Mongolia Brief October 9, 2014
Mongolia
at ASEP Meeting
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) A parliamentarian R.Amarjargal has taken part in the
8th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) Meeting which was held
October 6-7 in Rome, Italy.
Mr Amarjargal
gave a report on Mongolia’s development policy, economy and investments at a
meeting themed "The Role of Parliaments in Fostering Europe-Asia Dialogue,
Sustainable Growth, and Stronger Governance Structures". Then he reported
that Mongolia proposed hosting the 9th meeting of the ASEP in Ulaanbaatar.
With
parliamentary leaders and delegates from some 40 countries, the ASEP Meeting in
Rome discussed a structure of economic and financial governance and issues of
sustainable development and food safety. It released a declaration to be
submitted to the ASEM Summit.
ADB
Japan director meets State secretary of human development
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) A Country-director of Japan for the Board of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) Kazuhiko Koguchi held a meeting Thursday with the state
secretary of the Ministry of human development and social welfare of Mongolia
B.Otgonjargal.
They discussed cooperation
between the ADB, the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) and the Ministry.
The Japanese government has been cooperating with many countries on poverty
reduction through setting up assets to the ADB. Through the financing from
the fund, many projects and programmes on solving problems of Mongolian society
have been running successfully, some of them have shown results, for example, a
programme on promotion of employment of the disabled.
The State
secretary said she is grateful for the fruitful realization of programmes
targeted at vulnerable strata and the disabled, implemented jointly with the
JFPR, and added that the Ministry is responsible for a policy for these people.
“Therefore, we are working to strengthen a legal environment for protection of rights
of the disabled to involve them in social life and to inspire them with a faith
in life,” she said. She also expressed a willingness to cooperate with the ADB
and the JFPR on establishing a center for the disabled and to collaborate in
training the staff for the center.
She thanked the
guest for USD 1.5 million fund from the JFPR for the renovation of health
insurance services of Mongolia and promised to support the works for providing
health services for those who lack possibilities of getting medical help.
President’s
advisor addresses anti-corruption int’l forum
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) An advisor to the President on human rights and legal
policy Ch.Onorbayar has delivered a speech at opening of the “Open
Ulaanbaatar-2014” international anti-corruption forum which ran October 6-7 in
Ulaanbaatar.
“A society
based on freedom is always required to bear a respect for the justice because a
regime without the freedom leads to a dictatorship, whereas the freedom without
the regime causes wantonness,” he emphasized.
"As the
Mongolian President is leading anti-corruption actions, activities of the legal
and court bodies have gained some achievements, therefore Mongolia managed to
minimize its corruption index in the last two years,” he said.
The leader of
Mongolia put forward the “From big government to smart government” initiative
last year, "it aims to form a state concept based on clear researches and
is focused on services, and it respects the justice and bears
responsibilities. In frames of the actions, parliament adopted the law on
'glass' accounts, creating a development fund for localities. Another bill--on
public hearing--has been submitted to parliament," he said.
Saying that our
neighbour countries intend to the anti-corruption codex of economic cooperation
and developmental organizations, Mr Onorbayar underlined an importance of the
three countries' joining this codex in order to affirm their attempts to fight
against trans-boundary corruption.
Total
lunar eclipse observed
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) According to the Astrology and Geophysics Research Center,
a total moon eclipse started October 8 at 5.14 pm here. Known as a “blood
moon”--the moon turns red--the eclipse was observed at 6.25 in Ulaanbaatar
enduring for 59 minutes.
The
astrologists claim that lunar eclipses happen twice a year, this was the last
one to happen in 2014.
A lunar eclipse
happens only when there is a full moon. Eclipse of the moon is a phenomenon
that takes place as the moon goes under the shadow of the earth, and as a
result of refraction of red light in the atmosphere, the moon turns red. There
are two types of lunar eclipses--total and partial.
American
bear expert awarded honor
October 9
(news.mn) Dr. Harry Reynolds has been awarded with the Honor of Environment
Specialist in Mongolia for his efforts to save and protect Mazaalai, the Gobi
Bear.
State Secretary
of Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development J.Batbold at the 23rd
International Conference on Bear Research and Management in Thessaloniki,
Greece presented the award.
Since 2005,
American Dr. Reynolds has been conducting the joint Mongolian-American Gobi
Bear Project research project. He has worked mainly toward saving and
protecting the Gobi bear, or Mazaalai as it is called in Mongolian. He
has been working toward saving the Gobi Bear since he attended “Protection and
its management of Mazaalai” an international Conference in Mongolia in 2004. He
also gave up his position as President for Alaska Wildlife Associates &
International Association for Bear Research and Management for this project.
Dr. Reynolds
has devoted 40 years to bear research.
Calls
to save and protect snow leopards
October 9
(news.mn) There is good news about an increasing population of saiga antelope
in Govi-Altai province of Mongolia in recent years. Unfortunately,
poaching is still the most immediate threat to wild life today.
The
Environmental Crime Division of the Police Department were warned about crimes
of poaching saiga antelope in large numbers for their horns and entering into
the Chinese black market.
More cases
against poaching Mongolia’s wild life includes the trading of snow leopard are
being registered to this division of the police. Authorities are making efforts
to save and protect endangered snow leopards because only 800 of the species
are estimated to exist in Mongolia.
High
demand for workers
By A.
Burenjargal
October 9
(Mongolian Economy) A new, automated appeals system is up and running at the
Labour Exchange Central Office. According to the Office, the previous system
allowed only 400 people at most to appeal in a month. Since the introduction of
the new system last month, 3,800 people have appealed.
With the
automated system, individuals looking for work can search by job type a in any
given area. The search instantly finds job offerings and information,
categorised by districts.
The new system
has revealed the high discrepancy between the available workforce and the amount
of jobs available. “So far there have been about 3,800 people actively
searching for a job, yet job offerings reach about 90,000” says Ts. Enkhtuya,
Director of the Labour Exchange Central Office. “Jobs such as cooks,
accountants, engineers, welders, electricians, construction contractors and all
kinds of subsidiary workforce are in high demand.”
Gender pay gap
According to
recent data from the National Statistical Office, the salary amount for male
workers is higher than for female workers. On this matter Ts. Enkhtuya said,
“In terms of salary, it is similar for those working in government sectors.
Also, there is no big difference between specialised professions.”
Welders,
electricians and plumbers have a relatively high salary, and are mostly chosen
by men. Last summer, the average wage for an electrician was MNT 70,000 a day.
This is about MNT 2 million a month. Thus the salary gap between men and women
differ from what kind of job they have.
Taxation
Law to undergo a revision
By S. Az
October 9
(Mongolian Economy) Select members of the Parliament initiated and handed in a
draft for the revision of the Individual’s Income Taxation Law. The draft
called for the MNT 84,000 income tax deduction to be expanded to MNT 232,000.
With the
economic situation worsening, lower to middle income households have seen a
decrease in income, while the foreign exchange rate has increased. This
situation has netted a decrease in purchasing capacity for households. For that
reason, the draft’s associated parliament members said the revision was
necessary.
Taxing no less
than the minimum wage average, MNT 232,000, would enable citizens with minimum
wage to be exempt from income taxation.
