making efforts to “temporary peace” are Korea (including South Korea and North Korea) with the United States and China China. Reporting from Wikipedia , this armistice was carried out formally in the form of an agreement to end the Korean War. Just a little trivia , the Korean War that took place between South Korea and North Korea lasted for 3 years, in 1950-1953 to be precise.
The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed by several parties involved, starting from William Harrison Jr. as Lieutenant General of the United States Army who also simultaneously represented the United Nations Command, Nam Il as General of North Korea who represented the Korean People’s Army, and the People’s Volunteer Army. China from China.
The agreement was finally officially signed on July 27, 1953 and indeed aims to “ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and all actions of armed forces on Korean territory until a final peaceful settlement can be reached”. The impact of this agreement is the formation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone which is the border between South Korea and North Korea. Since the agreement was enforced, a “temporary peace” was carried out as well as the repatriation of the prisoners of war.
Myanmar Military Conflict with Ethnic Militia
Does Sinaumed’s know that our neighboring country, Myanmar, has experienced conflict between the military and ethnic groups? Yep, the armed conflict has been going on since 1948 until now, which is claimed to be the longest civil war in the world. Moreover, in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, of course, many Myanmar civilians were infected with the pandemic outbreak, so there were calls for peace in the form of a ceasefire. Reporting from dw.com , when the whole world is still facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the Myanmar military has intensified its attacks on Rakhine state, where the majority of the population are ethnic Rohingya.
On this basis, on April 2, 2020, a total of 18 foreign ambassadors to Myanmar jointly called for peace efforts, at least in the form of a ceasefire to focus on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic first. Unfortunately, the fact that is happening on the ground is that a $50 million credit fund from the World Bank that was proposed for Covid-19 assistance in Myanmar, was only used in the center of the country. Yep, this Covid-19 health care is largely inaccessible to people outside of city centres. This of course invites a lot of criticism about how inaccurate the government is in reaching the health network, especially in ethnic groups.
Finally, last September 2021, the ASEAN side succeeded in pushing for a ceasefire in Myanmar. Reporting from dw.com , the Myanmar military junta (the name for the military government led by military officers) agreed to a proposed ceasefire for security and security, especially in terms of sending humanitarian aid to the people of Myanmar.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Reported by cnnindonesia.com , the bloody conflict that began in 1920 seems to have been known by all people on this earth. The war, which until now is still under the scrutiny of the public because it did not find a common ground for peace, finally declared a ceasefire in August 2022. Israel and the Palestinian militia have agreed to a ceasefire to end the war that has claimed thousands of civilians. According to a senior member of the Palestinian militia, Mohammd al-Hindi, stated that the ceasefire agreement was successful due to mediation assistance from the Egyptian state. Unfortunately, even though this effort has been approved, the Gaza region which is the center of the war is still gripping.
So, that’s a review of what is a ceasefire that occurred in a number of countries that were in a state of war conflict, along with its meaning in sociology, types, and examples of events that have occurred so far.