21September2008
Posted by inmongolia under: buddhism.
An interesting view at Danzanravjaa’s Shambala Pilgrimage in the East Gobi.
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9September2008
Posted by inmongolia under: environment; fun.
National Park Ticket
It is always rather pretentious to make fun of other one’s language abilities, especially because i lack in them considerably in myself. But sometimes things are just funny enough to pass them on.
This picture here is the backside of the entrance ticket to a National Park, the Terelj Park in this case. It conveniently gives a list of services provided to visitors in the park. Most interesting is point 3, where it says the park is….
To provide with information, brochure booklets, warning and garbage
When we enlightened our loyal driver on the issue, he ousted one of his high shrieking laughs, opened his window again and shouted at his friend the national park ranger while pointing at the ticket: “It says: We give you garbage!”
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technorati: mongolia
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31August2008
Posted by inmongolia under: history.
“At that time, the Mongolian became a super power in the world stage. By then, half of the world already felt into the Mongolian hands: Central Asia, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, Iran… then China. After dominating China, Mongolian look into Vietnam. Then 30,000 troops of Mongolian cavalry -very well known at that time- crossed the border and attacked Vietnam the first time on January 17, 1258. Emperor TRAN THAI TONG -the one who wanted to be a Buddhist monk - now commanded the Vietnamese army to fight back. It took about 2 weeks, the Mongolian was defeated.
Angry over the defeat, the Mongolian took the revenge. The second invasion was well prepared, began on August 1284, with 200,000 strong troops under the command of a Mongolian prince. This time, the commander of Vietnamese army was Emperor TRAN NHAN TONG, also a devout Buddhist. The second invasion was not luckier than the first time. After 6 months that both sides had engaged into the fierce battles, the Mongolian was defeated and there was only a few thousands survived to back home.
For Mongolian, especially Emperor Koubilai, the defeat was so unbelievable and unbearable. It’s too shameful for the Mongolian empire, therefore, only two months after the defeat, Koubilai giving the order to mobilize all of his best units, ready to take the revenge. On December 25, 1287, 500,000 Mongolian troops under the command of the same Prince, one more time, crossed the border to invade Viet Nam the third time. Again, Emperor TRAN NHAN TONG led the Vietnamese army to fight back and defeat the Mongolian. This time it took for only 4 months. Like last time, there were only few thousands Mongolian survived to comeback. After the third try, the Mongolian quitting the idea to invade Vietnam. Vietnam then began enjoying the peaceful time for about two centuries.”
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24August2008
Posted by inmongolia under: mongolia; olympics; sport; video.
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technorati: mongolia olympics goldmedal ulaanbaatar
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22August2008
Posted by inmongolia under: mongolia.
It is a bit a crappy mobile picture, but those with good eyes might be able to distinguish the North Korean state emblem on this wall of their embassy in Ulaanbaatar (clcik on the image for a larger size). But the interesting thing in this picture is the box below. Yep the airco. Nothing special right. Well, look again. This bright square there is where the branding used to be. But the embassy decided to painting it over. Why? The manufacturer is South Korean LG. Of course they are too proud to have a symbol of South Korean kapitalism on their walls.
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technorati: mongolia north korea censor
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19August2008
Posted by inmongolia under: mongolia; sport.
That’s an unexpected number. So what About the US, China, UK? Well they do really well, but if you translate the number of medals to the population of the country, they are nowhere to be seen in the top 10. That is the conclusion that the La Times draws. Their Top 10 of medals per capita is as follows:
1. Armenia (4) - 742,147
2. Australia (16) - 1,287,554
3. Mongolia (2) - 1,498,041
4. Georgia (3) - 1,543,614
5. Switzerland (4) - 1,895,380
6. Cuba (6) - 1,903,992
7. Slovenia (1) - 2,007,711
8. Azerbaijan (4) - 2,044,429
9. The Netherlands (7) - 2,377,902
10. Hungary (4) - 2,482,729
No over billion Chinese that can change a thing about that. Reminds that India must be at the very bottom of this list. They might be very proud on their gold, but one medal on a billion is ultimately not al that impressive
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technorati: mongolia
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15August2008
Posted by inmongolia under: mongolia; sport; video.
