On January 25, lawmaker S.Ganbaatar began a hunger strike at Sukhbaatar Square, demanding that the prime minister to file a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice to renew the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement.
Noting that he will continue to fight until the prime minister files a lawsuit in an international court, S.Ganbaatar said, “I have 1,400 pages of documents related to the Oyu Tolgoi project, including Mongolian and British court decisions. Mongolia will not receive dividends from this project until 2051.”
“The prime minister is the only person authorized to amend this agreement and file a lawsuit on behalf of Mongolia. Therefore, we demand that the new prime minister file a lawsuit as soon as he is appointed. If the Mongolian People’s Party can't, give me this right. I will file a lawsuit. I do not want the people to go on hunger strike. But I want lawmakers to join me.”
On January 26, Acting Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Kh.Nyambaatar visited him during the protest and said that a big task for the next government is the Oyu Tolgoi agreement.
“I will forward your request to join the Oyu Tolgoi working group to the next prime minister. Therefore, you should stop the hunger strike,” he told S.Ganbaatar.
S.Ganbaatar said he will not stop the strike until the prime minister files a lawsuit against Oyu Tolgoi.
The Sukhbaatar District Police made a statement to stop the hunger strike of S.Ganbaatar, stating that his actions violated Article 9.1 of the Law on Demonstration Procedures of Mongolia, as well as the order to fight and prevent the spread of the coronavirus on January 25.
A large number of citizens gathered to support him and signed petitions. The police were station in and around Sukhbaatar Square, checking documents of citizens, and the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) and its Rapid Response Team are working, registering citizens and disinfecting the area around the square.
The official of the NCCD said that a person who has been in close contact with an infected citizen took part in the demonstration, before tests were administered to protestors.
