"We gave the authorities one month to fulfil their promises," J Batzandan, one of three Western-educated Mongolians who founded the Civil Movement for a Just Society, said. "National wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority live in poverty. Human rights are routinely violated and the society is moving toward oligarchy."
Given the U.S. expansionist plans in Asia, U.S. tanks also would love to be based in Mongoila.
The old slogan of the Chinese Communist Party that "the Russian revisionists are still trying to destroy us" anticipated the fact that the Soviet Union's tanks could roll directly into the Chinese capital through Mongolia. This was also the reason that Mao Zedong changed his policy of "overthrowing US imperialism" into a policy of friendship with the US. #msg-3565438
Many Mongolians share that uneasiness about the potential threat from a neighbor with a population more than 520 times that of the 2.5 million in Mongolia. Last month, in a poll of 2,170 adults, the Sant Maral polling group asked people to choose two countries that could be considered best partners for Mongolia. Russia came in first, receiving twice as many votes as the United States, which came in second. China came in fourth, after Japan. #msg-3565469
-Am
People power looms as Mongolians vote
IAN MATHER DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
Sun 22 May 2005 GENGHIS Khan would have not have taken a benign view. In the birthplace of one of the world's most ruthless rulers demonstrators dared to throw tomatoes and eggs and bang on barrels as their political leaders arrived for work last week.
Mongolia, a vast and impoverished wind-swept country locked between Russia and China, goes to the polls today to elect a new president in an atmosphere of relative freedom.
But the prospect looms of further upheaval in the homeland of the 12th century warlord. Allegations of corruption could boil over if former communist Nambar Enkhbayar wins.
Emboldened by the velvet revolution in Kyrgyzstan, a reformist Civil Movement for a Just Society has sprung up to demonstrate for an investigation into alleged corruption of officials, including Enkhbayar, a former prime minister, as well as for broader press freedom and the right to gather in Ulan Bator's Freedom Square, which is off-limits for demonstrations.
"We are talking about a systemic crisis. The current political structures simply are not adequate to solve these problems," says D Ganhuyag, a political analyst in Ulan Bator.
Last month, taking their cue from the overthrow of ex-communist president Askar Akayev in Kyrgyzstan, holding banners bearing slogans such as "Enhbayar They accused Enkhbayar and other senior officials of embezzling US$3m from public funds, and of approving mining licences that let foreign firms keep too much of their profits.
"We gave the authorities one month to fulfil their promises," J Batzandan, one of three Western-educated Mongolians who founded the Civil Movement for a Just Society, said. "National wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority live in poverty. Human rights are routinely violated and the society is moving toward oligarchy."
The demonstrators stepped up their protests last week when hundreds of supporters gathered to demand the dissolution of the election commission, which they accused of packing local voter-registration bodies with members of Enkhbayar's party, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party.
At a news conference last week the three other presidential candidates called for the resignation of the commission's chairman for issuing multiple election identity cards and registration numbers to rural voters.
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