According to a
recent survey by the Ministry of Labour, there are over 1.1 million active
workers, of which about 8.4 percent average the minimum wage. If approved, the
project would benefit low income households, said draft law initiators.
Asian
Development Bank Update on Mongolia
October 9
(Mongolian Economy) The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its annual economic
outlook publication, projects 6 percent GDP growth for the Mongolian economy in
2014, on par with the rest of developing Asia. Although the rapid economic
growth of previous years has slowed, the agriculture sector has exceeded
expectations, growing 16.3 percent in H1 2014. Major projects and continued
success in agriculture should raise GDP growth to 7.5 percent for 2015. “With
30 percent of the labour force engaged in this sector, the benefits accruing
from this growth are expected to be widespread,” the report states.
Mongolian
Economy magazine highlighted agriculture’s breakthrough and development success
in its latest issue. The ADB recommends increased diversification of the
economy to reduce vulnerability to mineral price fluctuations, advice that
comes on the heels of a foreign direct investment drop of 62.4 percent in H1
2014, mining projects on hold, and low commodity prices.
The ADB
approved of the recent tightening of the fiscal and monetary policy by the
government and central bank, suggesting further tightening to bring inflation
down to 9.5 percent in 2015, which would help narrow the balance-of-payments
deficit.
In Mongolia,
ADB has approved over USD 1.5 billion in financial and technical assistance
since 1991, and is committed to supporting job creation and economic
diversification.
Honorary
Consuls Representing Foreign States to Mongolia to Host First Conference in
Ulaanbaatar
October 9
(infomongolia.com) Today at 01:30 pm on October 09, 2014, the Conference themed
"The Role and Significance of Honorary Consuls in the Foreign Relations of
Mongolia" will begin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ulaanbaatar.
This is the
first event involving Honorary Consuls representing foreign states to Mongolia
organized by Institute for International Studies (IIS) and the Conference will be
opened by Foreign Minister L.Bold and key speech on “First Honorary Consuls to Mongolia
and the role and future opportunities” by Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of
Thailand to Mongolia L.Lkhagvaa.
After which,
lectures will be delivered by IIS Vice Director PhD A.Nyamdorj, Vice Director
of Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs N.Bataa and Honorary
Consul of the Republic of Chile to Mongolia D.Puntsag.
As of October 2014, there are 36 Honorary
Consuls representing foreign states to Mongolia:
1. Albania,
Jambaanyandag JARGALSAIKHAN, since 2013
2. Austria,
Davaakhuu SERGELEN since 2003
3. Belarus,
Luvsandandar KHANGAI, since 2013
4. Belgium,
Joel Cachet, since 2010
5. Brazil,
Zumbee KHULAN, since 2013
6. Chile, Dari
PUNTSAG, since 2009
7. Croatia,
Purevdagva BAT-ERDENE, since 2011
8. Cyprus,
Togmid CHULUUNKHUU, since 2012
9. Denmark,
Jambaljamts OD, since 2002
10. Estonia,
Lkhagvasuren KHULAN, since 2014
11. Finland,
Danzandorj BAYASGALAN, since 2008
12. Hungary,
Chuluun GANTULGA, since 2012
13. Indonesia,
Saldan ERDENE, since 2013
14. Iceland,
Magvan BOLD, since 2008
15. Israel,
Dorjpalam AMAR, since 2006
16. Kazakhstan,
Davaanyam ENKHCHIMEG, since 2012
17. Latvia,
Choimpog BAT, since 2014
18. Luxemburg,
Dashdavaa KHULAN, since 2008
19. Mexico,
Tumurdush NASANKHUU, since 2008
20. Monaco,
Tumendemberel BOLORMAA, since 2010
21. Nepal,
Bazarsad ALTAN-OCHIR, since 2013
22.
Netherlands, Ganibal AMARTUVSHIN, since 2014
23. New
Zealand, Chuluun MUNKHBAT, since 2014
24. Norway, Luvsanvandan
SARANGEREL, since 2009
25. Peru,
Khaltmaa BATTUUL, since 2012
26. Philippine,
Lkhagvasuren SELENGE, since 2013
27. Poland,
Dashdeleg GANKHUYAG, since 2011
28. Romania,
Ulziibat ODONSUREN, since 2009
29. Serbia,
Bavuu ZORIGT, since 2013
30. Slovakia,
Dugerjav GOTOV, since 2012
31. Slovenia,
Bayarbaatar BOLORMAA, since 2014
32. South
Africa, Bayanjargal BYAMBASAIKHAN, since 2012
33. Spain,
Magvan OYUNCHIMEG, since 2003
34. Sweden,
Luvsanvandan BOLDKHUYAG, since 2005
35. Thailand,
Lkhagvasuren LKHAGVAA, since 1997
36. Ukraine,
Purevsambuu BATSAIKHAN, since 2002
Related:
First conference for
honorary consulates of Mongolia to be held – news.mn, October 9
President
of Mongolia Appoints Envoy to Broaden Cooperation with Russia in Economic,
Infrastructure and Investment Sectors
October 9
(infomongolia.com) President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj temporarily appoints Mr.
Luvsandandar KHANGAI, who owns a diplomatic title of Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, as the President’s Envoy as a Head of Mission responsible
for Economic, Infrastructure and Investment issues in the Russian Federation.
L.Khangai was
born in 1956 in Ulaanbaatar. He holds degrees in law from National University
of Mongolia and political science from Moscow Social Science Academy.
He is an
experienced public official with rank of Senior Officer, who completed trainings
in Australia, Germany, South Korea and Sweden.
In 1979-1988,
L.Khangai worked as an expert and Head of a division at the Ministry of
Justice, Vice Chairman at the Secretariat of the State Baga Khural of Mongolia
in 1990-1992, First Under-Secretary General at the Secretariat of the State Great
Khural in 1992-1994, Director General of “Chinggis Khaan” Hotel in 1994-2000.
First Deputy Head of the Cabinet Secretariat of Mongolia in 2000-2005,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Russian
Federation in 2005-2009, and Head of “Russia Foundation” NGO since 2009.
President
Ts.Elbegdorj Urges Not to Appoint Parliamentarian as Minister of Government
October 9
(infomongolia.com) On October 08, 2014, President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj
received in his office the Heads of major Political Groups at the State Great
Khural (Parliament) to discuss about newly amended the Law on Government.
These political
groups were represented by Head of the Democratic Party at the Parliament
D.Erdenebat, Head of Mongolian People’s Party at the Parliament S.Byambatsogt
and the Head of "Justice" Coalition (MPRP - MNDP) in the Parliament N.Battsereg.
During the
meeting President Ts.Elbegdorj emphasized when to promote new Minister of
Cabinet, Heads of Groups should consider not to appoint a member of Parliament
and said, “From now on, we should stop of holding two posts simultaneously as
Parliamentarian and Minister.
However, it is
accredited by the law, but a parliamentarian should not to chair a Ministry
office and only Prime Minister can be a Member of Parliament. Therefore, please
re-consider this issue at the group meetings”.
