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A lack of special roads, walkways and ramps at both
public and private buildings is severely limiting access to basic public needs
for citizens in wheelchairs throughout Ulaanbaatar,
according to government officials and handicapped organization leaders.
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N. Bolormaa, Chairman of the Ulaanbaatar Citizen’s
Representatives Council vehemently denied that a Lexington Herald-Leader
article named, “Mongolian racetrack deal cinched,” was true.
“I have not heard about any monetary amount (US$ 110
million). I didn’t talk with Kentucky and Lexington’s officials about
any kind of gambling issues. Because Mongolia has no laws about gambling
and I’m not a lawmaker I don’t know when and how they would approve any
gambling law. This issue is prohibited in Mongolia,” Bolormaa told MonInfo in
an interview.
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Amnesty International will give the opportunity to all
citizens of Mongolia
whose rights have been violated to write down accounts of his or her opinion
and will submit them to the relevant authorities to mark International Human Rights
Day this Sunday.
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 Victims of bankrupt savings and loan credit unions set up
and are conducting a hunger strike in a meeting room inside the Ministry of
Justice and Domestic Affairs, by Monday afternoon. Planning to remain and sleep
in the room during their strike, victims are looking for an immediate method
for compensation.
Kh. Oyuntsetseg, Victim of the Construction and Development
Fund Savings and Credit Union said, “We are eight of us here and planning to hold
a hunger strike here until our losses are going to be recovered. We are here to
force the Government and it will help to discuss about our losses during this
Parliamentary session.”
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Members of the Ulaanbaatar Train and Locomotive
Depot’s Trade Union Committee (TUC) presented information Thursday, regarding
alleged misuse of authority and the embezzlement of public funds by high level UB-Railway
officials.
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 A full page
announcement graced the second page of every major daily paper in Ulaanbaatar
Thursday as the Association of Daily Newspapers paralleled civil movements and
political parties in rejecting a passed government proposal to grant MNT 250
million (US $214,776) to every Member of Parliament.
“This space
is dedicated to the work of a democratic parliament, not for corrupt bribers.
We are protesting against the bribes of MNT 250 million,” the statement reads.
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Parliament office officials said that the draft of the parliament
decree on approving rules on ethics of Parliament Members was supposed to be
discussed during a meeting of the Standing Committee on State Structure, but
have postponed it because the 2007 budget was discussed for the whole
afternoon. Centering on MPs conflicts of interests, the rule set is the first
of its kind, according to parliamentary officials.
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The Capital City Appeals Court upheld a previous court
decision regarding the crime of bribery related to ten defendants with Kh. Baatar,
the former chief of the General Customs Office, court officials
said Wednesday.
“We are considering appealing against the judicial decision
of the court today and want to take it to the Supreme Court,” advocates for
Baatar said outside the courthouse.
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 Parliament
member T. Badamjunai (MPRP) and N. Bolormaa, Director of the Citizen’s
Representative Council of Ulaanbaatar, made a deal to build a race track and
gambling center with Lexington based equestrian businesses last Thursday in
Lexington, Kentucky, USA according to a report from Kentucky.com.
However
related organizations in Mongolia were unaware of such a deal including discussion
about building a gambling center in Mongolia since the country is prohibited to
run any gambling centers, a law effective since August and backed by Mongolian
President N. Enkhbayar.
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A lack of
information and knowledge about human trafficking and incorrect reporting in
the media has created more opportunities to be a victim of human trafficking,
said Leader of the Gender Equity Center G. Ganbayasgakh on Friday at a seminar for
journalists.
“All
victims of human trafficking in Mongolia
are cheated by the information of the intermediary when they first become a
victim of this crime,” said Ganbayasgakh.
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MPs from the Standing Committee on State Structure have
approved a draft on building a new parliament house and submitted it to Parliament
for discussion. However some MPs feel that the US $12 million grant possibly
available from a Kuwaiti development fund might be better used in other
sectors.
