Duwa Lashi La, acting president of Myanmar’s shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), rallied citizens to rise up against the junta that ousted the civilian government in February.

“I believe our neighboring countries – ASEAN countries, [the United Nations] and other countries around the world – understand that we do it out of necessity based on the country's current condition,” he said in a recorded speech posted on social media.

“I call on the citizens of Myanmar to revolt against the rule of the military terrorists led by Min Aung Hlaing in every corner of the country.”

[https://web.facebook.com/Actingpresidentduwalashila/videos/924237501776114/?_rdc=1&_rdr]

Myanmar's coup maker Min Aung Hlaing last month appointed himself as prime minister in a newly formed caretaker regime, pledging to hold new elections by 2023.

The junta, which used election fraud as an excuse to topple the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, has branded the NUG and the People's Defense Forces, the armed wing of the shadow government, as terrorist groups.

The call to arms comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts by ASEAN to secure a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes.

When asked about the NUG’s call to revolt, Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah simply reiterated Indonesia’s constant calls for restraint amid the urgent need to provide aid relief for the people of Myanmar.

“ASEAN is finalizing all the preparations to distribute humanitarian assistance. This assistance cannot be distributed if there is no sound and secure situation on the ground. Therefore all parties should refrain from engaging in open conflict,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Read also: Indonesia frustrated at ASEAN progress on Myanmar

Recently appointed ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar, Erywan Yusof, said over the weekend that Myanmar's junta-formed government had agreed to ASEAN’s call for a ceasefire until the end of the year to guarantee the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Erywan told Kyodo news agency that the junta-appointed foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, had accepted his proposals to supply medical equipment for “all the people of Myanmar” through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre).

The senior Brunei diplomat said he had also run his proposal indirectly by the parties opposed to military rule.

However, the NUG’s recent declaration only reflected the growing anxieties that ASEAN had been ignoring, said Rizal Sukma, senior researcher at the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Rizal said the declaration simply formalized the ongoing resistance that had been conducted in a sporadic manner. As such, it has become more important for the special envoy to directly engage with the NUG on his mission.

“In my opinion, the NUG statement only confirms what has been feared by many parties,” he told the Post on Tuesday.

“We still need a humanitarian pause – which has been proposed by Indonesia since April. So the special envoy’s task was not only to ‘nag’ the [State Administration Council] but to facilitate ceasefire agreements or a humanitarian pause between the SAC and the rest.”

The SAC was the junta’s governing council that was immediately set up after the Feb. 2 coup.

Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, have escaped international scrutiny relatively unscathed after ousting Suu Kyi’s government, despite taking the reins of a faltering economy faced with a global health crisis and growing opposition from the people.

The military takeover has sparked daily protests leading to more than a thousand deaths and even more displaced by fighting between the army and local militias.

Rizal argued that open armed conflict could have been avoided entirely if ASEAN had started to facilitate talks for a humanitarian pause soon after the April summit, but this was hobbled when member states dragged their feet on the appointment of the special envoy.

“With the escalation of the armed conflict in Myanmar, the safety of AHA Centre officers also comes into question. Then again, does ASEAN even have a presence on the ground? The special envoy has not thought through these kinds of critical issues for a mission,” he said.

He warned that if ASEAN was forced to appoint another envoy next year, it would become impossible for the association to help Myanmar and lead the group out of irrelevance.