Related:
President
underlines his opinions – Montsame,
October 9
Presidential
office head at Mongolian-German joint symposium
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) Head of the Presidential Office of Mongolia P.Tsagaan has
delivered a keynote speech at a symposium titled “A Dialogue of Political
Foundations: A state with judiciary and responsibility” which has been co-run
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Friedrich
Ebert Foundation and the Conrad Adenauer Foundation.
Mr Tsagaan
thanked these foundations for organizing such an event, dedicated to the
40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia
and Germany, saying that thanks to these foundations the German have been
closely contacting with Mongolia since our country chose the path of democracy.
"It was also very helpful in establishing the Democratic Party and shaping
our democratic political culture".
Mongolia is
decisively pursuing the path of democracy in the last 20 years and is
solidifying the state with judiciary and responsible government, "but
there are lots of work needed to be done, a process of forming a state and
shaping it has its own difficulties, weakness and deficiencies, for example,
matters on election financing and regarding it laws and regulations,' he
said.
The Mongolians
must have equal opportunity to run for elections at every level without any
financial barriers, "it is essential to separate money and business from
politics in order to strengthen our achievements of the past 24 years, and
parliament should not become a club of the wealthy, this is causing a problem
for those who endear their state and who stand for fairness." he
stressed.
Mr Tsagaan said
the President of Mongolia and many others are worried about this matter and
reminded that the President initiated a whole series of actions to reform the
judicial system, instituting responsibility mechanisms such as the Fiscal
Accountability Law (known in public as the Glass Account Law), Public Hearing
Law, and strategy to establish a Smart Government.
Mongolia and
Germany have a long and rich tradition of cooperation and friendship,
especially in education sector since our country’s independence, and Mongolians
want to bring European way of life and European standards to their country, he
noted.
Mongolia is the
fastest-growing economy in the world, he said and requested these foundations
to cooperate with German businesses to participate in our country’s
development. At the end of his speech Mr Tsagaan said he will work on
implementing the advice and proposals that will come from this symposium.
Emergency
management training runs for human development staff
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The Ministry of Human Development and Social Welfare and
the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) co-organized a subject training on October 2 for
the welfare groups. This took place in frames of the objectives of a newly
established Emergency Management Department at the ministry.
This department
was set in accordance with the Ministerial order of October 15 of 2013 with
purposes of organizing the planning and realization of emergency management
within the sector. The department should train cadres that will prevent
disasters, eliminate damages, take immediate reconstruction measures, and plan
and realize emergency management.
Present at the
training were the related workers, sub-group for protection of children,
sub-group for gender-based abuse prevention, and members of Youth counseling
committee. The ministry intends to organize same kind of training in the
future, as well as to prepare trainers.
The Emergency
Management group, one of the 12 emergency cluster adjustment groups in
Mongolia, is operating with guidelines from the UNFPA and the Ministry, along
with 24 member entities and 35 members, pursuing the emergency management
plans. The management group aims at demolishing the violations of human rights,
at preventing those situations without discrimination and at appropriate
timing, in accordance with the international law on human rights.
Finance
Minister about 2015 budget law
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The Minister of Finance Ch.Ulaan participated in the “30
minutes of Minister” meeting on Thursday, talking about a draft law on the 2015
state budget.
The submitted
to parliament draft has three features, he noted. Essential rights of
exploitation of budgets are transferred to localities' authorities, the capital
for salaries, pensions and allowances are increased 2.5 times or by MNT 500
billion, and this goal will be implemented in several phases without an impact
on the inflation rate, and the expenses out the budgets--sources of the
“Chingis” bonds, the Development Bank of Mongolia and capitals of
soft-loans--will go to the state budget, the Minister said.
The law creates
for the public conditions to monitor the budgetary expenses in frames of the
law on “glass” account. It also will not increase the tax sizes and will not
create additional taxes, he highlighted.
It is projected
that the state budget will accumulate revenue of MNT 7.2 trillion in 2015, the
expenses of 8.4 trillion will be financed. Investments for social development
will be augmented, he added.
Construction
of airport goes with 23 percent
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The construction of the new airport has been planned to
achieve 26.8 percent by the end of this year, now it has exceeded by 1.7
percent, the Minister of Road and Transportation A.Gansukh was told October 8.
Together with
authority of the General Authority for Civil Aviation he visited the airport
construction site in Khushig valley in Tov aimag. In frames of the
project, over 30 facilities are to be erected. This year, a construction is
being run of the main facilities such as a terminal capable of receiving three
million passengers per year, a runway to receive 22 thousand airliners to
depart and arrive, an air traffic control tower, Fire fighting and Rescue
departments buildings, electric fundamental and assistant stations, independent
water supply facilities, heating facility, and 1,490 meters long engineering
circuit tunnel.
The executor
organizations have completed earthworks in over five million cube meters of
space for the dam and the building grounds, which equal to 90 percent of the
total work. Only the runway cementation on 162 thousand square meters have been
completed, and are underway a 70-percent of casting the concrete, covering of
65.9 thousand cube meters of the runway, and 39.3-percent of steel reinforcing
of the main terminal building.
Premier
addresses International Nursing Conference
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag made the opening remarks
at the 3rd international Nursing Conference which kicked off Thursday in
Ulaanbaatar.
The conference,
co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of
Health in frames of the 85th anniversary of the Nursing School at the
Mongolian National University of Medical Science, has gathered over 20 foreign
scholars and 800 nurses and delegates of all hospitals.
“The public's
thought that a nurse is an assistant for a doctor only does not exist any more,
the science of nursing has already has become an independent branch,” the
Premier noted. The School of Nursing has some 32 thousand professionals,
"and its programme must be improved so as to prepare
internationally-accepted skilled nurses", he suggested.
During the
two-day conference, sub-meetings will run with topics on improving
interconnection between medical professions, augmenting a quality of nursing
aid and services, upgrading a nursing education, and on expanding training
system simulators.
University
of Law Enforcement awarded state order
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) Pursuant to a decree of the President, the University of
Law Enforcement has been awarded the Red Flag Order of Military Merit.
A head of the
Presidential Office P.Tsagaan granted the Order to the university and
congratulated its authorities on the event. The Order has become recognition of
this university's contribution to preparing skilled professionals for the
defense sphere, Mr Tsagaan said.
Mongolia-Finland
intergovernmental commission meets
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The 12th meeting of the Mongolia-Finland
intergovernmental commission for the economic, scientific, social and technical
cooperation ran Thursday in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ulaanbaatar.
The commission
meeting was co-chaired by S.Erdene, Mongolia’s Minister of Population
Development and Social Welfare, and by Matti Anttonen, the Deputy State
Secretary of the Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for external economic
affairs.
The parties
concluded an implementation of the decisions made at the previous
intergovernmental meeting, and considered issues of expanding the relations and
cooperation. They shared views on widening the cooperation in population
development, social welfare, trade, economy, infrastructure, agriculture,
health, environment, education, defense and justice spheres and discussed
future projects.
At the meeting,
the sides also agreed to establish a memorandum on cooperation in four spheres.
Mongolian
Ambassador addresses General debate of 69th UN GA
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) A Permanent representative of Mongolia to the UN
Ambassador O.Och has attended the General debate of the 69th UN GA to
expressed Mongolia’s position over international security and disarmament.