On Thursday evening in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar people went en mass out to the streets to celebrate the first Olympic gold medal in its history. Judoka Tuvshinbayar became first in the category under 100 kilo, beating his rival Askhat Zhitkeyev from Kazakhstan 120 to 10. Mongolia is famous for its wrestling both in its native form as well as in the Japanese Sumo competition which has been dominated by Mongolians in recent years. During the match load cheers were heard all over town from the public screenings of the match. Four tv channels had live broadcasting of the event that marks a highlight in Mongolia’s sports history.
The celebrations culminated in a surprising display of unity amongst the stark divided political forces. President Enkhbayar came down the stairs of the Government house holding hands with acting prime minister S. Bayar to his right and Democratic Party (DP) leader Elbegdorj holding his left hand. It was an unimaginable scene bearing in mind the still lingering conflict that sparked the July 1st protests which left 5 people dead. Mining and in particual gold mining was the big theme of the election on June 29. When a victory for the MPRP was announced the DP and other parties sparked a protest with accusations of vote rigging that led to the fatal riots.
But while it was the large quantities of gold that divided parties in the election turmoil, a particulary small amount of the commodity was able to unite people from the three key figures on the square to every man in the street. Again army personal had to come rushing to protect the government house from a wild crowd, but this time there were no ill motives. Singer Javkhlan had become the center of the crowd’s euforie and he was mangled from the one side of the square to the other, where on the roof of his car he sang one of is famous songs. People greeted and hi-fived strangers, cars were driving past with passengers holding flags while screaming and yelling of joy. From high government officials to street kids, everyone joint in one of the most overwhelming displays of celebration in Mongolia’s recent history. The Genghis Khan statue was looking motionless over the crowd that celebrated until deep in the night for their new national hero.
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technorati: mongolia
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24July2008
Posted by inmongolia under: buddhism; mongolia.
While having posted on the bizar joint listing of Christians and Shamanists in religious statistics some time ago, the last weeks have seen a frontal confrontation of some senior Buddhists with the American director of the News/Christian channel “Eagle TV”. The fire was sparked off by a letter of Norwegian Buddhist Federation President Egil Lothe to the UB Post and Mongolia Web News. User comments, another letter by Lothe and a reaction from the head of FPMT Mongolia express a vocal irritation with practices and arguments of the Eagle TV director. He himself seems “not amused” with Lothe’s arguments, reflecting in a blog post called “Responding to Dishonesty“.
But any illusion of an open discussion is smothered as Mr. Minder’s request for mutual respect is answered by a short post on the blog of the Eagle boss
….It’s a little quote from a guy in Myanmar who was helped by missionaries after a cyclone all but destroyed that country.
“Buddha did nothing while we were suffering. But your Jesus loves us.”
And that pretty much says it all.
No further comments…
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technorati: mongolia
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17July2008
Posted by inmongolia under: Uncategorized.
I haven’t bothered to keep track of the news here during the last weeks as there are more and more sites out there (like Mongolia Web News, News.mn and Montsame), but now as the dust settles, lets have a look at what has happened.
An overview of events is seen at OpenDemocracy:
There is an echo here of the events of January 2006 when a similar demonstration had led to forced entry into the MPRP building. Then, the same Elbegdorj had just lost his job as prime minister in a reshuffle prompted by the MPRP leadership’s desire to form a new cabinet with a range of other political leaders. The MPRP was accused of hijacking democracy, and popular protests led to occupationof and serious damage to its headquarters. Elbegdorj said at the time that “there was no risk of the situation escalating into unrest” (see “Mongolia’s democratic puzzle“, 18 January 2006).
But this time it went haywire exploding into destructive violence. But was this still a political protest? Most believe it had turned into vandalism possibly routed in unrest but definately not in election claims. Talking about those claims. The Asia Foundation releases their report on the election producure:
In 6% of the stations, observers identified individuals seemingly trying to influence the voting behavior of others. Most of these cases occurred in the Bayanzurkh district, and involved middle-aged adults. When queried at one station, the individuals denied any involvement in voter manipulation or influence, and they did not disclose their party affiliation.
In 86% of the station visits, there was no loitering near the station by local government or party officials. However, in 18 of the station visits, party officials and candidates were observed 4 times in different stations in Khuvsgul Aimag, and in 5 discreet stations in the Bayanzurkh district.
