Political Troubles

While we were at our camp in the countryside last week, we had heard only about a fire at the Revolutionary Party headquarters in the wake of the party’s very successful election results. When we returned to Choibalsan, we learned with great sadness of the rioting that took place in the capital on July 1st. In sum, the MPRP did much better than polls had previously suggested, winning a large majority of parliamentary seats. Many people expected the rival Democratic Party to do equally-well, but expectations were not met. Amid allegations of election fraud, agitators turned a peaceful protest into a riot, torching the MPRP building, a national art museum, police station while looting cultural centers and shops. There were several deaths.
A four-day state of emergency (since annulled) was declared in UB, and a 10pm curfew and alcohol ban were imposed. From what we gather, the riots were confined to UB and did not impact life here in Choibalsan. Discussions are underway between the political parties to redress grievances. We hope people will be able to resolve their differences and decide matters, peacefully.

Here is a related piece by Edward Wong that appeared in the International Herald Tribune:


A Challenge for Mongolia's Democracy
By Edward Wong
Tuesday, July 8, 2008

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia: The charred shells of two Soviet-style buildings rising from the center of this capital stand as a warning of the dangers of mixing vodka with voter frustration. In a barren land where nomads still gallop across pastures to polling booths, that potent mix led last week to the literal gutting of some of the country's most prominent political and cultural institutions. Now, with an election in dispute, Mongolia's fledgling democracy faces its biggest challenge since its birth in 1990.

Following cries of fraud in parliamentary elections - accusations that were disputed by international election observers - hundreds of rioters, many of them drunk attacked the headquarters of the dominant political party and the neighboring national art gallery on July 1. Fires were started. Five people were killed. More than 1,000 pieces of artwork were destroyed, damaged or looted.

"Poverty and corruption are eating away at our democracy," said Tsedevdamba Oyungerel, a Stanford-educated politician who ran for Parliament but lost (though she did receive 10 male horses as gifts while campaigning in the countryside.) To Oyungerel, who like many Mongolians goes by her given name, just as shocking as the violence was the government's reaction - it declared a four-day state of emergency, sent soldiers into the streets and shut down television and radio stations. The outburst of violence was without precedent in democratic Mongolia, and many here - from sheepherders to business executives - are deeply ashamed of what unfolded.
"I thought, 'This is totally wrong,' " said Gansuren, a bartender at a karaoke club.

Much is at stake for the United States as Mongolia struggles to right itself. With a population of three million scattered across a country the size of Alaska, it is, as one Mongolian leader put it last week, the only democracy between the Sea of Japan and Eastern Europe. Mongolia has supplied troops for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the former secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was given a horse when he visited in 2005 (he left it behind). "Since the overarching aim of our foreign policy is to promote the expansion of democratic society in the world, Mongolia is a poster child for that," said Mark Minton, the American ambassador here. "It's my strong belief that democracy is here to stay in Mongolia."

The state of emergency ended Sunday, and much seems back to normal now in the capital. A wedding couple poses for photos in the central square. A herder leads three loping camels through the streets. The Grand Khaan Irish Pub is packed. But the country faces two major problems: resolving the contentious election - the official results still have not been announced - and identifying the cause of the recent violence.

Though many Mongolians say the riot was a criminal act, the anger most likely bubbled up from economic frustrations. Inflation has soared to 26 percent, Mongolians complain about corruption, and officials disagree on control mining rights to the country's immense mineral wealth. Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar defended the state of emergency on Saturday night, saying the government, which is ruled by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, or MPRP, was concerned with preventing further disturbances. But Oyungerel and other senior members of the main opposition group, the Democratic Party, accused the government of using the riot as a pretext for quashing dissent. The only television station allowed to broadcast from Wednesday to Saturday was the national network.

On the surface, Mongolia is an unlikely place for an experiment in democracy. The home of Genghis Khan, it is the most sparsely populated country in the world. Half the population still lives in round felt tents called gers, and livestock outnumber humans eight to one. Yet Mongolia's literacy rate is 98 percent, a legacy of nearly seven decades of Communist rule. The country held a constitutional referendum in 1990 and a vote in 1992 that led to its first democratic change of Parliament. Since then, it had held peaceful elections every four years - until June 29.

Preliminary results announced shortly after the voting showed that the MPRP won 45 seats; the Democratic Party 28 seats; and three small parties one seat each. Those numbers would give the governing party the majority it needs in the 76-seat Parliament to form a government. In a news conference on July 1, however, the leader of the Democratic Party and a former prime minister, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, accused the MPRP of vote fraud. That assertion was challenged by the 52 foreign observation teams that went to polling stations on June 29. "In each of those cases, in each of the instances where we observed any part of the process, we were struck by the degree of rigor," said Bill Infante, country representative for the Asia Foundation, a group that promotes democracy, whose observers visited 100 of about 1,700 stations.

