Mongolia cleans up as capital under uneasy calm

By Irja Halasz

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolian officials cleared away debris left by a night of deadly riots as parliament convened an extraordinary session on Thursday to decide how to move forward after violence over alleged election fraud.

The violence that followed Sunday's vote has dampened hopes for a period of stable government to develop the mining sector and tackle inflation in the vast but thinly populated country, strategically sandwiched between China and Russia.

"The parliament has debated the declaration of the state of emergency by the president and has approved it," said parliament speaker Lundeejantsan in remarks carried on state television.

The capital Ulan Bator was calm after President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared four days of emergency rule from Tuesday night to quell rioters who threw stones, smashed windows and set the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) on fire.

The mayor of Ulan Bator said city officials were clearing away about 40 tonnes of debris left by the rioting, which was sparked by anger over perceived unfairness in the parliamentary election, the fifth since Mongolia broke free of decades of Soviet influence in 1990.

At a regular news conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China hoped Mongolia could maintain stability, adding that he had not heard of any moves to tighten security along the border or to restrict travels.

"As a friendly neighbor of Mongolia's, we hope China-Mongolia relations can keep up their sound growth and personnel exchanges can remain normal," Liu said.

International observers say the vote was largely fair.