Eco-warrior or eco-terrorist?

Mongolia jails environmentalist for 21 years

Tsetsegee Munkhbayar in Mongolia. Pic: Goldman Environmental Prize. By Michelle Tolson Jan 2 ! 2"#$

One week ago, the courts of Mongolia sentenced environmental activist and former herder Tsetsegee Munkhbayar and four other members of the Fire Nation group to !"and"a"half years in prison each for acts of terrorism# $e had come to deliver a petition to %arliament to stop the amendment of a &&' law, called the (ong Name (aw, created to ban mineral e)ploration near river heads, reservoirs and water sources so as to guard against pollution# *ctivists say the amendment would have weakened the law he had fought so hard for# *ccording to local media reports, he had brought fire arms and +inactive, grenades to his protest# Ts#Munkhbayar-s actions highlighted the desperation of helpless Mongolian pastoralists who had no choice but to resort to an unconventional approach to defend their land, rights and way of life after e)hausting all other means, .nkhbat Toochog, of the /outhern Mongolian $uman 0ights 1nformation 2enter +/M$012, told *sian 2orrespondent from the group-s head3uarters in New 4ork# $e hopes for a better future for independent Mongolia, having witnessed 1nner Mongolia, now considered an autonomous region of 2hina, transformed by rapid

development# The case of Ts#Munkbayar also suggests that the 5overnment of Mongolia, advertising itself in the west as a model democracy of *sia, is no less oppressive than authoritarian regimes like 2hina, especially when conflict of interest between the government and common public is inevitable# Munkhbayar founded of the 6nited Movement of Mongolian 0ivers and (akes +6MM0(, to protect water sources from mining pollution and his tireless lobbying for legislation earned him the 5oldman %ri7e in &&8, awarded to outstanding environmental activists# Though 5oldman does not condone violence, they stand by the activist# 1n &!&, 6MM0( filed a law suit against the government for failure to implement their own law and in October &!!, the /upreme 2ourt of Mongolia found the government guilty and forced them to begin implementing the rules and regulations spelled out in the ((N 9(ong Name (aw:, wrote 5oldman# $owever, when the new government came to power in &! , his years of work began to be dismantled owing to pressure from foreign mining companies# ;y *ugust of &!< shrinking foreign investments, down = percent, caused parliament to consider revamping investment laws# 1n /eptember, Munkhbayar staged his demonstration and a firearm accidently went off# 1t is widely understood that the shot was not fired on purpose and nobody was in>ured, reported 5oldman# .ugene /imonov, 2oordinator for 0ivers without ;oundaries, an organi7ation that advocates for the protection of river basins 3uestions the terrorist claim as well# Munkhbayar and the 6nited Movement of 0ivers and (akes employ an e)tremely wide variety of work methods from environmental education, ecosystem restoration and close work with legislature to theatrical pro>ects to armed demonstrations and sei7ing illegal mining sites, he e)plained from 6laanbaatar# For instance, in /eptember of &!& Munkhbayar came under scrutiny for taking shots at the mining e3uipment of 2anadian 2enterra 5old and 2hina-s %uraam for mining within the headwaters of the /elenge 0iver, which was prohibited under the &&' law# Though initially condemned, his actions brought about the eventual support of the courts# *bout '& percent of the methods they used, 1 see as fully >ustified by situations in which they acted and they led to constructive results they wanted to achieve, /imonov said# ?ue to Mongolia-s economic downturn, support for environmentalists is waning in the sparse investment climate, said /ukhgerel ?ugersuren, e)ecutive director of OT @atch, an environmental group in Mongolia# 9There is: a broad media campaign against civil society organi7ations- reputation accusing them of every possible ethical crime# Most media outlets are connected to powerful politicians and business interests, which wasobserved by O/2. Office for ?emocratic 1nstitutions and $uman 0ights#

Object 1

*ccording to /ukhgerel, this backlash against civil society has coincided with the weakening of environmental protections# The current government is amending andAor adopting a huge number of laws and policies at a very fast pace that are detrimental to the environment and society# 1 would name the amendments to the law which Munkhbayar attempted to protect, draft law on forced eviction, minerals law and policy, foreign investment law and a number of laws on ta) e)emption for e)tractive pro>ects# .)tractive industries are waging a huge campaign on changing Mongolian laws to allow rampant, uncontrolled and loss"making e)traction of Mongolia-s wealth# French *0.B* has been e)ploring Mongolia-s uranium deposits in the 5obi desert# $erders living in the area and a consortium of grassroots groups, including the controversial Fire Nation which Mukhbayar is a member of, have fought against this# (ocal livestock deaths and deformities emerged in the vicinity though the government contends that an investigation into herders- concerns conducted by the Nuclear .nergy *uthority showed no links were found, but activists 3uestion this# ?espite their protests the government agreed to apartnership with *0.B* in /eptember to revive investments# Mongolia is being Cdeveloped- by westerners, 0ussians and 2hinese with little regard to its tradition and natural peculiarities, said /imonov, who 3uestions the negative connotations of nationalism attributed to Mukhbayar# One of ma>or ob>ections of

western investors to the C(aw on protection from mining impacts of rivers, headwaters and forests- was that it Chas no analogy in western, civili7ed countries#- 94et: real damage in habitat destruction, forced migration and river poisoning is very serious# 1n such situations, environmentalists 3uickly ac3uire a nationalist stance and nationalists use environmental slogans# @e saw it in 0ussia in the late !'D&s# /ukhgerel e)pressed shock at the sentencing# First of all, prosecution-s claim of a terrorist act in this case is ridiculous# My personal opinion is that 9his actions were: an attempt to get the attention of powers by demonstrating access to fire arms 9and this: is in nowhere near the damages that will be caused to environment and society by the mining companies demanding this amendment# %ublic officials tried for corruption and s3uandering of public money amounting to billions get only three to five years of imprisonment# *nother fair trial principle not employed here is use of the least harsh punishment in the case when there is doubt of harm or damages caused# 1n this case there is no victim and damage caused by this act# .nkhbat sees parallels between independent Mongolia and C1nner,- or /outhern Mongolia, as some activists prefer to term the region# @hile the independent country of Mongolia becomes one of the few mineral"rich countries, /outhern Mongolia was declared by the 2hinese 5overnment as the .nergy ;ase of 2hina due to the fact that it produces 'E percent of the world-s rare earth and becomes the top producer of coal and natural gas in 2hina# Fust two weeks before Ts#Munkhbayar and si) of his fellow environmentalists were sentenced to long term imprisonments, another Munkhbayar and five of his fellow activists from 2hinese"occupied /outhern Mongolia were sentenced to one to two years in >ail by the 2hinese authorities for defending their gra7ing lands from encroaching 2hinese settlers and miners# .nkhbat thinks Mongolia has a chance to avoid the same fate as /outhern Mongolia, but sees the need for a broader movement# 1t is very difficult for any nation to come up with a truly ideal model of development# 4et, one thing is clear# * development that comes at the cost of natural environment and traditional way of life is not a worthy and sustainable one# .nvironmental or human rights activism is not a responsibility of a handful of activists or those who are affected only# 1t should be a social movement#