The Ambassador
noted that Mongolia considers the maintenance of international security,
disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as an important objective
of the multilateral cooperation. The country has been working to contribute in
the strengthening of the international security. Mongolia--on the occasion of
the International Day for Distraction for the Total Elimination of Nuclear
Weapons--will join the Ministerial statement, approving of the results of the
UNGA summit on September 26 and the seventh Ministerial Meeting on the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty (CTBT), he said.
Mentioning a
necessity of forwarding the talks on disarmament and non-proliferation of
nuclear weapons, the Permanent representative has expressed his belief that the
upcoming in 2015 Conference on results of the Treaty of the Non-proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will take decisive steps and bring achievements.
He also
informed about Mongolia’s leadership at the upcoming conference and expressed
an expectation for decisive measures from the member-countries of NPT.
“Mongolia
prepares two draft resolutions to the 69th session of the UN GA on matters
of international security, nuclear weapon free status, and nuclear weapon free
regions,” he said and appealed to all to support these drafts.
Stock
exchange news for October 9
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) At the Stock Exchange trades on Thursday, a total of 1,082
shares of seven JSCs were traded costing MNT 13 million 838 thousand and
350.00.
"Gobi”
/485 units/, “Talkh chikher” /380 units/, “Tavantolgoi” /70 units/, “Darkhan
nekhii” /70 units/ and "Material impex” /32 units/ were the most actively
traded in terms of trading volume, in terms of trading value were "Talkh
chikher” (MNT seven million and 600 thousand), "Gobi” (MNT three million
928 thousand and 500), “Darkhan nekhii” (MNT one million and 295 thousand),
"Material impex” (MNT 560 thousand) and "Tavantolgoi” (MNT 350
thousand).
The total
market capitalization was set at MNT one trillion 572 billion 639 million 732
thousand and 639. The Index of Top-20 JSCs was 15,696.18, decreasing 25.22
units or 0.16% against the previous day.
Youth
work on crop fields
By B.
Amarsaikhan
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) At the initiative of the Youth organization at the
Mongolian Democratic Union and with a support from Youth Wave Club, over 50
young people took part this week in the harvesting processes in Ugtaal Tsaidam
soum of Tuv aimag.
The overall
harvesting in the country has been going with 56.2 percent when the volunteers
arrived there. Their tow-day work was a bit touch because there was a 6-cm
thick snow, which covered major crop-harvesting regions of Darkhan and Selenge
provinces. The volunteers said that they intend to expand this action by
involving over 500 young people next year.
Bicycle
Parade approaches
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) In frames of the “Alcohol or Sports?” campaign from the
Mongolian Youth Union, a bicycle parade themed “Green street–Bicycle road” is
to be held this Saturday under the appeal “Good news, good parade”.
The Ministry of
Economic development will present the “Green street–Bicycle road” project
initiated after the “Street” project, on the parade. The action will open
at Chingis Square on October 11 at 10 am. The participants will ride to west
crossroad, then to east crossroad, and will return to the Square, after
covering nearly ten kilometers. The riders are required to wear safety helmets,
have front and back brakes, be older 15, otherwise be accompanied by adults.
The general
organizers of the parade are the Mongolian Youth Union, the Ministry of
Economic Development's “Street” project, a “Young cyclers club” at the
Ministry, the co-organizers are the Office of the Mayor and Ulaanbaatar Traffic
Police Office.
Sumo
World Championships to take place here
Ulaanbaatar,
October 9 (MONTSAME) The Sumo World Championships will be held for the first
time in Mongolia in 2016.
It was reported
on Thursday by Kyukushuzan D.Batbayar, a president of Mongolia’s Sumo
Federation. Together with him were O.Togoldor, D.Gankholboo, the MSF
secretaries; and G.Naranbat, a sumo world champion, at a press conference at
“Mongol News” info-center.
A bid for
selecting the host country took place August 29 of 2014 in Kaoshiung city,
Chinese Taipei, at which Mongolia defeated Egypt. It is expected that the World
Championship will be scheduled on July 30-31 of 2016 at the “Buyant-Ukhaa”
sport complex.
In frames of
hosting the World Championship, Mongolia proposes organizing World Cup of Top
Teams. Moreover, works have started to establish a sumo lyceum at the “Tsetsee
gun” institute, said O.Togoldor.
Mongolian
Academy of Sciences joins with Buryat State University
October 9
(news.mn) Mongolian Academy of Sciences joins into an agreement with Buryat
State University. The cooperation agreement further strengths and expands the
collaboration of sciences and education between the two countries. The
agreement was signed by the president of Mongolian Academy of Sciences and
academic B.Enkhtuvshin, Rector (President) of Buryat State University, EdD,
Professor and Corresponding Fellow of The Russian Academy of Education, Stepan
Vladimirovich Kalmykov. Both parties agree to exchange fellow teachers
and scholars, implement a collaborative project, and cooperate on a series of
research books within the five-year term agreement.
Mongolian
Academy of Sciences and Buryat State University have then agreed to create a
joint board to share experiences in the field of scientific achievement and
innovation toward earning a Sc.D. degree.
“Prime
Minister’s 30 Minutes” Changed into “Minister’s Hour”
October 9
(infomongolia.com) The Government of Mongolia has been organizing the "30
Minutes with Prime Minister" meeting on every Thursdays, so from today the
meeting is changed into "Minister's Hour" and the first guest was the
Minister of Finance Ch.Ulaan, who reported current socio-economic situation in
the country and tasks to carry out by the Ministry.
During the
press meeting, Minister Ch.Ulaan noted, “Cabinet submitted the draft bill on
2015 State Budget to the State Great Khural (Parliament) and there are 3
features to highlight.
First, the
budget expenditure privileges are transferred to provincial and smaller-level administrations.
Second, the
fund to spend for salaries and pensions is increased by 2.5 times or 500
billion MNT (Tugrug). This task will not affect negatively to inflation rate
due to implementation on step-by-step basis.
Third, the
consolidated fund from Chinggis Bond, Development Bank and soft loans is
included in the draft bill.
Moreover, taxes
will not be increased next year in any sectors. In 2015, it expects to collect
7.2 trillion MNT in revenue, whilst 8.4 trillion MNT to spend and we submitted
to amend in the bill to raise the debt ceiling, but it will not reach the 70%
of GDP.
Although, the
construction works will be continued normally and investments into social
development are increased”.
Immigration
Office of Mongolia Deports 130 Foreign Nationals
October 9
(infomongolia.com) On October 08, 2014, the Citizenship and Migration General
Authority of Mongolia (Immigration Office) deported 130 foreign nationals on
the ground of breaching the relevant regulations and rules.
In 2014, the
Immigration Office deported a total of 1,275 foreign citizens from the territory
of Mongolia, whose visa and residence permit cards were expired, who were conducting
activities differ from purposes and who were employed without authorized permissions.
Press
Freedom Under Siege
By B.
Khash-Erdene
October 9 (UB
Post) In this Special Edition of the UB Post, our team has examined the
challenges and shortcoming in Mongolia’s press freedom and obstacles
journalists face in their endeavor to provide accurate and complete information
to the public.
