As Myanmar fades from international headlines, the situation on the ground has intensified and the anti-coup coalition’s demands have become more radical. The National Unity Government (NUG), which emerged as an alternative to the coup government, has called for abolishing both the 2008 constitution (which granted the military broad powers over key government ministries) and the 1982 citizenship law (pivotal to the persecution and political exclusion of the Rohingya minority).

Made up of prominent activists, leaders from different ethnic groups, and democratically elected ministers who managed to evade arrest in the early days of the February coup, the NUG is the closest thing the country has to a representative body of Myanmar’s diverse ethnic groups. It is the only politically viable alternative to the military junta, which continues to terrorize the population.

The NUG has called on nations around the world to recognize it as the legitimate government of Myanmar. International consensus and acknowledgement of its authority would allow the NUG to take on the legislative and administrative roles of a government, including drafting a new constitution, issuing passports, and funding the People’s Defense Force it set up to shield civilians from the military. It would also grant them access to Myanmar’s billion dollars in foreign reserves, which the United States froze after the coup.