Unrest in UB*

Written July 7, 2008

When I arrived in UB three weeks ago (Wow, has it been that long?), even an outsider, with no knowledge of Mongolian could tell that an election was afoot. Political posters blanketed the city thicker than the dust from a dust storm.

Quite a storm was brewing. Out of power for the last 8 years, a coalition of democratic parties was trying to dismantle the ruling Communist party. The results were expected to be close. Bustling UB leans heavily towards the Democrats, while the other half of the populace in the countryside votes MPRP.

Since the election itself occurred while we were at the field site, news of the communist victory reached us slowly. Every Mongolian we were with seemed disappointed, but conversations quickly migrated to different topics. A few days later, however, the election was a hot topic around the camp. Through an e-mail sent by one of the American's father, we heard of the riots sweeping UB, the tanks rolling through the streets, and the 700+ arrested. From our quiet valley, we never would have guessed.

Much information is still unclear to me, but many of our Mongolian friends felt that the election was unfair. Our smattering of sources tell us that the MPRP has regained control. Since Nadaam (the national mid-summer festival) is between now and our return to UB, I feel fairly confident that we will be safe for our 2.5 days there.

With 2008 as an election year for the US, as well, this whole experience makes me feel lucky to live in a country where elections are (generally) fair. I pray the beautiful country of Mongolia will work out a political arangement to keep peace and progress.

[Appended July 14, 2008: Now that I'm back in UB, everything is safe and secure. The only visible remnants are a burned out building near the parliament and a few riot fences up around government buildings. Otherwise the city looks cleaner and greener (probably due to all the rain) than before.]