On June 17, Mr. P. Tsagaan, Chief of Staff of the President of Mongolia, refuted the false accusations published in an Indian website zeenews.com. a day earlier.
Mr. Tsagaan: Good morning.
An Indian website has published this morning an article accusing the President of Mongolia in a mineral license fraud and naming myself and my colleague, President’s advisor, as if aided in the deal.
Mentioning of the date of the Presidential election in the very first sentence of the article makes us guess that it overtly or covertly is connected with the election PR. Therefore, I have invited you to warn about such tricks.
Such slanders and libels started months before the Presidential election campaign was launched. There were made numerous attempts to disrepute the President, his team, his advisors. But each time such defamations and unabashed accusations were proven to be lies, by law.
    Let me make the following very clear for all.
1.    Since the day President Elbegdorj has sworn in office, he has fought an unyielding war against corruption. No mineral license, not a single one, has been issued since June 2010. Those issued against law were revoked by Mongolian court, and you know this. It is just hard to believe one could think of such a dirt, that amidst his gruelling work to bring justice to the mineral sector, suffering from corruption and disorder, he would send his aides to South Korea for money. This is an outright lie. I state this with utmost responsibility.
2.    If you recall, in the 2009 election campaign, we witnessed a similar bitter story of defamation and lie. Therefore, I wish to warn you of this and future possible tricks that might damage the free and fair campaigning of President Elbegdorj. President advises his team that we do not only watch our footprint, but also the spot we are about to step on. And we have always made sure that we never yield to injustice. I call the competing political parties to refuse to engage in dirty campaigning.
3.    Ethics, dignity and respect should prevail in any political campaigning. We all are the children of one whole family called “Mongolia”. Let us not paint black the good name and image of our country. This is Mongolia’s election, our home affair, so let us keep it at home, let us keep it clean. Slander is a crime. Those who libel us must be aware of the responsibility they bear in front of law. Mongolia is a country with rule of law and high ethics. Life will continue after the election. And I feel sorry for the authors of the article, for their lost faces, for their suffering from a burning sense of guilt, a sense of having committed a sin and a crime.
    For any society, an election is a step forward, a move toward more prosperity, more development. It should prepare the soil for our future goals to aspire, it should be a venue of competition of policy, of constructive thoughts, of the best choices for the people. Therefore, electoral campaigning should reflect this progressive feature of election.
We have great goals, profound challenges and the years of hard work waiting us down the lane of our chosen path. Mongolians are too busy to be distracted by schemed plots of ill-wishers.
    Libels, slander, lies such as this one will not break our will to fight down corruption. They will not break the desire of the Mongolian people to live in a just and fair society. Nor shall such hatched pieces shatter the trust and confidence of the Mongolian friends and partners abroad in President Elbegdorj and in Mongolia’s future.
Therefore, please do not be shocked by such shameless tricks, and rest assured, though slow, but steady, we shall win the race with injustice and corruption. Thank you”.