China: the silent revolution in Mongolia - Resistance is growing

It's difficult to find informations on what's going on in Mongolia, moreover nobody seems to care as I haven't heard a word about it on any news media...
IMO, it's as important as all the other revolutions and unrests in the middle East.

1- Mongolian Herder Brutally Killed by Chinese Coal Truck Driver

Mr. Mergen, organizer of the Mongolian herders of Right Ujumchin Banner in Southern (Inner) Mongolia resisting Chinese coal miners’ destruction of their grazing lands, was brutally killed by Chinese coal haulers on May 10, 2011, after a day long confrontation between more than 40 local Mongolian herders and hundreds of coal haulers. Reportedly, Mergen’s body was dragged under the wheels of the first truck for 150 meters and then repeatedly struck by other trucks in the caravan.

Read the full article here

This man only wanted to defend its land to protest against the exploitation of mineral resources in its region. His death sparked an unprecedented revolt that last week that Beijing seeks to muzzle....




2- Thousands of Southern (Inner) Mongolian Students Take to the Street to Demand Herders' Rights

In the morning of May 25, 2011, nearly two thousands students from Mongolians schools including Shiliin-hot Mongolian High Shool, Shiliin-gol League Mongolian High School, and Shiliin-gol League Vocational School gathered in front of the League Government building at Shiliinhot, capital city of the League (equivalent to prefecture), to urge the Chinese authorities to respect the rights and dignity of Mongolian herders in Southern Mongolia.

A series of demonstrations and protests took place in the Leauge’s Right Ujumchin Banner since May 10, 2011 in response to the brutal killing of a Mongolian herder named Mergen by a Chinese coal truck driver (see above). The authorities however failed to act promptly to redress the herders’ grievances.[/ex)

Read the full article here

If the Mongolians get to uppity, the Chinese will do to them what they are currently in the process of doing to Tibet: deport the local population and send in ethnic Han immigrants to water down the dominant ethnicities.

Reuters have now picked this one up;

The official Xinhua news agency, in an English-language report, said the death of the herder had "led to heightened concerns over industry practices in the resource-rich region's mining sector".

"The regional coal mine industry bureau ordered local work safety watchdogs to strengthen supervision of the coal mines to ensure safe production practices, protection of the environment, and attention to the welfare of local residents," it said.

Inner Mongolia's governor, the ethnic Mongolian Bagatur, said the government would "leave no stone unturned" in their probe into mines which damage the environment or seriously affect residents.

Ethnic Mongolians, who make up less than 20 percent of the roughly 24 million population of Inner Mongolia, have complained that their traditional grazing lands have been ruined by mining and desertification, and that the government has tried to force them to settle in permanent houses.

Inner Mongolia, which covers more than a tenth of China's land mass, is supposed to offer a high degree of self-rule, but Mongolians say the Han Chinese majority run the show and have been the main beneficiaries of economic development.

Economic apartheid in Mongolia? In my opinion, forcing nomadic peoples into permanent homes is a human rights issue and I agree, this will largely be ignored by the rest of the globe.

Inner Mongolia is China's biggest coal producing region and the protests come as severe power shortages loom ahead of the summer peak energy season.

uk.reuters.com...

May 27 (Reuters) - China plans to raise total annual coal output to 3.79 billion tonnes by 2015, up 16.98 percent compared with the end of last year, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a draft plan for the coal industry drawn up by the National Energy Administration.

It said China will focus on developing coal production in regions such as Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Shanxi.

uk.reuters.com...