Mongolia’s
press freedom is facing a crisis according to Globe International Mongolia,
which works to sustain Mongolian democracy and civil society, and spread power
of information and knowledge.
By providing
information and expressing the voices of the public, the media ensures the
inclusion of the public in decisions and debates that form their lives. In a
democratic society, independent media is crucial for developing good
governance, fighting corruption, enhancing economic efficiency and stability,
and shaping public perception for a healthy and peaceful society.
The Media
Development Investment Fund underlined that countries with high political risk,
like Mongolia which stood at 83th among 165 countries listed in the Economist’s
Political Instability Index in 2010, stands to benefit most from the
“effectiveness of their media”. A 2011 econometric study of the impact of a
healthy media sector on the political risk condition of Sub-Saharan African
countries found that “The quantile regression analysis… suggests that a free
media and greater access to information has a greater impact on improving
political risk status for countries with high political risk situations than
for countries that are more stable.”
Ts.Baldorj, the
founder of the UB Post and Mongol News Group, once said, “Journalism is more
valuable than trade and is more powerful than nations. It is an art able to
move people.”
Sustainable
development is also something that can only be accomplished with independent
media. “At its heart, development – if it is to be sustainable – must be a
process that allows people to be their own agents of change: to act
individually and collectively, using their own ingenuity and accessing ideas,
practices and knowledge in the search for ways to fulfill their potential,” a
2007 Panos report highlighted.
This tool of
great power therefore cannot be in control of or influenced by the powers which
it must keep a watchful eye on.
Through our
investigation, the UB Post team has discovered serious threats to press freedom
such as laws that cripple free expression and access to certain information,
anonymous owners of media outlets in Mongolia that effectively influences
public perception, and violations to journalism ethics and copyrights.
In the age of
information, press freedom and freedom of expression is imperative. Free and
accurate information allows individuals, communities and nations to shape their
own fate.
We at the UB
Post acknowledge that sometimes, under pressure of deadline, we too fall short
of the standards we have set for ourselves and are subject to the same
shortcomings as our peers.
Mongolia is
often viewed as an exemplary democracy in the region by international
communities, but rarely is the pressure that media – as a voice of the people
or the “fourth estate” – faces recognized and acknowledged in the outside
perceptions.
By publishing
our Special Edition on Press Freedom, we hope that our readers gain a better
understanding of the challenges the press faces as we work to provide news
stories to our readers and shed light on unresolved issues, and we urge you to
stand with us in the fight for press freedom and free speech, for we are your
voice.
“By making one
part of a country aware of other parts, their people, arts, customs, and
politics; by permitting the national leaders to talk to the people, and people
to the leaders and to each other; by making possible a nation-wide dialogue on
national policy; by keeping the national goals and national accomplishments
always before the public–thus modern communication, widely used, can help weld
together isolated communities, disparate subcultures, self-centered individuals
and groups, and separate developments into a truly national development.”
- “Father of
Communication Studies”, Wilbur Schramm.
Press
Freedom Law: Debate continues
By D. Sergelen
October 9 (UB
Post) Concerns continue to emerge that suggest Mongolia’s current law on press
freedom does not go far enough to protect the rights of journalists to report
freely, local journalists have suggested.
The Law on
Press Freedom, composed in 1998, has long since been a sticking point for many
in Mongolia’s media industry.
“Some of these
clauses have been implemented very well,” T.Baasansuren, director of the TV9
television, explained. “For example, the state owned newspapers such as Ardiin
Erkh and Parlamentiin Sonin became public status newspapers.”
“But now some
members in Parliament want to privatize press and create their weapons to
protect them.”
Mongolian
President Ts.Elbegdorj would submitted amendments to the press freedom law to
Parliament during last spring session. Yet soon after, the President would
retracted the amendments, resting responsibility for the backdown with media
outlets.
The head of the
working group assigned to the bill, M.Ganchimeg, stated in an interview to
open.parliament.mn that “the President took back his bill because he met
protest and statements of media owners whilst it was discussed by the
government.”
“Generally, the
press law involves many people’s interests. The main reason why democratic
countries release press law is to guarantee public’s right to receive
information. The political, business and journalist have high interest on
passing this law but the media owners are treating this carefully,” she
explained.
The draft press
freedom law would not act to decriminalize defamation: a charge which could see
journalists and editors alike imprisoned and/or heavily fined, should they be
found guilty.
Internationally,
numerous countries have long since sought to remove defamation from criminal
statues. The International Press Institute, for example, has been appealing to
abolish criminal defamation, arguing that this discourages and punishes
critical reporting.
“[Yet]
Mongolian Journalist’s Union and other media organizations have hardly tried to
abolish criminal defamation clauses in the Criminal Code,” T.Baasansuren
said.
Mongolia’s
Press Freedom Law
1. The main
purpose of the law is to guarantee people’s rights to express their opinion and
voice and publish materials.
2. To prohibit
any law and regulations that restrict a free press.
3. Media
organizations are responsible for what that have published.
4. The state
organizations shouldn’t have own media.
5. The state is
not the organization that put control to media publishing and broadcasting and
won’t finance controlling activity.
Mongolia’s
flourish to social media
By B. Dulguun
October 9 (UB
Post) Social media and digital journalism is advancing rapidly and
progressively in Mongolia, leading some experts to evaluate this sector more in
depth.
Many
Mongolians, including prominent figures, have started to engage in social
media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, interacting with others on common
interests.
Print
publishing began in Mongolia over 100 years ago. Transmission of radio
broadcasts began some ten years later, explained U.Ganbayar, a board member of
the Website Association of Mongolia. Yet online journalism is a relatively new
medium – first introduced in 1995, the internet has played a key role in the
ongoing development of Mongolia’s media sector.
Television has
long since held prime position as the main source of news and information in
Mongolia. According to Mongolian Media Today, an annual report into the media
sector produced by the Press Institute, the internet is increasingly becoming
the main source of information for those in Ulaanbaatar. Last year 23.3 million
newspapers were sold across the country – an estimated ten percent decline from
the previous year.
Digital
journalism is increasingly contributing to Mongolia’s social development. More
and more Mongolians are using social media to freely express their opinions on
various topics, share information and even blog. People are more attracted to
salvaging their need for “on the spot” news about broad range of events
happening all around the world through online journalism rather than
comparatively slower news subscriptions.
The UB Post
interviewed Lisa Gardner, a journalist and media trainer currently based in
Ulaanbaatar, to comment on Mongolia’s journalism and social media. (Disclaimer:
Ms. Gardner also trains our staff at the UB Post). She responded, “As social
media continues to gather momentum here in Mongolia, we’re already beginning to
see a growing decline in news subscriptions. This holds significant
implications for the profitability of mainstream news outlets. What’s
especially interesting about Mongolia’s media sector at this point in time is
that, unlike in numerous other countries, we’ve yet to see a significant
decline in the number of available news outlets.”
