 Ulan Bator returning to normal after riots
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-04 07:42 Mongolian officials cleared away debris left by a night of deadly riots as parliament convened an extraordinary session yesterday to decide how to move forward after violence over alleged election fraud. The violence that followed Sunday's vote has dampened hopes for a period of stable government to develop the mining sector and tackle inflation in the vast but thinly populated country, strategically located between China and Russia. "The parliament has debated the declaration of the state of emergency by the president and has approved it," said parliament speaker Lundeejantsan in remarks carried on state television. The capital Ulan Bator was calm after President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared four days of emergency rule from Tuesday night to quell rioters who threw stones, smashed windows and set the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) on fire. The mayor of Ulan Bator said city officials were clearing away about 40 tons of debris left by the rioting, which was sparked by anger over perceived unfairness in the parliamentary election, the fifth since Mongolia broke free of decades of Soviet influence in 1990. International observers say the vote was largely fair. The General Election Committee announced preliminary results on national television late on Wednesday. They did not say specifically to which parties the winners belonged, but according to calculations, the MPRP won 45 seats, giving it a comfortable majority in the 76-seat parliament, or Great Hural. Agencies (China Daily 07/04/2008 page12) |
