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The chaos theory of Mongolia

I returned to Mongolia 15 years ago after an absence of 13 years, save for the occasional 2-week leave from work, and that time I spent a semester and a half at a local university drinking endless cups of brown, watery 150 Tugrik instant MaCcoffee at the café strangely, or perhaps egotistically, named "In my memory", writing the first and so far the only book that got us into trouble with the local intelligence who apparently had little else to do than to pore through the ramblings of teenagers to catch the tell-tale signs of drug dealery. But I digress. When you visit a country for a short period, be it home or not, you hardly have time to immerse yourself in the spirit of the country and the city and feel the nitty gritty and dirty shiny of it all. So after 13 years, it took me a while to readjust and finally understand what the hometown of my childhood had become.  The most striking, ubiquitous, and inescapable feature was and still, unfortunately, is the traffic. In 2008,
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State of Emergency Aftermath

So they have been cleaning up the riot scenes and report to have removed 5 tonnes (!) of rock and stones. News.mn cites this as another evidence of a pre-meditated attack, as the nearby construction site could not have held 5 tonnes of rock. Reminds of people who bring tomatoes and rotten eggs to concerts and games.

And now the hunt for the guilty has begun. J. Batzandan, chair of Civil Movement, and O.Magnai, deputy chair of Civil Movement party, are being questioned for their part in the riots. The police took Batzandan's statement, and has detained him at "Gants Hudag" detention centre, where he is reported to be on a hunger strike. O.Magnai is to be questioned today. It looks as though criminal charges may be pressed against them.

Meantime, Ts. Elbegdorj, defiant as ever, denies rumours that he is being replaced as DP party chairman. E.Bat-Uul's profile on the other hand has improved significantly due to his foresight in urging for a closed Parliamentary session. E. Bat-Uul is next in line for the party chairman seat.

The National Chamber of Commerce & Industry is organizing a charity concert on 8 July at UB Palace club to raise funds for the arts / cultural institutions that suffered losses during the riots. The concert is very inappropriately named "The Flame of Arts Will Never Be Extinguished" (literally translated, it reads "The Fire of Arts").

In a Saturday interview with the press, PM S.Bayar has said that despite their differences, the political parties are trying their best to cooperate and find a lawful and peaceful solution to the election disputes. He speculated that the attack on the MPRP building may have been pre-meditated, as the rioters stole hard disks containing many important information and documents. He has also expressed his concern for the country's youth, citing the number of underaged involved in the riots. Bayar stated that the MPRP is prepared to cooperate with other political forces and carry out vote recounts in constituencies with disputed results, or even hold a re-election if need be. Lastly he mentioned that he does not blame or target any political party for causing / inciting the riots, but added that the situation may have been caused by the petty attitudes of certain politicians. (Source: Unuudur).

The foreign press have started looking for the underlying causes to Tuesday's riots. Some links:
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