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A petition from the Mongolian Democratic Socialist
Youth Association (MDSYA) was submitted to the state leaders regarding social
issues including the average salary of state employees such as teachers,
judges, prosecutors and employees of the police should be increased up to MNT
300,000.
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Citizens can now register complaints and injustices
related to legal and judicial organizations and report criminal offenses
through the State Prosecutor’s Office on the internet, officials announced.
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According
to monitoring completed by the Women for Social Progress Movement, the revenue
generation from fine income into the state budget comes into existence with
plans to break human rights, raise barriers to develop the small and medium
sized businesses and sets a basis for producing bribes.
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A working group of the Standing Committee on Legal
Affairs will introduce findings about the implementation of the Public Radio
and Television (PRTV) law on Wednesday, stating that political party and private
interests are holding back the development of public broadcasting in Mongolia.
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Leaders
from the Mongolian National Front movement, G. Uyanga and G. Baasan, announced
the money distributed by the organizers of the All People’s Congress Tuesday.
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Transparency
International Mongolia and the National Soyombo Movement consider that the
anticorruption organization’s appointment of its chairman and vice chairman should
be run in an open fashion to the public, including clearly defined ethic’s
criteria for those leaders, leaders from both organizations said Monday.
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14 hunger
strikers from the victims of bankrupt savings and loan credit unions will shift
to a dry hunger strike if they can’t take a positive reply from the Prime
Minister, they announced Wednesday.
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 Organizers
of the first All People’s Congress announced polling results and discuss a
decree with the state’s three highest leaders at the end of the three day
gathering in attempts to change public policy, a civil movement leader said on
Sukhbaatar square Wednesday.
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Mongolian
and Chinese foreign affairs officials are working on producing joint taxation examinations
through all border points next year concerning complaints from traders going
through border checkpoints.
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 The 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranking of
163 nations ranked Mongolia
99, Transparency International announced Monday. The new ranking showed Mongolia
slipped down 14 places from its 2005 ranking of 85, just as the new
anticorruption law started implementation last week, although the independent
anti-corruption agency has yet to be formed.
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 Nearly
1,000 citizens from Ulaanbaatar
and the countryside joined civil movement members on Sukhbaatar square Monday
as the first All People’s Congress commenced, calling for greater
accountability in the government and more stringent legislation for Mongolia’s vast mineral wealth.
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Today President
N. Enkhbayar expressed his positions and views on fundamental directions to develop Mongolia in the next year and monetary property
turnover policies from government and the state budget focusing on the citizens
of Mongolia during a regular parliamentary session.
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Media
organizations reports and claims that capital police violated journalists’
rights were met with defiance from senior police officials who stated that they
were only working within the frame of the law.
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Civil
movement members and leaders from last weeks protest concerning the detainment
of Free Elders Association leader G. Baasan formally apologized to the public
on Monday for inconveniences caused by road closures during Thursday’s protest.
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The Free
Elders’ Association Leader G. Baasan was released mid-day Friday from a police detainment
center located in Chingeltei District after paying an "administrative case fine," authorities said.
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 Civil
movement leaders and protestors condemned the detaining of Free Elders’
Association leader G. Baasan while trying to storm the government house and
shutting down streets for the night in Ulaanbaatar,
demanding her immediate release.
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Following nearly two days of discussions and arguing during
Parliamentary sessions, the Mongolian parliament voted to keep the National Coalition Government, spoiling Democratic Party attempts to resign the nine month old
cabinet of Prime Minister M. Enkhbold.
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Nearly
twelve hours of heated debate in Parliament discussions Wednesday ran well into
the night as the Great Khural discussed the issue of resigning the government
that had been introduced by the Democratic Party and will be voted on Thursday,
MPs said Wednesday night.
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Elders’
Free Association civil movement leader G. Baasan was arrested by capital police
Wednesday afternoon at the order of district judge Ts. Tumendelger, Chingeltei district police officials confirmed
Wednesday night.
