ADDRESS TO PLENARY SESSION OF STATE GREAT KHURAL
At the plenary session of the State Great Khural, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga delivered a speech regarding the vetoes invoked.
The President said:
“Chairman of the State Great Khural and distinguished Members of Parliament,
I am here to express my position as the head of the National Security Council, regarding the vetoes invoked upon the three laws that directly concern the country’s security and the rights and freedom of its citizens.
The group, united on the basis of interest to jeopardize justice and abuse their authority in their favor to deplete public wealth, is at its work as it always have been.
Today, they are being cornered by truth. They see the national interests and people’s livelihoods with cold-blooded and capitalist money-grubber’s attitude. There is no people, no country for money.
The law enforcement and jurisdiction have been working effectively in the recent past. Substantial amount of assets hidden in offshore accounts have been discovered, and the grounds for restoring those assets have been prepared. One of their works would be the revealing of certain officials’ illegal assets worth around 4.0 trillion tugrugs.
As soon as their crimes are exposed, the group started passing laws in order to influence the judicial system, prosecution and the law enforcement.
The ruling party, by taking the power over the Judicial Council and the Judicial Conduct Commission, who are responsible for the selection of judges, is attempting to eliminate the possibility to fight white-collar crimes, and shift to the vertical management system.
I can hardly fathom why the very Minister of Finance is against the efforts of restoring illicit offshore assets, which will be directed at distributing 1.0 million tugrug support for each household in these difficult times during the pandemic.
The Parliament’s decision to close the session without reading the draft resolution on household support during these harsh times, when families are living in worse conditions each day than they lived yesterday has taken me by surprise. In this regard, I will call for a special session of the State Great Khural for this reason only.
Therefore, I call and wish for Your acceptance of the vetoes in their entirety, and take the matters into serious consideration.
Moreover, please take the corruption and malfeasance crimes surrounding the Oyu Tolgoi agreement, protection of Mongolia’s interests in the agreement into Your consideration, and read them at an immediate closed session, and hear what the jurisdiction and law enforcement have to say.
Mongolians, dear citizens,
It has recently come to public attention that a group of few oligarchs had taken over the public wealth that belong to the people by Constitution and hidden enormous amounts of illicit assets in offshore regions. They have obviously been blackmailing and controlling the Parliament members. The time has come for You to re-live the old saying: “The force of union is as limitless as the ocean”.
The President of Mongolia was not elected to be a mere symbol! Citizens vote for their President to protect justice, monitor and balance the state power, and most importantly, to protect democracy under the constitutional principles
Instead of fighting me, the President, the ruling power should be battling unemployment, poverty and the pandemic, and doing your duties before the Constitution and your voters.
I am warning You, if you refuse to correct your distortions, I will have a public discussion and take necessary actions, step by step.
Thank You for attention.”