Rights group accuses Uzbek government of cover-up in "massacre" News
Rights group accuses Uzbek government of cover-up in "massacre"

[JURIST] New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch Tuesday accused the Uzbekistan government of attempting to cover up May a "massacre" in the city of Andijan by blocking an inquiry into the killing of protestors last month by government troops [JURIST report]. The group released a report that said many questions about the killings remain unanswered, including the death toll, which some witnesses place as high as over 500 unarmed demonstrators. The government says the number is 173 and that most of those were armed terrorists. HRW provides a backgrounder on the Uzbekistan incident; the Tuesday report is not yet available online. Reuters has more.

5:30 PM ET – HRW has now posted its report and an accompanying press release.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.