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Mongolians protest for new
poll
Activists in
Mongolia are calling for fresh elections and have
demanded an end to official corruption.
From www.bbcnews.com
From www.bbcnews.com
 They
held protests outside parliament in the capital Ulan
Bator on Friday, and say they have more planned.
The action appears to have been inspired by the
situation in nearby Kyrgyzstan, where the government
has been ousted by a popular uprising.
Protesters wore yellow scarves and
chanted slogans
Mongolian Prime Minister Tsakhilganiin Elbegdorj has
appeared on national television to appeal for calm.
One protester said another demonstration was planned
for 7 April, the day parliament is due to open its
Spring session.
"We will gather more people and we will hold more
street demonstrations," said J Batzandan, a
30-year-old lawyer and university lecturer.
During Friday's protest in Liberty Square in Ulan
Bator, demonstrators waved flags and chanted: "Let's
congratulate our Kyrgyz brothers for their
revolutionary spirit. Let's free Mongolia of
corruption."
One report says as many as 5,000 protesters gathered,
but other eyewitnesses say the demonstrators numbered
only a few hundred.
They are disputing the results of elections in June,
in which the governing former communist Mongolian
People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and the opposition
Democratic Coalition accused each other of cheating.
Protesters also accuse officials of embezzling 3.5bn
tugrik ($3m) during the elections.
Mongolia is a former communist nation that introduced
multiparty democracy in 1990.
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