Irregularities, indeed. But seemingly not at the scale as the opposition have claimed. Now what is the effects of all this. For some more analysis have a look at Michael Kohn’s Ulan Bator Battles:
The electoral uncertainty comes at a particularly bad time. Foreign investors were excited by the prospect of a one-party majority, rather than a “unity” government, which was often mired in political infighting. The mining law, in particular, needs to be changed to ease heavy taxes — mining companies are eager to get new projects off the ground.
Now, investors are stuck in a “wait and see” mode until the country’s political strife dies down. Both Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar and President Nambaryn Enkhbayar have called for calm in their respective addresses to the nation last week. But it will be Mr. Elbegdorj’s moves that matter most.
Reuters provides some background on the Mining controversy that has at least amplified the unrest:
The current law gives the state either a 34 percent stake or a controlling 51 percent stake in mining projects. An investment agreement with Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(RIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for the Oyu Tolgoi project, still under negotiation, would be the first such deal.“I don’t think ownership stakes are a good idea,” said Julian Dierkes, a specialist in resources and public policy at the University of British Columbia.
“I wish the government would just collect cash and throw it in postal savings. If they make 3 percent on it, they’re set.”
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technorati: mongolia
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17July2008
Posted by inmongolia under: Uncategorized.
OpenDemocracy.Net Reports: A violent post-election protest casts light on how Mongolia’s growing social divides are creating new political strains, says Guido Verboom in Ulaanbaatar.
The events in Mongolia of 1 July 2008 - when, after an election won by the ruling Mongolia People’s Revolutionary Party, demonstrations in Ulaanbaatar escalated into a wider confrontation in which at least five people died and a state of emergency was declared - have cast a shadow on the country’s bright prospects. What happened, and how was it possible?
The election scheduled for 29 June 2008 was set to be an exciting and closely fought one. This young democracy has had a colourful if uneven history since Mongolia acquired full independence from Soviet tutelage at the start of the 1990s. In the 1992 elections the former communist Mongolia People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) was rewarded for the smooth transition it had overseen by a victory in the parliamentary elections. But by 1996, people had become disappointed with the actual results of the transition period, and in overwhelming numbers voted for the opposition parties. Their record in power was equally flawed, however, and the pendulum swung back four years (and as many prime ministers) later when a reformed MPRP secured seventy-two of the parliament’s seventy-six seats in the 2000 elections.
The pattern of alternating landslides was broken in 2004, when the MPRP and an opposition coalition were almost tied (with the MPRP winning thirty-nine seats). The “draw” heralded problems of a different kind, however. In parliament there was gridlock, with decision-making slow or simply impossible. This caused particular discontent at a time when Mongolia’s growing social divide had made many citizens worry about their livelihood and security.
A tough transition
The biggest political issue during the post-2004 years has been mining, and the granting of rights to foreign companies to explore and produce Mongolia’s rich deposits of coal, copper and gold. This raised both nationalist discontent and - as essential agreements stalled - frustration among the local and foreign business community. A bill presented to parliament in March 2008 contains the provision that at least 51% of the total capital funds in sectors where foreign companies are involved must be in Mongolian hands. Pete Morrow, departing chairman of the Business Council of Mongolia, expresses investors’ hope for clarity: “While we are not political, for most foreign investors it is important that one party or the other have a clear mandate to form a government and do the people’s business. Everyone has suffered from the deadlock of the last four years.”
The introduction of a new voting system added to the absorbing uncertainty surrounding the 29 June election. The shift from single-member constituencies to a selection of three or four favoured candidates in larger constituencies could in principle have benefited smaller parties (as a third-placed candidate could now qualify for a seat). In reality, however, the change helped the larger parties, thanks to their greater resources and the fact that the minor parties had only one candidate.
The reform created a new challenge in the shape of the counting procedure: no more convenient piles of ballots-per-candidate, but more complicated procedures that are more prone to mistakes - and public doubts.
The 2008 campaign was relatively short, but the promotional materials were as lively as ever (one candidate distributed an entire book, accompanied by a $100 bill - with his own face replacing Benjamin Franklin’s - and a roll of toilet-paper with his name printed on every sheet). The main issue was the country’s increasing inequality and how the profits from mineral wealth could be distributed to alleviate it. The contract between voting and monetary incentive in the campaign was reflected in the Democratic Party’s promise to people of a 1 million tugrug ($850) share in the forthcoming bonanza; the MPRP simply responded by offering 50% more.
