The Chin National Front (CNF) rejected an invitation from coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, who assumed the presidency through a sham election, to meet with ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), including the CNA, citing a lack of trust in the coup regime.

At a cabinet meeting in the capital Naypyidaw on April 20, Min Aung Hlaing called on EAOs to hold talks before July 31.

During the former military government's rule, the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was signed following discussions with EAOs but was later violated by the junta, and as Min Aung Hlaing now seeks to revive the same approach, there is no reason to trust him, CNF spokesperson Salai Htet Ni said.

At a briefing on his junta-turned-government’s first 100-day plans, Min Aung Hlaing said it intends to hold talks with both NCA signatories and EAOs that have not yet signed the agreement before July 31.

In 2015, a total of 10 EAOs, including the CNF, signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), but after the junta staged a coup in 2021, some NCA signatories, including the CNF, took up arms against it.

The Min Aung Hlaing-led new administration has also called on the People’s Defence Forces (PDF)—which emerged after the coup as civilians took up arms in response to the junta’s brutalities—to lay down weapons within the next 100 days, while also urging PDF members not to be exploited or misused in their armed struggle.