Blogging the democratic revolution
Happy May to everyone – it’s been flurrying all day in Ulaanbaatar! My family lives about 12km NNW of the city in the hills at the very edge of the city (great hiking!). We live in a one-room house, but most of our neighbors live in gers. The front window looks out over UB, which is always cloaked in smog, and I rejoice each time I recall that I am no longer living in that cloud. Last month we did a homestay with herders in the Kharkhorin valley. I got a lot of experience combing goats for cashmere, as the…
Howdy everybody, Hope you are all enjoying the coming of spring (or fall, depending on your hemisphere), wherever it may find you. I’ve been in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, for almost two weeks now. Though the temperature is around 10F when I walk to school, Mongolians think the daily high of around 16F (-8C) is perfect spring weather – not too hot and not too cold. The 12 American and 2 Japanese students I’m living with disagree. Today is International Women’s Day, so there is no school. Yesterday our language instructors gave us roses and cake in honor of…
Nathan Hamm is noting some interesting political developments in the most democratic country of Central Asia, which has culminated in several thousand people protesting.
Looking for a fiercely independent country in the heart of Central Asia, with a penchant for free enterprise and building a working democracy? Then you’re looking for Mongolia, a stab in the heart to all of the region’s dictators. Well, President Bush just made history by being the first U.S. president to visit Mongolia, a visit he used to praise the country’s developing democracy. Gateway Pundit has a roundup. Registan has links to Mongol blogs.
On Academic Elephant’s superb blog, I found a small post that resonated with me: The tendency of the mainstream media to belittle U.S. officials when they visit small countries. There are all kinds of valid reasons to criticize them, and from many angles. But to savage Donald Rumsfeld because he paid a visit to distant Mongolia or distant Paraguay is absolutely despicable. The news media has mocked such visits, written them off as proof that Rumsfeld can’t get any other friends, and insulted the countries themselves and their customs. Elephant notes that the media focused almost exclusively on a horse…
I haven’t given this idea thought before. Very interesting. (Hat tip: New Mongols) ULAAN BAATAR, Mongolia — While the world powers grapple with how to check North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Mongolia has quietly engaged the country and is pressing it to undertake reforms in a more direct manner. The primary tool to woo Pyongyang is Mongolia’s own successful transition from a Stalinist state to a free-market democracy. Once allies within the Soviet bloc, North Korea and Mongolia chose very different tacks after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990. While North Korea’s continuing Stalinism has brought it to the brink of…
The candidate of the ex-communist MPR has won Mongolia’s presidency, garnering over 50% of the vote and thus avoiding a runoff election. A former Communist prime minister of Mongolia has won Sunday’s presidential election, state media say. Nambaryn Enkhbayar beat three other contenders by polling more than 50% of the vote and thus avoiding the need for a run-off, Mongol Radio reported. The official results are expected later on Monday, but Mr Enkhbayar said his main rival had already conceded defeat. Before the poll, there were rallies for a more transparent electoral system in the capital, Ulan Bator. Protesters also…
They’re heading to the polls right now to vote in their country’s presidential election. Actually, that started a few hours ago, but I bet the nomads still have a ways to go. So far, it looks like the now center-left ex-Communist Party is going to do well in the polls. The Democratic parties alliance has splintered since ’96 and, despite large economic growth over the past year after a couple years of famine, are looking to lose out again on the presidency. Mongolia is electing a new president, with a candidate of the ex-Communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party tipped to…
Let the race begin! (Kyodo) _ The Mongolian presidential election campaign officially kicked off Friday with speeches, music and rallies as four candidate began vying for the top spot in one of the world’s youngest democracies. Until May 20, the candidates will fly or drive around the landlocked East Asian nation to speak with some of the 1 million voters, including a rural nomadic population, about poverty alleviation and other key issues. The leading contender is Nambariin Enkhbayar, a former prime minister backed by the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. His main rival is Mendsaikhani Enkhsaikhan of the Democratic Party. The…