Mongolian Democratic Revolution: Timeline of Mongolia's Democratic Revolution 1989-1990

By Dulguun Maidar

Mongolia's democratic revolution and first democratic election ended 70 years of communist control and ushered in a new period of pluralism from 1989 to 1990. Although the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party won the election, the ruling party's head, G. Ochirbat, stated that one person's grip of power will not be repeated, and that a coalition government will most likely be created in the nation. The Mongolian Communist Party is divided into various groups. While one group is rejecting change, another is grappling with the need to accelerate political change. Newly created parties, selected their own MPs. This is a wonderful first step in the growth of democracy.
For example, the chairman of American experts stated that there were no abnormalities in the vote's final results. According to British observers, there was no attempt to frighten voters. It might be argued that voters in Mongolia voted for parties rather than particular candidates in this election. The first election in 1990 marked the beginning of democracy in Mongolia, and this book seeks to chronicle events leading up to the election in chronological sequence, from December 1989 to October 1990.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dulguun Maidar
• Release date: Aug 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9791222433851

Book preview

Introduction

(Mongolia prior to the reform revolution / Critical factors that influenced the political shift)

Since the mid-1980s, favourable conditions of the revolutionary change and reform processes have been forged in Mongolia and it can be rightly said that this was directly influenced by an innovative environment created in the Soviet Union. And it was normal for any events taken place in the Soviet-bloc countries usually replicated like echoes in Mongolia. Due to the efforts of Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, who intended to revive the stagnant economy and change the political processes in the northern neighbouring country, some new terms like perestroika-restructuring and glasnost-openness were heard. Consequently, the meaning and essence of these words attracted Mongolian people and society.

Although new processes were not that consistent with interests of conservative leaders of the Mongolian ruling party, they did not have any chance to criticize or reject the innovative theory and practices as they used to follow the big brother (Russia) as a rule. The Soviet Union, that led the socialist-bloc countries and acted as a leading force of the world communism evaluated its nearly 70 years of socialism-building path in an innovative way by making fundamental changes in identifying the concept of foreign and domestic enemies. Meantime, famous Soviet writer Ch. Aitmatov’s statement at the Congress of People's Deputies of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics saying that real socialism can only be found in the countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria made Mongolian people re-think and challenge the previous concepts and social beliefs.

Usual efforts were made just to copy or imitate the reorganization in Mongolia in a superficial form, as before. However, under the pressure of time and circumstances, new wave towards changes has been noticed in the press and media through critical articles on the political, economic and social policies. Innovative and critical articles were published on the topics of reviewing and developing history and culture, bringing agriculture out of stagnation, and protecting the environment. For instance, the article Give Livestock to Herders published in the Hudulmur-Labour newspaper, a radio program Mother-Lake on the Scaffold criticizing the plan to build a huge phosphorite plant on the shore of Khuvsgul Lake, which may have negative effects on the environment and economy, became hot topics of public discussions, demanding participatory policy reform for the common cause.

The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party recognized the existence of pluralist views in the society and had to support the realistic approach towards the vital and important issues of the country's prosperity. The ruling circles had to review their development agenda and identify priority areas towards improving human capacities, promoting economic reform and potentials, protecting environment, reviving history, culture, and traditional medicine. However, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party was too cautious to take significant steps towards changing the stagnant governance and administrative system in the country. Due to the absence of a comprehensive and innovative development concept, the party could not attract and lead the minds of general public towards the expected results, unfortunately.

Most of the laws passed hastily by the party leadership and legislators represented the interests of narrow circles of individuals and due to the lack of coordination; they served creating new ways of bureaucracy rather than changing old, ineffective legislative mechanism. These processes could not unfortunately meet the public expectations hoping to change social life and political system in the country. However, the situation continued as such even after the 5th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party held in 1988.

At the same time, perestroika started in the countries of the socialist commonwealth such as the Soviet Union, German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia demanding political and economic reform and the pillars of totalitarianism began to shake one after another.

Mongolian political situation between December 1989 and April 1990

At the National Conference of Young Creative Workers held in Ulaanbaatar mid-November 1989, a group of writers and journalists agreed to establish an organization which could intensify economic reform and promote democratization processes in the country. This group decided to invite S. Zorig, 27, politologist and professor of Scientific Communism of the State University, who was undertaking studies on the improvement of the state political system of Mongolia, for the discussion and his advice. They then worked on an action plan for speeding up the political reform processes and S. Zorig was selected to become the key coordinator in implementing this plan.

The political situation in the country since then started changing rapidly. The group decided to create a new political movement called the Mongolian Democratic Union, the first organized opposition to the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, the ruling party for 68 years since the people’s revolution in 1921.

Observing the Human Rights Day, on December 10 the Mongolian Democratic Union organized a rally near the Youth Palace in Ulaanbaatar. Initially, general public considered this group as a youth movement as almost all coordinators were young people in their early 30s. However, very soon, the second, third and fourth rallies were followed and the Mongolian Democratic Union was born by January 1990 as an influential organization with more than 100 branches throughout the country and its membership reached approximately 60,000 persons compared to the ruling party membership of about 90,000.

The first serious confrontation between the ruling party and the opposition occurred when a rally was announced to be held at the Sukhbaatar square in front of the Government House. The Mayor of Ulaanbaatar issued regulations prohibiting public meetings, demonstrations could not be held at several places, including the main square of the city. However, the meeting was held as scheduled because the regulations contradicted to the Constitution. At the meeting, the second opposition force namely, the Mongolian Social Democratic Movement, announced its birth. Initiators of this movement were mainly professors of the State University.

