BNP first to label Shapla Chattar massacare as 'genocide,' claims Info minister

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahiruddin Swapon stated on Friday that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was the first political entity to formally describe the 2013 Shapla Square operation as a "genocide."

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a commemorative event titled "Shapla Martyrs' Saga: Remembrance and Evaluation," organized by the Shapla Smriti Sangsad at the Bangladesh National Museum’s main auditorium in the capital.

Minister Swapon emphasized that following the events of May 5, 2013, the BNP had the courage to identify the crackdown as genocide in its official statements. 

He assured the audience that the current administration is committed to bringing all those involved in the incident to justice.

He further alleged that the previous government went to great lengths to conceal the truth regarding the operation, filing numerous cases against BNP activists to suppress the facts. 

Leaders of the 11-party alliance also addressed the gathering, describing the Shapla Square incident as a brutal manifestation of fascism and demanding a fair trial.

Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, speaking at the event, recalled that power lines were cut off before a massive force was deployed at Shapla Square. 

He claimed that ongoing investigations have already uncovered evidence of more than 72 deaths, with many others still missing.

Parwar added that the events of May 2013 and the July 2024 mass uprising are part of the same historical continuum, representing a sustained resistance against authoritarianism in Bangladesh.