This agenda reflects a shift in Mongolians’ popular perceptions. The communist years left people with a general distrust of any state-directed system, but part of their inheritance that people valued was a sense of equal opportunities - where, for example, herder boys from remote areas could become leaders of the country. Now, the opportunity for this Mongolian equivalent of the “log-cabin-to-White- House” route seems to have diminished: politicians in their shiny four-wheel-drives are seen to care more about their own wealth than the people’s poverty, and have themselves become a symbol of the economic divide rather than a means to narrow it.
The social effects of Mongolia’s economic and political transformation are visible in other areas. A collapse of the educational system has resulted in a surge of commercial schools; and the media has become both money-driven and partisan, as newspapers and TV stations become the instruments of political, economical or religious groups.
A dark night
The election process itself came and went in Mongolia’s by-now familiar way. The international observers praised its fairness, even though the system-changes meant that the final results were delayed. This is where the problems began. On 30 June, the MPRP starting circulating the notion that it had won an absolute majority; Tsakhia Elbegdorj, the DP leader, reacted angrily, claiming large-scale fraud by the MPRP and encouraging people to demonstrate against the election results.
The following day, 1 July, Elbegdorj and other opposition leaders disappointed by news of the election’s apparent outcome and their own performance organised protests in different parts of Ulaanbaatar. The separate groups - which included followers of the Republican Party leader Jargalsaikhan, and the Civil Movement head Magnai - then assembled in the heart of the capital, before dispersing in different directions. The largest group ended up in front of the MPRP headquarters.
There is an echo here of the events of January 2006 when a similar demonstration had led to forced entry into the MPRP building. Then, the same Elbegdorj had just lost his job as prime minister in a reshuffle prompted by the MPRP leadership’s desire to form a new cabinet with a range of other political leaders. The MPRP was accused of hijacking democracy, and popular protests led to occupation of and serious damage to its headquarters. Elbegdorj said at the time that “there was no risk of the situation escalating into unrest” (see “Mongolia’s democratic puzzle”, 18 January 2006).
On this occasion, his words were harsher and his motivation stronger. He encouraged people to come from the countryside to Ulaanbaatar and join the protest; the appeal helped to bring the crowd around the MPRP building to 8,000.
The situation deteriorates as stones are thrown and - in a replay of 2006 - protesters make their way into the building. The police, outnumbered and ineffective, retreat. When flames whoosh out from one of the windows, fire-engines arrive but the huge numbers and their hostile welcome block their advance towards the building. The protesters take full control of the commercial units on the ground floor: an airline-ticketing office, a bank branch and a duty-free liquor store. TV images show protesters creating Molotov cocktails and burning cardboard boxes.
In the end, the fire destroyed the building - and damaged the neighbouring Central Cultural Palace too. By that time the protests had turned into a violent looting orgy. Young men could be seen stealing or destroying hundreds of paintings in the palace’s modern-art gallery, costumes and instruments of several orchestras,
and goods in a range of other businesses in the area.
A new reality
As parliament was not in session, the president Nambar Enkhbayar used his authority to call a four-day state of emergency - the first in Mongolia’s history. All private TV and radio channels were shutdown, inconveniently reminding people of the totalitarian regime that the MPRP had maintained in a previous lifetime. By 4 o’clock in the morning the crowd and fire were under control. Ulaanbaatar was waking up to a new reality. The atmosphere was tense. Soon, however, the affected area became a bit of a tourist attraction with people taking pictures with the burned-out cars. On the second day a neighbour pointed at two police officers playing badminton. “This is the state of emergency in Ulaanbaatar”, he said with a grin.
Mongolia’s electoral commission has announced that the MPRP had indeed won the election, but it keeps postponing release of the official results. Elbegdorj, against the odds, continues to criticise the election process, further endangering the democratic stability the country needs so much. At the same time, election worries have already faded with the preparation of Mongolia’s National Nadaam Festival which begins on 11 July in Ulaanbaatar’s central stadium. The archery, horse-racing, ankle-bone shooting and wrestling competitions will attract more people than any political protest.
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technorati: mongolia
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