Nevertheless, on the afternoon of July 1 several leaders of smaller parties held a rally at the capital's central plaza, Sukhbaatar Square. The protest began peacefully. But in time an angry crowd of young men formed in front of the five-story headquarters of the governing party, next to the square. Soon they were throwing rocks and storming the building. Police officers fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. Nothing worked. The rioters started fires at dusk. They broke into a duty-free shop on the first floor and grabbed the liquor. And some were already carrying bottles of cheap Mongolian vodka. "It was a pity to see how they were demolishing quite expensive drinks," said Sumati, a pollster here. "It's $30 or $40 a bottle. It's really not cheap."

Rioters barged into the museum next door, the Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery. They set fire to the building at 11:30 p.m. and made off with some wood and ivory carvings, said Enkhtsetseg, the museum director. Two storage rooms with modernist oil paintings suffered fire damage, as did a wing of traditional art that included tapestries, paintings and carvings. Of the museum's 5,000 pieces, more than a fifth were destroyed, damaged or stolen, Enkhtsetseg said. None are insured.

"I have no idea how to put a value on this," she said as she chain-smoked in her office on Sunday (she had quit six years ago, but took it up again last week). "It's unique; we don't have anything like this. Most of the artists have passed away." Next door, in the home of a national orchestra, horse-head violins had been destroyed. The police arrested more than 700 people, and as of Saturday more than 200 were still in jail, Prime Minister Bayar said at a televised news conference that night. "The police are paying attention not to violate human rights or treat prisoners badly," he said.

But some Mongolians say prisoners have been tortured. Enkhtsetseg said a prisoner released on July 3 came to her office and showed her bruises on his back. He had been among a group of young men trying to save artwork the night of the riot but had been mistakenly arrested, Enkhtsetseg said.

As the country's leaders grapple with how to resolve the election, everyone knows nothing less than the future of Mongolia is at stake. "We made our democracy ourselves, we will defend it ourselves," Oyungerel said. "I love democracy. I want to give this society to my children."

Youth Ecology Camp

The first week of July, we helped host a youth ecology camp on a lake in northern Dornod. Julie and I assisted an environmental agency in securing funding, organizing and managing a program for Mongolian and Russian students. The kids had fun learning about water ecology, water quality monitoring, ornithology, mammalian behavior and animal tracking. Of course, there were many team-building games and songs. The kids had a lot of fun, got to connect with people from other countries and stayed healthy.

Travels with Marm and Mooner

Our visit from Marm and Mooner (our niece Amanda) couldn't have been more wonderful -- at least for us. We think it was pretty good for them, too, despite nights without toilets (not even outhouses), a few rounds of carsickness for Mooner and delayed flights. Mooner did get to learn of a use for scotch tape. All tape here is simply called "scotch" (not a Mongolian word), and it is used in the way that Americans use duct tape -- to hold together absolutely anything. And while for years we've appreciated the adhesive qualities of the stuff, we were unaware until we travelled to Harhoran, of its curative properties. When Amanda was car sick, our driver told her to put a piece of scotch over her belly button and her carsickness would go away. Indeed it did! Whether it was from having already eliminated the contents of her belly or from having covered her belly button with tape, we don't know. But she took it all in stride. I'm sure any of you who suffer from carsickness will be scrambling to the nearest "House of Scotch" to stock up at this point. Please let us know what miraculous results you are able to achieve!

The first thing we did after they got to UB was get back on a plane and fly back to our town. We knew it would be a very short visit, and the additional flight was pushing it, but I really, really wanted them to see where we live and work. I wanted them to get a feeling for our lives here; to be able to picture in their minds places and faces when we talk about things after we get home. On our second night, our friends and colleagues welcomed them warmly and gave them gifts, and everyone told Mom that she looked very young for her age. Some of the high school students I teach at the library each week came, and we sang a couple of Mongolian songs and some of the songs I've taught them this year. Mandy especially loved listening to them singing "Imagine." It was so sweet.

The next day, Boldsaikhan, a friend of ours, took us around town in his car. Boldsaikhan (Bogii), is the man who runs Anna Home, a residential home for kids whose parents aren't alive or can't take care of them. Some of the kids he actually found living in manholes by the streets of our town (a relatively common situation in the country). Mandy was completely smitten! She and Mom both decided that they'd like to try to do something for the kids, and I know that any help at all would be hugely appreciated. Their biggest project right now is to get a well dug. It's going to cost many thousands of dollars, but they are trying to grow their own vegetables, and without a close source of water in this very dry country, they can't be successful. That being said, if any of you would like to support Mom and Mandy in trying to make something happen from the US side, please let them know!

