Human rights monitor says 200 killed in Uzbek protests News
Human rights monitor says 200 killed in Uzbek protests

[JURIST] The head of Uzbekistan's Independent Human Rights Organization was quoted Saturday as saying that some 200 people were killed in the eastern city of Andijan Friday [JURIST report] when government forces backed by tanks opened fire on demostrators in the central square of the city protesting government repression in the wake of a trial of 23 Muslim businessmen charged with extremism. Speaking to reporters in Tashkent, Uzbek President Islam Karimov [official profile] said that 10 government soldiers and "many more" protestors had been killed in the disturbance. A number of protestors returned to the Andijan city center Saturday, while thousands of other Uzbeks fled toward the border with Kyrgyzstan. The International Association For Democratic Reforms in Uzbekistan has posted online video [WMP] from Friday's Andijan riots. Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, has been an important US ally in the "war on terror", although its government has been repeatedly accused of torture and repression [Human Rights Watch backgrounders]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.