ULAANBAATAR, December 6. /TASS/. People are continuing to join the protest rally that resumed in central Ulaanbaatar, with the number of protesters approaching 1,000 by evening, a TASS correspondent reported from the site.
Protests in the Mongolian capital city are taking place for the third day in a row. On Tuesday evening, around 200 people gathered on the city’s central square and began marching along its perimeter. About an hour later, the number of demonstrators increased dramatically and they continued marching around the government building.
Protests in Mongolia’s capital city began on December 4, when people gathered in the central square demanding those responsible for exporting coal to China without any oversight from customs control, be named. The demonstrators claimed that there were high-ranking officials among them. In response to the protests, the government set up a working group for dialogue with the demonstrators. The group is chaired by the head of the secretariat of the Mongolian government and leader of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party Dashzegviin Amarbayasgalan. Mongolia’s parliament met for an extraordinary session to look at a possibility of introducing a state of emergency in Ulaanbaatar but as the crowd left the square peacefully it decided not to use this measure, deeming it unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Mongolia’s President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh voiced his position about the theft of coal, which originally triggered the protests, only on the third day of rallies. He suggested that open parliamentary hearings be organized.
"It would be expedient to organize open hearings on the coal issue at the State Great Khural (unicameral parliament) and inform the nation about their results. We must give an objective assessment of the situation and take legal responsibility," the president said in a statement posted on his official website.