Those who established ‘Shahbagh’ gave rise to fascism: Hasnat Abdullah

Those who actively supported the establishment of "Shahbagh", directly and indirectly, contributed to 15 years of fascist rule in the country, said Hasnat Abdullah, chief organiser of The National Citizens Party (NCP) southern region.

According to him, the same individuals and groups who legitimised extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, murders, secret detention facilities, and judicial executions through protests in Shahbagh kept Sheikh Hasina in power.  

In a Facebook post today (12 March) he wrote, "Shahbagh was not built in a day, nor by any single entity. It was backed by so-called civil society members, intellectuals, bureaucrats, cultural activists, foreign agents, politicians, and even athletes."  

He accused the Shahbagh movement of eroding fundamental freedoms, stating, "Shahbagh took away the people's freedom of speech and their basic human rights. It even stripped them of their right to live freely."  

"Those who played a role in establishing Shahbagh also paved the way for fascism over the past 15 years," he wrote.  

"We are committed to ensuring justice for all past crimes and oppression. We believe that through the collective efforts of all anti-fascist forces, justice will prevail in this land," he added. 

He further wrote, "We are dedicated to upholding the spirit of the July martyrs while remaining vigilant in pursuit of justice."

The post comes at a time when protests and processions at Shahbagh are becoming a regular ordeal with traffic being disrupted heavily. 

Referring to Gonojagoron Moncho, a platform created centring protests at Shahbagh in demand of punishment of the war crimes, in a previous post Hasnat Abdullah also warned, "Standing in 2025 do not try to take us back to 2013."