Democracy News

Mongolia Sit-in Turns into Hunger Strike
April 12, 2010
By: Paul Larson | Printer Friendly

Over 5,000 protesters converged on the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.  The protesters demanded that Parliament be dissolved and that politicians follow through on their promise to spread the wealth from Mongolia’s valuable natural resources.  Both political parties committed during their campaigns to inject wealth into the populace, either through cash grants or dividend payments, according to the Washington Post.  The government has not followed through on that promise. 

The protests began on April 5th.  Uyanga Gantomor, an organizer for the rallies warned that if the government failed to respond in 72 hours, the protests would enter the "next stage against the corrupt authorities."  She did not elaborate at that point what the next stage would be.

Members of Parliament responded with a statement that said, "Parliament cannot be dissolved by a group of people. It is up to voters and the Mongolian people to decide whether to dissolve the parliament.” 

Three days after the warning, protest organizers announced that they will escalate their tactics from a sit-in to a hunger strike until the Parliament agreed to hold a national referendum on its dissolution, according to Xinhua. 

Protest participants mainly come from rural areas and the slums of Ulaanbaatar, according to the Washington Post.  Despite vast mineral deposits, Mongolia remains one of the poorest nations on the globe.  According to protest organizers, 40 percent of Mongolia's 2.7 million people live in poverty.  The number of impoverished people is expected to rise due to the coldest winter in three decades that killed 4.5 million herd animals, approximately 10% of the country total.

Even though the most recent rally remained peaceful, officials were cautious.  This was the largest rally in the capital since July 2008 when five people were killed and more than 200 were hurt in riots over alleged election fraud.

Source:

Guardian - More than 10,000 protest in Mongolia

New York Times - Mongolia: Protesters Demand Dissolving of Parliament

People’s Daily Online - Mongolian protesters hunger strike to press parliament to dissolve

Washington Post - 5,000 flood Mongolia's capital, demand new govt

Xinhua - Mongolia protesters plan to stage hunger strike