In Mongolia protest follows protest

By GANBAT NAMJIL, The Associated Press
Monday, April 10, 2006; 2:46 AM

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia -- Dozens of demonstrators have erected a tent camp in Mongolia's central square to protest the government's handling of a contract with a Canadian firm to mine copper in the resource-rich but impoverished country.
By Monday morning, the fifth day of the protest, about 100 protesters were encamped in six traditional round dwellings on the square. Police inspected vehicles around the square to prevent protesters from bringing in supplies to enlarge the camp ahead of plans for a large demonstration Tuesday.

Protesters are demanding the three-month-old government resign if it cannot negotiate favorable terms from Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. over the company's concession to mine a huge copper deposit in the southern Gobi region.
In particular, the protesters want Mongolia to retain 51 percent ownership of the mine, instead of the full ownership Ivanhoe has.
There have been no accusations that Ivanhoe has acted improperly.
Copper mining is a major part of the economy of this impoverished former Soviet satellite, a sprawling grassland where many people are traditional nomadic herders of cattle and sheep. Politicians have clashed repeatedly over how to exploit the country's mineral resources. The opposition accuses the government of giving away Mongolia's wealth and wants the national minerals law changed to give the government a large share in any foreign-owned mine.
Ivanhoe, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has said its investment helps the Mongolian economy. The company said the project would generate 117,000 jobs and pay 46 percent of its pre-tax profits, or $7 billion, to the state over the concession's 35-year term.
In trying to defuse the protests, Industry and Trade Minister B. Jargalsaikhan promised on national television that parliament would debate the terms of a "long-term stability contract" with Ivanhoe.
Jargalsaikhan, who is the government's lead negotiator with Ivanhoe, also said that laws on mining, taxation and foreign investment should be amended to favor Mongolia.
Protests have become increasingly common in Mongolia's 16-year-old democracy, with political parties often trying to capitalize on demonstrations and public disaffection. The current government, led by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, was installed in January after a wave of demonstrations.
At the start of the mining protests last week, about 3,000 protesters threw eggs and scuffled with 300 police who prevented the demonstrators from leaving the central square and marching on Government House.

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