We want to give an update to our partners about the situation in Mongolia. It’s been an interesting week, and we believe that this may be just the beginning.
For those of you who have no idea what has gone on, let’s start there. A week ago, Mongolian parliamentary elections were held. As the votes were being counted news began to come out that the Democratic party was in the lead. However, as the day went on the news kept changing until the Communist party (MPRP) had taken an overwhelming majority in the races.
This past Tuesday, the anger of a normally peaceable people resulted in protests. The protests took an unusual turn toward violence and the MPRP headquarters was torched along with some surrounding buildings containing national memorabilia relating to the Communist Party. Five people died and a significant number were injured (depending on the source between 200-500 people). As a result, the President declared a four day State of Emergency, which was in effect marshal law. Basic things were either taken away or restricted:
- no public gatherings
- all television coverage except the Communist station was taken off the air and no sound amplifying devices were allowed
- weapons of any kind were banned
- All alcohol sales were restricted (vodka was actually used to start the fires)
- a mandatory curfew from 10 pm to 8 am was implemented
Rumors have run rampant – closing borders, more rioting, etc. There are numerous reports that would seem to substantiate the claim that the elections were bogus. However, the committee to study this allegation (all MPRP) found things to be in order and the election results stand.
For those of you who were aware of what was taking place and prayed for us, we want to give you our heartfelt thanks. It was a rather exciting week, particularly for those who live in UB. We’re not used to seeing tanks in the street. At the same time, we want our partners to know that at no time did we feel as if we were in danger ourselves.
How do things stand now? As far as we can see, things have returned to normal and there is calm. The “State of Emergency” (read: martial law) has been lifted, but we do hear rumors of larger demonstrations. If this is true, they should be more organized, and we would expect less violent. Again, these are rumors and we have no idea whether or not this is over.
Again, thank you for your prayers. We will keep you posted as/if things develop.