After 2 1/2 days in our town, we flew back to UB and were met at the airport by a tour company guide, ready to take us to Harhoran, the former capital of Mongolia (back in Chinggis's day). We spent 4 days on the road, surrounded by more mountains, horses, sheep and goats than I've seen in all of the last year. Also, much more GREEN!!! This summer has been the wettest that locals can remember in the last 10 years, and the valleys and mountainsides are carpeted with grasses, sage, and lovely little wildflowers. We drove for hours, seeing nothing but those mountains, valleys & animals, scattered gers and the occasional herder on his horse.

The most beautiful part about Harhoran is its lovely monastery, which dates back hundreds of years. Like almost all the other monasteries in Mongolia, it was largely destroyed when the Soviets came in and tried to wipe out Buddhism. But parts of the original buildings remain, and all have been restored as closely as possible to their original designs. We had a chance to observe local folks sitting with lams (monks), receiving blessings and advice on family and personal matters, ie when to get married and what to name their children. Many Mongolians still go to lams regularly to solve such matters.

The other really awesome thing we got to do on the trip was ride camels! I had been hoping to try camel riding ever since I came here to Mongolia, and both Mandy and I finally had the chance. And for those of you who like to ride horses, I gotta tell ya, camels are SO much more comfortable to ride. They move so steadily, plus they kneel down to let you on and off. Course, their temperaments are a little more sketchy

(though neither camel ever spit at us), but they were wonderful to ride. The experience was made even more wonderful by the fact that our camels were being led by two young herder boys who asked us to sing an American song, then sang a beautiful Mongolian song for us as we walked along. The ride took place in a pocket of semi-desert on the way to Harhoran, with sand dunes and all, making it feel very much like an authentic "Lawrence of Arabia" kind of experience (except with Mongolian music).

Another pretty special part of the trip was that we stayed in gers every night. One night we stayed with a family near Orkhon Lake. Mom, Dad and 3 year-old daughter all had the intensely ruddy cheeks you would expect for people living in the elements every day. They were a herder family of very modest means without any kind of permanent structures near their ger, not even an outhouse. And they all slept on the floor with Jimmy and I, letting Mom and Mandy have their beds. The mosquitoes and flies were thick as thieves, the wind whipped mercilessly, water had to be hauled from the lake 1/2 a mile away, the ger was spartan, at best, and yet the family seemed very contented with their lives. It was the kind of experience that always makes me appreciate the fortitude and resourcefulness of these folks even more.

On another night, we stayed in a tourist ger camp where we were treated to an exclusive performance by a local group of musicians and dancers. The 4 of us were the only audience, and the show began a full 2 hours late, but it gave Mom and Mandy a good taste of the beautiful and unique style of music here in this country. We even got to hear throat singing (which sounds nothing like a human voice), watch a contortionist, and see a lovely young girl perform a traditional dance. It was such an intimate performance, and completely worth the wait!

After returning to UB for a day, we got on a train and headed north to visit our summer host families. The love was positively palpable. My eej and Marm greeted each other like long lost sisters, and spent the whole visit giggling together and hanging on to each other. It was the sweetest thing! Even with no more than the word "hello" in common, their communication needed no translation. It truly felt like we were all one family. It was definitely the highlight of my time with Mom and Mandy. We also stayed with Jimmy's family for a day, and his sister Mongono showed Mandy how to make buuz. Her patience was remarkable --making buuz the "right" way is truly an art form here, and "sub-par" buuz are not served to guests. And, believe me, making buuz look right is not easy!

We spent our last couple of days together in UB, poking around in shops and hanging out with other Peace Corps & VSO volunteers. I loved that many of my friends here got to meet my family: I loved showing them off to each other! Other volunteers have told me about family members visiting (especially moms) and hearing lots of complaints about the many "inconveniences" one must often deal with here, but not MY mom and niece! Mom and Mandy's tolerance was one of the nicest things of all for me about their visit. I knew that they would both be able to roll with stuff here, but they not only rolled, they rolled gracefully and without a single whimper. I felt so proud of them!

So, I couldn't have been happier with our time together. The only thing that would have made it nicer, of course, would have been to have them here for 2 months instead of 2 weeks. But I won't be greedy! I'm so thankful to both of them for having made the trip, and especially to Mom, who paid for all Mandy's travel expenses as a graduation gift. They both have plenty of photos, so feel free to ask them to share!