She mentioned
that the number of news agencies in Mongolia has increased in the last five
years to a whopping five hundred outlets, which is an astonishing figure, given
that Mongolia’s population is so small. Gardner regards ‘free’ online news as
unsustainable over the longer term. “As such, as the market shifts, if news
agencies are to survive and flourish then they’ll need to aggressively consider
ways of making news here in Mongolia a profitable endeavour. People are
increasingly consuming news for free, online. We learn from examples elsewhere
that to ignore social media and the internet, or to survive – as many still do
– without a comprehensive digital strategy, will not delay this seismic and
inevitable shift in how people consume news. This requires that newsrooms
reassess how they both make and make money from news production. This makes
room too, for a much-needed discussion as to the value of quality
news-reporting [unbiased, transparent and ethical].”
In Gardner’s
view, this also means that news organizations will need to change their
attitudes about how they gather news. “For decades, Mongolia’s media was
consumed as a kind of “one-way message” – the reporter produces news, the
audience reads it, end of story,” she said. “Instead what we are now seeing is
a highly engaged audience: one that wants to engage with news-makers, will pick
up on news errors, and will argue the point with reporters and fellow readers
alike. In that, we’ve moved from a kind of ‘directive-issued-from-above’ means
of news production to a real dialogue, two-way discussion with local audiences.
This is a significant shift, and one that requires some adjustment in
prevailing attitudes, especially in traditional newsrooms.”
Mainstream
Mongolian news outlets are increasingly taking stock of the advantages and
pressures of online technology. Some publishing companies in Mongolia have
begun developing online versions, which allow a glimpse of the publications on
social media as well as online subscriptions for keeping up with the profit.
Gereg Magazine
is one such example: a weekly published magazine that covers various unique
topics. Gereg Managing Editor, J.Tegshjargal, explained how his team hopes for
their magazine to survive and flourish in Mongolia’s competitive publishing
market.
“Many new
magazines started to publish since around a year ago. At the moment, it’s true
that the market is shrinking. There is a different concept between reading
magazines and reading newspaper. From my observation, people who read magazines
are very few. We predict the people interested in magazines will increase in
three to five years. Some magazines will last while others will not. We’re
developing prospect plans to ensure our position among magazines that are still
operations at that time. We have few subscribers but it doesn’t mean we have
none,” he said.
Tegshjargal
also outlined the magazine’s moves towards digital journalism. “We plan to
develop applications for our magazine, but it’s not definite,” he said. “Our
main objective is to not lose our original content. Many publications provide
online versions as soon as it’s published. This itself is toxic for future paper
publishing and the company. Contents on paper and magazine will not be the same
to protect our readers and paper publishing operations,” he said.
In the digital
age, who is a ‘journalist’?
As digital
journalism develops in Mongolia, numerous press freedom issues arise. Both here
and elsewhere, questions arise as to the nature of “blogging” versus
“journalism”: who, in the online world, can be considered a “journalist”?
Just recently,
Mongolia encountered its first imprisonment of a blogger under criminal
defamation charges, the case of Ts.Bat, also known as Bat Engineer. Ts.Bat was
sentenced to 100 days in a penitentiary for badmouthing a senior government
minister on Twitter.
“In my view,
the ruling in Bat’s case, albeit one that was later overturned, also raises
significant concerns as to right to free expression here in Mongolia,” Gardner
explained. “These are rights stipulated in both Mongolia’s Constitution and in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Mongolia is a signatory.”
Tegshjargal
expressed a contrary view, highlighting the controversy surrounding the now
infamous case. “The court didn’t case this issue together with journalism. It
was spread on Twitter that Twitter was judged as a tool of the media during the
hearing but it’s false. It was outburst on Twitter so a lot of people
interpreted this as (what Bat had) tweeted… Defamation isn’t connected to
journalism.”
In the end,
it’s interesting to know that more Mongolian news outlets are being produced
and are fighting to preserve its traditional paper printing format despite the
speedy development of digital journalism. Digital journalism will probably
develop even further in Mongolia as more people access the internet for quick
news feed. It may be fast and capable of informing anyone, anywhere with
anything they want but it isn’t profitable. Publishing companies will have to
crack their brain to find solutions to make it more profitable.
‘Mongolian
journalism is in crisis,’ say advocates
By M. Zoljargal
October 9 (UB
Post) In discussion with leading press freedom advocate, Khashkhuu Naranjargal
Leading
Mongolian press freedom advocate Naranjargal Khashkhuu has described today’s
current media situation as one in “crisis”, that will require a complete reform
to be resolved.
Ms. Khashkhuu,
executive director of local press freedom group Globe International, explained
that the situation facing media in Mongolia is “complex” and that broad reform
needs to be initiated from newsrooms if circumstances are to improve.
“All newsrooms
should understand the core idea of what independent journalism is and its
professional standards in the first place,” explains Kh.Naranjargal to the UB
Post.
When
journalists are fearful and self-censor, issues surrounding journalism ethics
can sometimes fall by the wayside.
Media
management comes second in terms of importance to start the reform as few
journalists are powerless against fixed practices. In which case, “the first
thing that should be done is to check whether newsrooms have ethical codes and
editorial guidelines,” Kh.Naranjargal advises.
Advocates
highlighted concerns that Mongolian journalism commonly functions at the behest
of media owners – themselves, often high-ranking officials and prominent
business figures.
“The
International Federation of Journalists once said that there will be no
political independence when financial independence is not ensured. Mongolian
journalism is dependent on money which is leading it to malfunction,”
Kh.Naranjargal explained.
Echoing this
view back in December 2012, “most of the media outlets have been established
with investments of the wealthy and influential politicians who do not and will
not want to understand the point and purpose of media,” said J.Altangerel,
senior journalist at the Mongolian National Broadcaster and Head of the
Mongolian Parliamentary Journalism Association, to Zuunii Medee.
“Reform starts
from people, which means media management, especially human resources
management must be developed, followed by financial management. One journalist
can’t launch the reform. What will practically happen to you if you keep being
rebellious all alone in the newsroom is you get fired. That is why management
is so important that no newsroom is independent from it,” points out
Kh.Naranjargal.
Mongolia’s
media sector has quickly developed since the transition took place. Yet
advocates like Kh.Naranjargal feel that, despite Mongolian democratic
processes, this is no guarantee of a functioning “fourth estate” equipped to
hold consecutive governments to account. “Before, Mongolian journalism served
to the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party. Now, it is serving to whoever
isoffering money,” she added.
There are over
500 mainstream news outlets functional in Mongolia as of the first half of
2014, according to a report entitled Mongolian Media Today, published by the
Press Institute.
“Question rises
whether they are all operating profitable or not. They are either using paid
content or serving for a certain power. Who has the money to pay for those
media outlets? The government, political parties and businesses,” added
Kh.Naranjargal.
She explained
the reason why she believes the profit is not enough, “Total revenue earned in
Mongolia’s advertising market ranges between 20 and 30 million USD which is
clearly not enough to feed more than 500 media outlets in the country.” Each
year, the government allocates subsidies, via the state budget, to media
outlets. Yet is it unclear which outlets receive how much.
Business
companies are also providing advertisements under certain conditions which also
conflicts with press freedom, say advocates.
