Mongolia Brief September 11, 2014 Part V

Peace Run participants head to Zamiin-Uud

By B. Tungalag

September 11 (UB Post) Mongolian athletes, participating in the worldwide run for peace, headed to Zamiin-Uud from Ulaanbaatar on September 10.

The torch of the Asian pacific region’s Peace Run came to Mongolia at Ulaan-Ude, Russia on September 3. The torch was passed through Khiagt, Selenge, Drakhan-Uul, Orkhon, Tuv, Govisumber and Dornogovi regions. It will be passed onto China on September 15 at Zamiin-Uud.

The international run for peace is to cross 140 countries and over 49 thousand kilometers. After travelling 19 thousand kilometers through the US, Canada and Mexico, the run torch is currently crossing Mongolia.

The Peace Run is a global relay, which promotes international friendship and understanding, founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987.

The Liberty Torch Run, a relay to mark America’s bicentennial in 1976, was the forerunner to this race. A team of international runners carried the torch as a symbol of friendship. The team currently includes runners from more than 100 countries.

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Mongolian circus artists taking part at IDOL 2014

September 11 (UB Post) Mongolian circus artists are participating in the contortion category of the second World Festival of Circus Art IDOL, which is taking place in Moscow, Russia from September 10 to 14.

Participants of the World Festival of Circus Art IDOL 2014 are young and already famous circus artists from 16 countries, namely China, North Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia.

Mongolian circus artists G.Nyamgerel and O.Tsetseglen are competing in the festival through a duo contortion performance.

The festival organizers are presenting a collection of best circus acts and attractions that passed the casting of the festival selection committee to the audience and international jury members.

The three independent international juries to judge the performances are professional figures of culture and the circus industry, representatives of the mass media, and the audience. After the competition programs, each jury will award their prizes to the winners of the festival.

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Zero Gravity

By B.TUNGALAG

September 11 (UB Post) Young artist G.Gerelkhuu is sharing his second solo exhibition, “Zero Gravity” at 976 Art Gallery, from September 11 to 21. His exhibition displays seven huge pieces created using traditional painting methods.

Tradition and modernity, and the conflict between the two, are depicted in G.Gerelkhuu’s work. His paintings narrate highly developed techniques created by humans and how they have influenced and changed our lives. Visitors will be able to see from “Zero Gravity” that G.Gerelkhuu is a wise observer and interpreter of the time in which he is living, as he highlights the imbalances of modern cities.
He lets us know and notice our unbalanced city lives.

Robots often appear in his creations. He explains that the robots are modern and employ highly developed technology and techniques. They are destroying traditional things, as well as our humanity.
G.Gerelkhuu has been painting in the traditional Mongolian style, called “Mongol Zurag”, since he was a young boy. He thoroughly enjoys painting Mongolian folk tales and images of different nomadic tribes, and developed a special passion for painting detailed and expressive images related to migration. G.Gerelkhuu is part of the Huvsgul Park Cooperative, which is located in a small village, and works hard to train local people to make traditional crafts and clothing in order to create employment opportunities, stimulate the local economy and preserve cultural traditions.

As Ian Findlay-Brown, the editor and publisher at Asian Art News and World Sculpture News, once reported, “Gerelkhuu Ganbold is an astute observer and commentator of his time. He gradually but forcefully makes us ever more aware of our surroundings in our precariously balanced urban life. He is unafraid to talk of alienation, violence, of the loss of traditions, of the suffocating crush of urban life, the indecision in society, and the pervasive influence of technology that makes us strangers to each other. By using his rich palette of gouache and watercolor, the artist enhances the action and leads us gently into a better understanding of his time and place.”

More information about the artist:

Education
2006-2010 Fine Art Institute, Mongolian University of Arts and Culture, Ulaanbaatar
2010-present Freelance artist

Joint exhibitions
2007- 2012- “Golden Brush” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2007- 2012 – “Mongolian Beautiful Country” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2007- 2013 – “Spring” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2008- 2010- “Naadam” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2009- 2013- “Mongol Zurag Society Exhibition” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2009- “Roerich” Roerich Museum, Ulaanbaatar
2010-“Portrait” UMA, Ulaanbaatar
2011- 2013- “Folk art festival” New Mexico, USA
2011, 2012- “Best artwork of the year” National Modern Art Gallery, Ulaanbaatar
2012- “Urban Narratives” Scoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong

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Cabinet reshuffle in the Government for Change

September 11 (UB Post) The head of the ‘New Government for Changes’, N.Altankhuyag, informed the public that he is going to reshuffle his Cabinet. This announcement pleased a lot of people.

The reshuffling will cover several ministerial positions and will lead to strong competition among the factions in the Democratic Party. They might already be planning to claim their desired positions.

A few hours before the Prime Minister made his statement, he met with leaders of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). The MPP concluded, “The 100-day economic program, EZEN-100, was not efficient, couldn’t fulfill 60 percent of 70 planned projects, and the economic situation has not improved. Honestly, it got worse.” They added, “The Democratic Party has to make Parliament responsible. Let’s see whether the Democratic Party is a responsible party or not.”

Fundamental issues

It is true that foreign investment has decreased, the USD exchange rate has gone up, and the prices of everyday products have increased. Of course, the government is working on fixing it. Just as you can’t build a house without a foundation, previous governments’ projects and decisions have greatly influenced this poor economic situation.

The first investment in Oyu Tolgoi has been spent and the underground mining operation has been delayed. These factors have affected the decrease in foreign investment.

The previous government distributed income from Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi to the public as a part of “Ekh Ornii Khishig” (National Monthly Allowance) during the election.

In relation to the long named law, “Law on Prohibiting Mineral Exploration and Extraction Near Water Sources, Protected Areas and Forests”, hundreds and hundreds of exploration licenses were cancelled, which also may have influenced foreign investment. It is also true that foreign currency earned is paying those debts.

Due to these factors, a decrease was shown in the results of the EZEN-100.

But, the ‘New Government for Changes’ is strengthening the law and legal environment, and economic conditions are improving. On the other hand, the government is at fault because it could not improve and foster the situation over the past two years.

Even though the economy has declined in some sectors, there were some successes in construction, roads and upgrade projects.

The Prime Minister emphasized what the government accomplished when he spoke to the public and wanted to remind people who are following only one view: that the government has not done anything.
The previous five governments built 2,300 km of road in 12 years and 800,000 square meters of apartments in a year, but the N.Altankhuyag-led Cabinet constructed 2,500 km of road in two years and made 1.2 million square meters of apartments available in a year. Chinggis Bond funding supported construction material factories and consequently, Mongolia is able to meet its domestic demand for cement and armature. We have to remember that everything has two sides.

Who will be caught in the Cabinet reshuffle?

The political and economic conditions in Mongolia show that there is no other way to do a Cabinet reshuffle. There are 16 ministries and 19 ministers in the government. That is why N.Altankhuyag feels that structural change is needed.

But, of course, he did not announce the members who would be leaving. Press organizations are putting forward predictions of the ministers who will be named. It is obvious that the relevant ministers have to take responsibility for the poor performance of the economy. Almost since the ministers were appointed, namely Minister of Economic Development N.Batbayar, Minister of Mining D.Gankhuyag, Minister of Justice Kh.Temuujin, Minister of Roads and Transportation L.Gansukh, and Minister of Health N.Udval, they have been heavily criticized.

The Cabinet reshuffling will take place during the fall session of the Parliament.

Source: Unuudur

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