NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar, September 8, 2025—In a detailed statement today, Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) issued a fresh invitation to armed groups, specifically addressing those identified as People's Defence Forces (PDFs), urging them to return to the legal fold. The council's message centered on a core assertion: that all parties, including the government, military, political groups, and the PDFs themselves, share the common ambition of establishing a Union based on a genuine democratic and federal system.

The statement, released by the NDSC's Information Team, framed the invitation as a pragmatic and sincere step toward ending the nation’s prolonged conflict. It noted that armed individuals who have previously accepted the government’s invitation have already been successfully reunited with their families, demonstrating the sincerity of the peace offer.

The NDSC provided a historical context for its position, stating that the military’s 2021 actions were a necessary response to constitutional breaches during the 2020 general election. The council claimed that a peaceful resolution was sought but rejected, forcing the military to take action under Section 417 of the Constitution to prevent a "forcible seizure of state power."

According to the statement, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and the National Unity Government (NUG) were responsible for misleading the public and youth with "false hope," pushing them toward an armed, terrorist path. The council said these organizations of using PDFs as "proxies" for certain ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), sacrificing their lives for territorial expansion and violent acts.

The NDSC expressed hope that the hardships faced by armed groups, intensified by the government's cooperation with neighboring countries, would lead them to recognize the futility of armed struggle. The statement asserted that the path to a democratic and federal Union is through participation in the upcoming multi-party general election, a process it claims is designed to be free and fair.

The invitation stands as an open door for individuals and groups to return to the legal framework and contribute to national and regional interests. The statement concluded by assuring that the government and the military will welcome and accept those who wish to return, urging them to contact the nearest military bases or local authorities to begin dialogue and coordination.

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The full statement is as follows:-

-Unofficial Translation-

8 August, 2025

Further Invitation for the Sake of the Union

As part of the invitation for the sake of the Union, armed groups, including those using the name "PDF," were invited to return to the legal fold with the hope of establishing a Union based on democracy and a federal system. Those who understood the State's genuine goodwill and returned, including those identifying as PDF, have now been handed back to their families.

The attempts to forcefully convene the parliament (Hluttaw) with the problematic election results, despite the sincere requests to address the voter list errors in the 2020 general election, constituted an attempt to seize state power by force under Section 417 of the Constitution. This was because the following requests were denied:

(a) The request to address and resolve the detected voter list errors and electoral fraud was rejected.

(b) The request to convene a special session of the Union Parliament (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) to resolve the issue was rejected.

(c) The request for the State Government, the Union Parliament, and the Union Election Commission to find a solution was rejected.

(d) The request to convene a meeting of the National Defence and Security Council for discussion was submitted twice but not acted upon.

These actions not only revealed that there was electoral fraud and that it could not be openly disclosed, but also showed that the then-President himself was involved in the attempt to seize state power by force. This occurred at a time when he was being prosecuted for private offenses not related to his constitutional duties. Consequently, the acting President declared a state of emergency under the Constitution and transferred state power to the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services.

The military, by exercising state power in accordance with the Constitution to investigate and expose electoral fraud and to hold a free and fair election, was misrepresented by domestic and international parties. They spread propaganda that the military was reversing democracy, portraying themselves as the elected government. They unlawfully formed the CRPH and NUG and pushed the public, especially the youth, toward an armed, terrorist path by giving them false hope. The CRPH and NUG formed groups using the name "PDF," and to acquire weapons and ammunition, they integrated them into certain EAOs. They used the PDFs as proxies to carry out terrorist acts and to illegally expand the territories of some EAOs, sacrificing the lives of the PDFs.

Now, due to the State Government's cooperation with neighboring countries, some terrorist EAOs are finding it difficult to sustain their operations, and those using the name "PDF" are facing greater hardship. It is time to truly see that the reversal of democracy is a result of the armed path.

The State Government, the public, the military, political parties, and even the PDFs all desire a Union based on a genuine democratic and federal system, sharing the same goal. The desire of the CRPH and NUG, who wear a democratic mask while craving state power, is to choose a terrorist, armed path to prevent the loss of their self-proclaimed status as the elected government. The delay in the democratic process is solely due to their disruption.

Armed groups, including those using the name "PDF," if they wish to work together with the State Government and the military for the benefit of the nation and their regions, with the hope of building the true and disciplined democratic and federal Union that everyone hopes for after the upcoming election, will be welcomed by the State Government and the military.

They are once again invited to contact the nearest military camps or local authorities, either individually or as a group, to coordinate and take action.

National Defence and Security Council

Information Team