Speaking on behalf of the MPRP Managing
Council, the party’s Secretary-General, U.Khurelsukh, told a press conference
on Thursday that the ensuing 26th General Assembly would discuss other issues,
besides those related to changing the party’s name and ideology. As the party
that has been in power for 16 of the last 20 years, the MPRP will critically
evaluate the progress of the country. Since it hopes to be in power in the
coming years, too, it will also determine its policy in the next 20 years, he
said.
He made it clear that in the event of the
party changing its name, there would be no question of another party calling
itself MPRP. The party was called MPP when it was established in 1921 and among
its members were Bogd Javzandamba and Zaya Gegeen. The MPP added the word
“revolutionary” to its name in 1925. No political organization named MPP has
been in the register since 2002, so there will be no legal problem if the MPRP
were to claim the name now.
Members of the Managing Council answered
some questions from journalists.
What do you think about the recent
debate organized by former President N.Enkhbayar?
We had been invited to a previous similar debate and Secretary Ts.Sukhbaatar
had also participated in it, but this time there was no invitation. Party
members are free to gather and talk about the party affairs and ideology.
Have you taken note of the comments
and criticism of the party leadership in the debate?
We always take notice of criticism so that we can
improve our performance. Nobody is perfect and the party leadership can make
mistakes. We are not afraid of fair criticism but are not prepared to be
insulted. Patriots who gave their lives for independence and development were
all members of the MPRP, and no one should be derogatory to the party.
How do you react to the opposition of
former MPRP leader Enkhbayar to changing the party’s ideology?
He has revived his MPRP membership after stepping down as President. We give
him the respect due to a former President. We also invited his views as a
former party chairman and experienced politician on the change of name and
ideology. As a matter of fact, he had talked about reverting to the old name
MPP when he was party leader. We have always been behind him and also nominated
him for the Presidential election. Unfortunately he lost, but it was an
individual’s defeat, not of the MPRP.
What about the criticism that the MPRP is run by a
coterie and ordinary members’ views receive no consideration?
If there is no public debate, one will say it is rule by coterie. If there is
open debate, one will say the MPRP is full of factions. The record of the
coalition government shows how things have been run in a spirit of harmony.
Cooperation is better than criticism for its own sake.
