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CHINAS INNER MONGOLIA: A JASMINE REVOLUTION WITH A

DIFFERENCE

B.RAMAN

Chinas Inner Mongolia, where Mongolians are in a minority of only

20 per cent of the total population of 23 million, has been going

through a Jasmine type Revolution with a difference since May 10.

There have been widespread protests in different towns following

the death of a herdsman by name Mergen who was allegedly killed

by a Han Chinese truck driver when local herdsmen protested

against mining operations in their area.Mergenwas among a group

of Mongolians who attempted to block a caravan of coal-hauling

trucks in Xilingol.

2. The protests, which started spontaneously in a fit of rage over his

death, have not so far seen demands for political reforms or

independence. The protests till now have been against the modern

way of life imposed on the Mongolians, a nomadic people who love

their grasslands, by the Chinese craze for development.

3.The Mongolian youth, who came out of their universities and

schools to protest against the death of Mergen, are now protesting

against the widespread damage to their environment, grasslands

and nomadic way of life due to the large scale exploitation of coal in

the area through open-cast mining to feed the power stations in the

rest of China.

4. There has been large scale destruction of their grasslands due to

mining and infrastructure development. Their nomadic way of life is

being destroyed by the modern way of life brought in by the Han

Chinese who have come from outside the province and settled down

there.

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5. As it happened in Tibet, the Chinese calculation that the

economic development of the province and prosperity would make

the Mongolians reconcile themselves to the loss of their nomadic

way of life have proved wrong.

6. Western sources see in the reports of the protests from Inner

Mongolia the beginning of an anti-Han political revolt. It does not

appear to be so----at least not till now. The protests have been not

against Han political and economic domination, but against

Beijings attempts to impose on Inner Mongolia a development

model not suited to them and which is proving detrimental to the

Mongolian way of life.

7. Mongolian exiles living outside China---particularly in the West---

are hoping that the protests will take a political turn and create one

more pocket of alienation along Chinas periphery--- with the

Mongolians joining the ranks of the Tibetans and the Uighurs in

protesting against the Han colonisation of Inner Mongolia, which

Mongolian exiles call Southern Mongolia to link it in the minds of the

people with the independent Republic of Mongolia, where His

Holiness the Dalai Lama has a large following.

8. It is too late in the day for the Mongolians to hope for separationfrom China. The Hans are in a crushing majority in Inner Mongolia.

No separatist movement can hope to succeed. Will it be possible to

protect and preserve the Mongolian way of life based on their in-

born love of their grasslands? That is a question that needs to be

addressed in dealing with the protest movement. Beijing does not

seem to be doing so. It is viewing it purely as a law and order and

an internal security problem.

9.However, the Xinhua news agency reported that Inner Mongolia'sCommunist Party chief Hu Chunhua said on May 27 that "public

anger has been immense" and that he would meet with students. He

added:"We must correctly handle the relationship between the

exploration of resources and the protection of the interests of

people in Inner Mongolia.

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10.The unrest has involved thousands of protesters in different

areas.Hundreds of students and herdsmen took to the streets of

Chifeng on May 28, according to the US-based Southern Mongolian

Human Rights Information Centre. Police and para-military

reinforcements have been rushed by the authorities to Hohhot, theprovincial capital, and Universities have been sealed off in the cities

of Tongliao and Ordos.

11.The Information Centre has reportedly called for a province-wide

protest "to demand that the Government of China respect the

human rights, life and dignity of the Mongols in China and to resolve

the case of Mergen in a just and fair manner."

12. Apprehending the use of the Internet by the protesting students

and political exiles to spread disaffection against the authorities,

the Chinese authorities have imposed controls on Internet cafes.

(2-6-11)

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt.

of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical

Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre for China

Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )