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MONGOLIA: Over 50 demonstrators seeking fair private land reform arrested by police

November 13, 2002

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
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13 November 2002
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UA-54-2002: Over 50 demonstrators seeking fair private land reform arrested by police
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MONGOLIA: Mass arrests; denial of freedom of expression and association
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The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that, at 3 a.m. on 13 November 2002, more than 50 participants in a demonstration for private land reform were arrested and sent to the so-called &quot;Center of Identification&quot; located in Denjiin Myanga in the northern part of Ulan Bator. The police also blocked 11 activists in the building of the Democratic Party.
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Majority of those arrested were activists and members of the Democratic Party who supported the &quot;Demonstration with 100 Tractors&quot;. They were watching outside when police began to seize 30 tractors standing at the Sukhbaatar Square (or &quot;Freedom Square&quot;, which since 1990 has become a space for Mongolians to freely express their political views) while tractor drivers were resting at night. Meanwhile, about 50 police officers locked 11 activists inside the Democratic Party office, while police outside arrested those who exited the building.
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On 10 November, many tractor drivers, though facing many obstacles along the way, congregated at Ulan Bator to protest and demand for the fair privatization of land. However, 30 tractors standing on the Sukhbaatar Square were removed by the police during the operation.
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One of organizers of the demonstration condemned, &quot;I do not understand Mongolian rulers-ex communists, they are borrowing bad methods to fight against our rights to assemble and protest. I never saw so many police wandering around the buildings. I never imagined that police could arrest many people during midnight. Maybe such things happened only during 1937s- acme year of political repression. I am locked from inside and can't go out because I will be arrested right away&quot;
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Mongolia, traditionally a nomadic country with a population of 2.4 million and territory of 1.52 million square kilometers, is in the process of privatizing its land for the first time in its history. Several months ago, the State Great Hural of Mongolia adopted the Law on Private Land, which is to be implemented onward from May 2003.
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However, the Fair Land Privatization Movement opposes several key points within the present Land Law. They demand these be reconsidered so the land privatization would be implemented in a fair and constitutional manner:
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- A Mongolian citizen shall own the land, but not a family as it is stated in the law.
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- Land privatization shall be implemented by the separate commission, but not by the local administration.
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- No land redistribution including the forceful movement of city residents shall be made after land law was adopted and before it is implemented.
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- Farmland shall be divided randomly on by means of a lottery, but not by the local monopoly as it is stated in the law.
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- All citizens shall be allowed to own land equally, but not in an unequal way as it is stated in the law by allowing a similar size of land to each family, irrespective of family size.
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- All citizens shall be allowed a choice to have land once at any location of the country, but not as the present law allows free choice only urban citizens excluding rural ones to choose the land freely.
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These and several other arguments have been the cause of widespread discussion.
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Therefore, in order to express their views and gain the attention of both the government and public, the Fair Land Privatization Movement and the Mongolian Democratic Union jointly organized their first mass demonstration called &quot;Demonstration with 100 Tractors&quot; at the Freedom Square on November 4, 2002.
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REQUESTED ACTION
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Please send your appeal to the Mongolian authorities, to urge them to immediately release all detainees, guarantee the basic democratic standards of freedom of expression and association, and respect the group's views about fair land reform.
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SAMPLE LETTER (You may use your own words or use the following sample letter)
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Dear
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Re: Mass arrests of demonstrators who demand the Law on Private Land be reconsidered before implementation
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I have been informed that at 3 a.m. on 13 Nov. 2002 more than 50 people who were participating in a demonstration for private land reform were arrested and sent to the so-called &quot;Center of Identification&quot; located in Denjiin Myanga in the northern part of Ulan Bator. The police also blocked 11 activists in the building of the Democratic Party. I have learned that they gathered in Sukhbaatar Square to demand that the implementation of the Law on Private Land be reconsidered before it will be effect from May 2003.
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The mass arrests violate not only fundamental human rights, the freedom of expression and association, but also damages the international image of your country, which since 1990 had been recognized for the increase in Mongolian civil and political rights.
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Therefore, I urge that you immediately release all detainees and the views of the Fair Land Privatization Movement for a fair land reform be respected. Needless to say, I also urge you to guarantee the fundamental human rights, such as the freedom of expression and association, of all Mongolians in the future.
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I look forward to learning of your positive response to this matter.
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Thank you.
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Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEALS TO;
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1. Mr. Natsagiin Bagabandi
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President
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Government House, Ulaanbaatar-12,
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MONGOLIA
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Fax: +976 11 311121
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2. Mr.Nambar Enkhbayar
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Prime Minister
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Government House, Ulaanbaatar-12,
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MONGOLIA
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Fax: +976 11 328329
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3. Mr. Nyamdorj Ts.
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Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs
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Hudaldaanii Gudamj-61A, Ulaanbaatar- 46,
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MONGOLIA
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Fax: + 976 11 325225
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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-54-2002
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.