The All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) issued a statement on November 1 saying it would join anti-military forces to fight for an end to dictatorship in Myanmar, with the announcement made on the 33rd anniversary of the ABSDF’s founding.

In its statement, the ABSDF said the military had violently seized power on February 1, and that activists all over the country, including political leaders, were detained in the aftermath. It added that those who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in opposition to the coup have been severely repressed by the post-putsch junta.

Since its founding, the ABSDF has fought for an end to military dictatorship in Myanmar in political, militaristic and diplomatic terms, the non-state armed group’s November 1 statement said.

The ABSDF said it welcomes those groups that oppose the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup.

“Let us march from the 8888 uprising to the victory of the Spring Revolution. The military dictatorship must fall. Our revolution must win,” the statement said.

The ABSDF was formed by student youths who opposed the military dictatorship during Myanmar’s 1988 popular uprising.

The ABSDF began negotiations with the quasi-civilian government in 2012 to implement a dialogue for national reconciliation and internal peace. It was one of eight non-state armed groups — the others identifying along ethnic lines — to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in October 2015 under former President U Thein Sein.