Hasnat Abdullah, MP, southern chief organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has warned that preparations for another uprising would begin if the government retreats from necessary reforms by relying on its parliamentary majority.
He said the 2024 mass uprising was not aimed at replacing individuals but at bringing about a fundamental transformation of the state structure. “If the government backs away from required reforms using its majority, preparations for another July-like uprising will be started,” he said.
He made the remarks on Monday at a civic dialogue organized by Voice of Reform at the BDL building in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka. The dialogue, titled “Cancellation of the ordinance on judicial independence and suspension of the ordinance on prevention and remedy of enforced disappearances: A threat to good governance and the advancement of human rights,” focused on the country’s current political situation and the independence of the judiciary.
Hasnat said: “Hasina is not a single individual but a collection of fascist ideas. If the existing system is preserved, any individual may again become ‘Hasina’ in the future. Therefore, state reform is now a demand of the time.”
Highlighting the risk of the non-implementation of the ordinance on the Human Rights Commission, he said that if it is not properly enforced, investigative responsibility would revert to the Ministry of Home Affairs. “As a result, investigations into killings by police during the July uprising will remain under police control, which goes against justice,” he said. Referring to families of victims of enforced disappearances, he added that people had wanted a state where no one would be forcibly taken from their home and made to disappear forever.
Human rights activist and lawyer Manzur-al-Matin, who moderated the dialogue hosted by Voice of Reform founder Fahim Mashroor, said that although the ordinance related to the removal of elected representatives was adopted quickly, the law concerning judicial independence remains stalled due to bureaucratic complications. He urged the government not to delay and to take swift steps to ensure the judiciary’s independence.
The dialogue was also addressed by political scientist Dilara Chowdhury, photographer Shahidul Alam, State Reform Movement General Secretary Syed Hasibuddin Hossain, and Amar Bangladesh Party (AB) Chairman Mujibur Rahman Manju, among others.