“With the responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people, the Government of National Unity … started a popular defensive war against the military junta,” said Duwa Lashi La.
The NUG is a group of ousted lawmakers, opponents of the coup and representatives of ethnic minority groups who want to gain recognition as Myanmar’s legitimate government. It operates under cover or through members based abroad.
“Because it is a public revolution, all the citizens of Myanmar are revolting against the government of military terrorists led by Min Aung Hlaing in every corner of the country,” Duwa Lashi La said, urging officials to leave government positions.
For the last eight months, the army has delivered a bloody crackdown on national protests and opposition to its government. More than 1,000 people have been killed by security forces and more than 7,800 detained, according to the advocacy group of the Political Prisoners Assistance Association.
“We need to start a national uprising in all towns, cities and cities across the country at the same time,” Duwa Lashi La said. “We will eliminate Min Aung Hlaing and finally overthrow the dictatorship of Myanmar and we will be able to establish a peaceful federal democratic union that fully guarantees equality and that all citizens have long aspired to.”
In his speech, Duwa Lashi La ordered ethnic armed groups to “immediately attack Min Aung Hlaing and the military council,” and urged them to “fully control your lands.”
He also called on police personnel, military and government workers designated by the military to join the resistance.
“This revolution is a just revolution. A revolution needed to build a peaceful country and establish a federal union,” he said.
CNN has contacted the Myanmar army for comments.
Major General Nerdah Bo Mya, commander of the Karen ethnic armed group National Defense Organization, which operates in southeastern Karen State, said he supports the NUG announcement.
“All ethnic armed groups should coordinate and work together to fight and support,” he told CNN. “Today is the beginning of the fall of the military regime in Burma. D-day arrives in Burma.”
International efforts to stop the violence in Myanmar have failed so far.
The NUG statement arrives two weeks before the start of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21 and an expected decision on who will occupy the Myanmar representative in the UN seat: a member of the military council or NUG.
“The NUG will hope to show that the regime does not have ‘effective control’ over Myanmar to undermine its chances of sitting at the UN,” said Richard Horsey, Myanmar’s senior adviser to the International Crisis Group. “Armed resistance to the coup has been intense for some time, but the NUG is trying to put its primer on these efforts and push them even further.”
The extent of the control and influence of the NUG on the various popular resistance groups is unclear, but there is still widespread public opposition in the country to the coup.
“With a population determined to resist and a regime determined to stay at all costs, the violent confrontation is likely to continue,” Horsey said. “This also makes ASEAN’s efforts look even more out of touch, with its special envoy who has not yet visited the country and who has been calling for a ceasefire for three days.”
CNN’s Chandler Thornton contributed to this report.