“The businesses
conclude agreement of corporation with media outlets in which the outlets agree
to not say anything negative about the contracted businesses in a blocking
clause. So this is why there is no way we can be talking about ethics when
journalists are tied like this,” Kh.Naranjargal underlined.
Press freedom
may be integral to democracy: yet here in Mongolia, there remains some
challenges before local press may be deemed “free”.
“It’s been 20
years since the democratic journalism has been introduced to Mongolia,”
Kh.Naranjaral concluded. “It is a rather short time for a shift from a
journalism which serves to power into journalism which serves the public
without dependence to the previous power it served to.”
‘Investigative
journalism is a courageous journalism’, a discussion with TV9 Director T.Baasansuren
By Ch. Khaliun
October 9 (UB
Post) Investigative journalism is a courageous journalism. It requires
braveness, allegiance and strength from journalists and news agencies in order
to hold the powerful to account.
“Investigative
journalism today is an order of Mongolia’s current society. Mongolian society
has become dirtied by corruption. Oligarch’s arrogance has exceeded its limits;
corruption and abuse is out of control. Given this, press freedom is important,
especially investigative journalism,” director of TV9 television and member of
the Mongolian Journalists Association T.Baasansuren noted.
“Because
Mongolian media ‘serves’ the politicians, journalists do not have right to
criticize them,” he explained. “We could say that the thing which should be
published or not depends on ‘their’ decision. Member of Mongolian Journalists
Association have shown that in countries where investigative journalism is well
developed, this demonstrates a country’s development, too. Where democracy
develops, so too should investigative journalism.”
“Mongolian
investigative journalists are working, for instance in the developing sectors
like mining, journalists have reported about many secret matters of Oyu Tolgoi,
Tavan Tolgoi or Khushuut’s mining deposit.”
“Yet in
Mongolia, investigative journalism cannot develop while journalists work under
‘someone’s’ pressure. Journalists should work together, and cooperate. They
should support each other. Recently Eagle television and some other newspapers
have started creating a team of investigative journalists with four to five
members, which shows the need of cooperation in this field,” he explained.
“In foreign
countries, almost every news outlet has a team of investigative journalists
inside. We are looking forward to setting this tradition in place in, Mongolia,
too,” T.Baasansuren emphasized.
T.Baasansuren
also raised issues surrounding copyright. In Mongolian journalism, content is
regularly plagiarised and re-distributed elsewhere.
For some in the
media sector, problems arise not as a result of domestic laws, but simply, in
implementation. “The [copyright] law itself is really good, it doesn’t need
improvements or amendments. The reason its not working in the journalism sector
is because journalists not complaining that someone ‘stole’ their content” says
T.Baasansuren.
Despite
journalism codes of ethics that often, explicitly state that material is not be
copied or redistributed without payment, these codes are regularly “broken” in
favour of convenience. To counter this, T.Baasansuren suggested that
journalists might consider applying to the Intellectual Property Office in
order to ensure that their original work is deemed their own.
“Others like
writers, painters, artists, composers often applies that someone stole their
work, but not journalists,” he said. “Journalists just don’t care about their
works, even if they find out that someone copied their work they don’t care,
that’s the problem,” T.Baasansuren suggests.
“If the work is
really good then journalists should register their work at the Intellectual
Poverty Office and get patents and certificates. Once you get a copyright it is
valid a lifelong and during 50 years after the death,” he says.
Yet it is
unclear whether this is an especially feasible option for journalists. Would
patent need be issued every time a journalist publishes an article? Is this the
only option that journalists might seek out in order to ensure that their work
is covered by legal protections?
The UB Post
contacted the Intellectual Property Office on numerous occasions to seek a
response to these questions, but did not receive a response.
‘Media
are strangling their own freedom’
By B.
Khash-Erdene
October 9 (UB
Post) The UB Post spoke to Deputy
Director of News.mn D.Narantuya about online journalism, press freedom and its
challenges. News.mn is Mongolia’s largest news website that pioneered online
journalism in the country. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
How does online journalism differ from
other media outlets in Mongolia?
I don’t think
online journalism differs from other forms of journalism at all. It’s [only]
the distribution that is different.
Does it face the same difficulties as other
media outlets like television and print media?
We distribute
news much faster than television, which has dominated news distribution in the
last 30 to 40 years. Amidst this haste and competition to deliver news faster,
we tend to lose quality. Neat and tighter presentation can also suffer but our
news room obviously works to eliminate this factor. I think this issue covers
all online media throughout the world that aspires to deliver timely news
coverage.
I think the
biggest shortcoming in online journalism is that, in our haste, we tend to lose
our thoroughness and responsible coverage. This is what we are regularly
criticized for.
So most of your difficulties arise from the
fast paced news delivery?
Compared to
newspapers, we are more dependent of technology and hence we have to pay
special attention to cyber security and technology.
News.mn is the
first site that is based on software developed by Mongolian programmers. Many
others have started to follow this trend… Software needs to be upgraded
regularly.
Your site was recently hacked. Can you tell
us how you deal with these issues and work to prevent them?
Content and
security has to have equal 50-50 significance in online media… We contract a
company to prevent [attacks]. We only produce content.
Since your site is based on a newspaper
newsroom, does that mean that content creation is the same as a newspaper’s?
Of course it
has some differences. Our main objective is to be fast. One advantage of online
media over print is that, say that there is news that there is fire, we have to
report first that there was a fire and update our news as the journalists find
out more. This is a huge advantage over newspapers. The fact that we can update
is a benefit. In newspapers, all that information is bundled together.
Often [consumers]
have already received that information on TV the night before or seen it
online. Because of this, we had to close our daily paper two years ago.
Online journalism is relatively new in
Mongolia. What is the revenue source of your website?
We live completely
on advertisement revenue. When we tell people about this, they are very
surprised.
Almost all of
the international journalists I met have told me that there aren’t any news
websites whose only source of income is from advertisement. They are very surprised
that we can sustain ourselves from [advertising] alone.
Our site is the
first news website of Mongolia – this is probably our advantage. There have
been many websites with similar goals as ours. But from my view, I do not know
of any that is as successful as ours in terms of economics.
Does your website have subscription or is
all of your content free?
We have no
subscription and all our content is free.
Have News.mn staff experienced censorship?
For instance, are there some issues that you can’t report on?
No, we don’t
have such things. But obviously we have to adhere to our ethics. We are
providing information and shaping public opinion, so we have to be responsible.
Ethics is our only censorship. We always strive to be careful about sensational
stories. This is our principle.
Most media advertisement contracts in
Mongolia include blocking clauses that prohibit reporting of negative stories
about advertisers during their contracted period. You said that News.mn derives
all of its revenue from advertisement. Do your advertisement contracts have
such blocking clauses?
We have them
just like all other media organizations. I believe that all these defects in
development will be fixed in the future. Because the press isn’t developing as
it should because fair competition isn’t here.
The fact that
the people, journalists, and even politicians have started to talk about what’s
wrong in the media is an indication that it will get better.
Eventually
these contracts will not be formed and the fair and free market principles will
be upheld. For now, however, these issues aren’t likely to end.
Does that mean that News.mn doesn’t write
about the companies that have advertising contracts?