On February 18, 1990 over 600 delegates of the Mongolian Democratic Union gathered at the Central Palace of the Mongolian Trade Unions to hold their first Congress. About 30 foreign correspondents were present at the Congress. Without receiving official visas for Mongolia, the majority of them arrived in Ulaanbaatar as tourists, thus practicing a kind of a political tourism.

The following decisions were adopted by the Congress:

Renewal of the Constitution, approval of laws on political parties and freedom of press;

Provision of real freedom of consciousness;

The celebration of the 80th anniversary of independence (In 1911 the Manchu domination was overthrown and the Bogdo-khaan state was established);

Investigations on Yu. Tsedenbal, former state and party leader, and his supporters;

Resignation of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party;

Dissolution of the People’s Great Khural and the election in setting up a Provisional People’s Khural.

Another organization, the Mongolian New Progressive Union, then appeared. Also, at its extraordinary plenary meeting, the Mongolian Students’ Union adopted a resolution on separating from the Mongolian Youth Revolutionary League.

On 4 March, four newly founded political forces held a joint rally. Then they handed over their statement of demands to the state leadership and requested to get response to all their demands by public radio or TV within 3 days:

Hold an Extraordinary Congress of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party in March 1990;

Fully change the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party’s Central Committee;

Separate the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party from the state;

Set up a Provisional People’s Khural in March of same year.

The official response was provided. However, it was not sufficient. So, 10 Mongolian Democratic Union members announced a hunger strike at Sukhbaatar square at mid-day of the 7th of March, on the eve of the International Women’s Day and 4 days before the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party’s Extraordinary Plenary session. The next morning a wife of one of the strikers and a rural dweller from Dornod aimag who learned of this by radio, joined the strike. Soon there were 33 people, lying on a frosty asphalt and surrounded day and night by hundreds of people who held spontaneous rallies and uninterrupted discussions on political situation. In the evening of March 7, the country’s leadership issued a statement criticizing the hunger strike. In response, the strikers demanded immediate resignation of the whole Political Bureau of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee. At 4 pm of March 8, a non-working day, D. Byambasuren, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministries, came to the square and later in the day D. Sodnom, Chairman of the Council of Ministries who had just returned from his official visit to Japan, had discussions with representatives of the four forces and the National Unity Patriotic Front of Mongolia, which was broadcasted directly by the public Radio and TV.

At the same time, 15 economists and lawyers, members of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, published an official letter to the party leadership in the national daily Unen. They demanded a radical change of the party system motivating this by the fact that nearly 50 percent of the members of the Central Committee were people above the pension age and one third had been re-elected since 1975. The opposition group inside the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party worked on and published in a newspaper an alternative Charter of the party for nation-wide public discussions.

Since the morning of March 9, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party and opposition forces resumed the discussions. However, the situation started aggravating and became dangerously tense. National radio and TV broadcasted mostly the latest news and on-spot reportages. That day alone, several new political organizations such as the Committee for Defending the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, The Call of Sukhbaatar and the Herders’ Union (Bayankhongor aimag) were born. The Mongolian Women’s Committee issued a statement calling to put an end to the strike. Several anti-strike rallies were held and even an anti-hunger-strike was about to begin. The Union of Mongolian Students organized a brief teach-in reminding that they could continue this on a larger scale. Various gatherings and other actions in support of the hunger strike were about to start at some enterprises. Rallies were held in a number of aimag administrative centres.

In the afternoon of March 9, there were strong rumours that the army was on alert and Martial Law could be introduced at night. That evening the dialogue between four main opposition forces and the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, which was represented by D. Byambasuren, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, started again on direct TV and radio transmissions.

Finally a compromise agreement was reached as summarized below:

The Politburo members would not resign immediately however, this matter will be included in the agenda of the Plenary Session to be voted by all Central Committee members;

The Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party Extraordinary Congress will be held as soon as possible, probably in early April, after the end of the breeding season (not in March as it was demanded);

A law on political parties will be discussed at the coming session of the People’s Great Khural (parliament);

The Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party will suggest the drop from the Constitution all guarantees on Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party’s leading role in the society;

The Provisional People’s Khural would not be established but a referendum on the trust of the people to the present Parliament members who were regarded by the opposition as not elected but simply appointed by the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, should be held. 

The ruling party and four opposition forces, taking part in the round-table discussions issued a Political Declaration, addressed to the public. The Declaration noted that the sides would abide by the principle of equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s affairs and non-use of force against each other as well as agreed upon the principle that the ability of political parties and forces to represent public interests shall be determined on the basis of just and democratic elections of state power authorities.

Thus, after three days and 2 nights, in the late evening of March 9, the hunger-strike was ended. The Mongolian Red Cross informed that the health status of all hunger-strikers, except a few who caught a cold, was not seriously affected.

On 12-14 March, the Plenary Session of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee was convened and the following decisions were made:

Acceptance of resignation of all Politburo members;

Abandoning of the Constitutional article giving to the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party a monopoly right in society;

Exclusion of Yu. Tsedenbal, who led the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party and the Mongolian State for over 40 years, from the ranks of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party;

Rehabilitation of high-ranking Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party functionaries and statesmen who were repressed in the 60s for nationalism and subversive activity against the party.

G. Ochirbat, a former party official and trade union leader, 61 years old, who spent last two years at the editorial office of the journal World Marxist Review located in Prague, Czechoslovakia, as Mongolia’s representative, was elected as the party leader.