Following
the publication of an account in The Guardian (reported in this website
yesterday under the title “British
paper writes on Mongolian ultra-nationalists”) Michael Aldrich, calling himself
“a regular visitor to Mongolia since 1993 and a resident in Ulaanbaatar over
the past 18 months”, wrote to the British newspaper to say he had found the
skewed depiction of life here to be demeaning and unfair to Mongolians.

He
said Mongolian society certainly faces challenges and there is a small handful
of malcontents who make up these rightwing fringe groups. Their influence,
however, has been steadily on the wane for years. Yes, Mongolians are worried
about China”s economic might. Their past as a former colony of China and the
present circumstances of their cultural cousins in Tibet give rise to
justifiable concerns about the long-term intentions of their southern neighbor.

Yes,
there is a strain of prejudice against China, as shown in a hip-hop track Don”t
Go Too Far, You Chinks with its distasteful chorus “shoot “em all”.
This hateful song, however, is not “widely played in bars and clubs”
as the article suggests. Mongolians find it repugnant. Yes, Mongolians are a
proud people. They have to be; there are precious few foreign Mongolophiles
around who sing the praises of their culture and history.

However,
the description of rising xenophobia on the mean streets of Ulaanbaatar simply
does not gel with my own experiences of an open and hospitable people who are
keen to adopt international business standards, who share our values of free
speech and participatory democracy, and who are anxious to be seen as members
of the international community.

Mongolia
is the unsung success story of Asian human rights. The country made a bloodless
transition to democracy in 1990 and has never made any move to repudiate
participatory politics. Attendances at Buddhist temples, churches and mosques
reflect the complete revival of religious freedom. The good, the bad and the
ugly of Ulaanbaatar”s daily newspapers reflect the national commitment to
freedom of expression. Mongolian business people wish to abide by international
standards of conduct and are proud of a commercial environment where foreign
investment is warmly welcomed. Mongolians have every right to feel proud about
their country and often say that they are “the easternmost extension of
Europe”. In terms of our higher values, they are.