Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrein Oyun-Erdene went out to the public on Wednesday and urged the population to remain calm amid the ongoing protests, and promised to investigate possible coal theft that triggered the unrest.
⠀
“We are working to conduct an investigation as soon as possible. We ask you to remain calm,” the prime minister said.
⠀
A demonstration involving several thousand protesters took place on Monday in front of the Government Palace in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar amid reports of $1.8 billion in coal theft. According to the Minister of Justice of the country, the Mongolian government, through diplomatic channels, asked the Chinese authorities to join the investigation of the coal case, since Mongolia sends about 86% of its exports to China and more than half of this volume is coal.
⠀
Protesters were also observed on the square on Tuesday, but there were much fewer of them than the day before.
⠀
According to information, the amount of coal exported from Mongolia differs from the amount received by the Chinese side.
⠀
The Chinese side executed officials involved in the theft of coal from Mongolia and handed over to Ulaanbaatar the names of Mongolian politicians involved in this case.