I really have
not seen for myself whether there were blocking clauses in our contracts, this
is our marketing department’s responsibility.
For instance,
if there was a fire at a construction, there are instances where the marketing
department have said that we have contract with them. In these cases we have
position that we will report the event.
Does that mean that you don’t mention the
company’s name?
Of course we
have to name the company because it is true that the company built that
building. It is a proof. So this issue could cause conflict with our marketing
department. I firmly believe t your UB Post isn’t all that pure and
untarnished.
Mongolian media know well about aviation
engineer and blogger Ts.Bat’s defamation case. What is your stance on the
issue? Do you think that people should be imprisoned for defaming high ranking
officials or do you think some other measure should have been taken?
I expressed my
position on the issues on our site after [Ts.Bat] received his sentence. In
general this issue shouldn’t have taken place in Mongolia. There were many
critical but unresolved issues arose surrounding this issue.
Firstly,
Twitter is not a public press tool. Anybody can express any opinion on this.
The fact that state is interfering and censoring is something very adverse.
Secondly, the fact that a high ranking state official took somebody to court
for expressing their opinion is unprecedented in Mongolia. This cannot happen.
And the fact that court pressed charges is also something that has never
happened before and cannot be.
Under Mongolian law, journalists can be
imprisoned for “defaming” somebody and the investigators don’t investigate
whether a certain story written by a journalist is accurate, but whether he
defamed someone. What’s your stance on this issue?
The press and
media have been talking about eliminating defamation from the Criminal Code of
Mongolia for many years. Currently, the relevant people are apparently working
to change the law, but so far no changes have been made.
In Ts.Bat’s
case, that precise clause [on defamation and libel] was used. He should have been
sentenced if he used the press to defame, but Twitter is not the press, and
nowhere around the world views it as such. So the case was an issue based on
the interests of power holders, in my view.
The State Secrecy Law is also a concern for
press freedom. Some clauses in the law doesn’t differentiate between requesting
and receiving information on certain matters, meaning that the simple act of
asking for certain information could warrant legal action. This law is in
conflict with the recently approved Law on Information Transparency and the
Right To Know. What is your position on this?
I don’t recall
anything about being imprisoned for requesting information. But in general, the
State Secrecy Law is a complicated law, especially for somebody like us who work
in the media. Aside from this law, the Law on the Right to Know was approved.
But the law’s implementation requires many steps.
The law isn’t
for only the press but also regular citizens, but we can use it. The
implementation of this law must be provided now. Soon after the law was
enacted, our newsroom managers were very happy with it and we decided to test
its implementation.
We sent two
official requests for information to a ministry and a government agency. They
are supposed respond with around work ten days and we waited but they replied
that the information cannot be provided. They replied much much later than the
legal required time, after a month or so.
To use this
law, all who are concerned, especially journalists, should unite their voices
and efforts for its implementation. The difficulties of trying to find
information has to be proved and the law’s implementation should be pushed
harder.
So the
implementation is bad but the fact that the law was approved is a step towards
the right direction, I think.
Do you think this current government is
more open and transparent with their information, or is it more secretive?
In general
there isn’t much difference. They have the same method of doing things. From my
experience, the government has never been open with information. Journalist’s
duty is to open what is closed. In my view, the last three governments have
transferred to a simpler method by resolving everything with money. This is
related to the country’s economic growth and also the fact that the objective
of media owners has changed. For instance, in the 90’s, the state budget didn’t
have much and nobody assigned money because they didn’t have money to silence
[the media], there weren’t so many media. So these things have changed, and the
saying, “thief’s method is improving” is ringing true.
Many Mongolian politicians say that foreign
media are running “black PR” against the government. For instance, if some Oyu
Tolgoi disagreement arises. Do you think there is this negative coverage about
Mongolia or is this a politician’s way to dodge responsibility?
I understand
why you asked this question, because before working here, I worked for
[state-owned] Montsame’s Mongol Messenger. This question also arose there.
Mongolians
often think that a foreign journalists are always better than ours. From what I
know, some unknown foreign journalist came to Mongolia and even managed to
interview the Prime Minister in the 90’s. Mongolia njournalists are always
barred from interviews and meetings but foreign journalists are not.
Secondly, since
the start of these big mining projects there have been targeted coverage of
Mongolia. It is true that the unknown foreign journalists I spoke of earlier
are utilized…. Medium level politicians also reveal information to foreign
journalists because they want to sound important or whatever.
Therefore it is
important to have policy on the information provided about Mongolia to the
world at large. I’m not talking about censorship but this policy is important
for representing the image of our nation and significant for further large
scale projects to progress. Mongolia has never had a policy on this, as far as
I know; as back as the 1990’s.
There is of
course Montsame Agency but it is a state funded organization. It is a [media] that
violates the law, which says that the press cannot be funded by the government.
The Mongolian National Broadcaster gets its funding from the state because a
special law was enacted to accommodate this. Among them is Montsame.
In this day and
age, countries wage war through information. Taking up arms against each other
doesn’t happen anymore. So the time has come for our country to exercise a
policy over the information provided about us to the world.
The Press Institute is working to create a
Press Council, through their Press Club. Can you tell us about this and in what
capacity will News.mn work with them?
Some
journalists came together as a club to establish a Press Council around ten
months ago. We united under the view that a Press Council is needed in
Mongolian media. But Mongolian journalists have a misconception about its
function: mistaking it for the press literature censorship board that existed
before the 90’s, when all media, newspapers, radio and television had to have
their editions and scripts approved.
The council
intends to discuss whether journalistic ethics are followed by media. This is
more beneficial to the public, moreso than the press. So if a person submitted
a complaint that said this journalist breached the ethics, the council will
discuss whether that really occurred.
The council is
supposed to push the press to become more ethical and adhere to its guidelines.
And in the end, the press and society has most to win from this.
But the council
is viewed as a tool to get one over each other by media owners especially. So
we are very worried about this misconception.
The council is
the next level for our club and we want to work with media owners. I wish they
would view it as something that is beneficial for them, because it is.
How do you view Mongolia’s press freedom?
We have enough
freedom. But journalists and media organizations are strangling their own
freedom themselves.
How so?
The fact that
they are led astray by money is strangling their freedom. They are doing it
themselves.
So they censor themselves?
Yes. So if I
took money from you and said I won’t write about your stuff, I’m silencing
myself.
How do you see the future of media
development? Do you think the number of media outlets will decrease in the
future?
If media was following
the fair principles of the market, the current huge number of media outlets
cannot exist. I believe that in 10 to 20 years, there will be two to three main
TV channels, maybe three to four daily newspapers, and around two news sites as
big as our site. But obviously there will be room for some smaller media
outlets that are specialized. For example there is room for media focused on
health and construction. This is the capacity for our population and nation’s
size.
At the moment,
it is quite disorderly. It is curios that they manage to live on. When you
think about it, they’re not living on subscriptions, not audience numbers, and
advertisements, which focuses on pressuring on smaller media to write good
things about them rather than advertising on the media with the largest number
of audience.
For instance a
company head could demand a contract from news outlets in return for buying
certain number of newspapers. This currently takes place. But I think it will
improve and I don’t think this will go on much longer into the future.
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