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The Citizens Council on land issues under the
National Soyombo Movement submitted a list of demands to the Citizens
Representative Meeting (CRM) of the Mayor’s Office Tuesday calling for increased
accountability.
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 Victims from bankrupt savings and loan credit unions
continued their tenth day of hunger striking Wednesday, vowing not to stop amid Mongolian
government officials’ statements that it would not be appropriate for the
government to reimburse an alleged 9,000 victims with state budget money.
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The Mongolian National Front, a movement unified
with 8 civic movements including NGOs will hold the All People’s congress on
November 6-8 on Sukhbaatar square, movement officials said Tuesday.
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At 12pm
Monday hunger strikers who are victims of bankrupt savings and loan credit
unions were expelled from the government house when they tried to hand over
their demands to female parliament members.
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At 4am on Thursday morning, police rounded up eight hunger-striking
savings and credit union protestors in Sukhbaatar Square and allegedly forcibly took
them to the Construction and Development savings and credit union building.
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The doctors of Oncological Center went back to their work. The Government
considered the decision of Minister L. Gundalai wrong, and temporarily
appointed L. Tumurbaatar as the director of the Oncological Center until
selection of a new director.
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Eight
victims of bankrupt savings and loan credit unions announced the beginning of a
hunger strike in a last effort to try and force the Mongolian
government to reimburse an alleged 9,000 victims over US $50 million, the
hunger strikers said Tuesday. However initial replies from government agencies
have yet to approve any plans for reimbursement.
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Doctors from
the Oncological Center who tendered their resignations
last week stated today that they have presented their three requests to
Minister L. Gundalai and will return to work following the completion of their
demands.
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 Members of
the Democratic Party Executive Board in parliament and two independent members
of parliament signed on the petition letter to resign the current Government
addressed to the Speaker of Parliament Ts.Nyamdorj, and submitted it on Friday afternoon,
government officials said.
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Members of Parliament S. Lambaa, G. Adya, secretary
of the Ministry of Health B. Batsereeden and the head of the aid department of
the Ministry of Health Sh. Jargalsaikhan visited the State Oncological
Center Friday and blamed
the Minister of Health L. Gundalai for the current problems.
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Democratic
Party (DP) proposals and efforts to have the current government resign continue
to be delayed from within the party and face a lack of clarification within
parliamentary laws, say lawmakers.
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 117 doctors
and nurses from the State
Oncological Center
submitted their request to resign yesterday afternoon, a hospital source told
MonInfo Thursday. Today the doctors and nurses protested in the front of
the Ministry of Health placing signs on bulletin boards asking for Health Minister
L. Gundalai’s resignation and demanding to meet with him.
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“I don’t deny that there are members of NPRT's board who talk about
political party interests and work for the sake of the party,” said M. Naranbaatar,
Director General of Mongolian National Public Radio and Television (NPRT).
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 Victims
of bankrupt savings and credit unions, carried signs while chanting during a
protest this morning behind the government house. While victims from 22
different bankrupt institutions still hold one aim of being reimbursed, newly formed factions say
they will approach the problems differently.
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The
executive board of the Democratic Party (DP) has finished a letter asking for
the resignation of the current government, which has been signed by 25 members
of parliament and is now ready to be submitted, according to a DP official.
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 “In any
democratic society people are not content with their achievements,” Mongolian
President N. Enkhbayar stated in his speech during the opening of the fall
session of Mongolia’s
parliament Monday.
“We should
not belittle our achievements or shortcomings. We must start with government
officials and government organizations to fix our current state of affairs. The
current government has a rare opportunity to create sensible policies.”
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 Marking the first day of parliament’s fall session, victims
of bankrupt savings and credit unions (SCU) started a protest today at 11:00 on
Sukhbaatar square. Carrying signs and giving speeches on the parliament steps,
the victims said they are trying to submit the ultimatum to each individual 76
members of parliament.
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