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Mongolian Neo-Nazis afraid "Foreigners... might start taking our women"

neonazis_mongolia.jpg
Photo by Flickr user bartpogoda
It looks like India's not the only neighbor with a bizzare growing component of Neo-Nazi groups and sympathizers, Mongolia Neo-Nazis are on the rise too... and their main target isn't the Jews, it's the Chinese.

From the Guardian comes an amazing story of the growth of Neo-Nazi groups in Mongolia, which focus on protecting the 3-million or so "pure Mongolians" from the evils of "foreign crime, rampant inequality, political indifference and corruption," all in the name of Hitler's ideals.

Though Tsagaan Khass (White Swastika) leaders say they do not support violence, they are self-proclaimed Nazis. "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity," said the 41-year-old co-founder, who calls himself Big Brother.

"We don't agree with his extremism and starting the second world war. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support nationalism rather than fascism."

...

"We have to make sure that as a nation our blood is pure. That's about our independence," said 23-year-old Battur, pointing out that the population is under three million.

"If we start mixing with Chinese, they will slowly swallow us up. Mongolian society is not very rich. Foreigners come with a lot of money and might start taking our women."

It's not the first time Mongolia's Neo-Nazis have been put in the spotlight. Last year, Time Magazine featured them and some of their leaders as well.

Fifty-year-old Zagas Erdenebileg is the leader of Dayar Mongol (All Mongolia), the most prominent of the neo-Nazi groups. "If our blood mixes with foreigners', we'll be destroyed immediately," says Erdenebileg, who has run unsuccessfully for parliament four times. He loathes the Chinese — whom he accuses of involvement in prostitution and drug-trafficking — and reveres Genghis Khan, who he says influenced Adolf Hitler. I ask him if he considers his adoption of the beliefs of a regime that singled out and executed people with Mongol features from among Soviet prisoners of war to be in any way ironic. "It doesn't matter," he shrugs. "We share the same policies."

If Erdenebileg is the elder statesman of Mongolia's neo-Nazis, Shari Mungun-Erdene, the 23-year-old leader of the roughly 200-strong Mongolian National Union (MNU), is the new kid on the block and sports a swastika tattoo on his chest. The MNU takes vigilante action against law-breaking outsiders, Mungun-Erdene says, mainly Chinese. When I ask what kind of action, he replies, "Whatever it takes so that they don't live here." At other times, though, he comes across as an overzealous adolescent. He opens his laptop to show photos of his neo-Nazi buddies. But beside the folders entitled "Guns" and "Skinheads" are others with names like "My Car" and "Mom in Japan."

While the adoption of Hitler's ideologies and the bullying of both interracial couples and anyone associated with the Chinese is very, very terrible, at the same time it's hard to say the fear of Chinese imperialism isn't founded in some sort of reality.

One of the reasons for the riots last year in Xinjiang was because of anger towards what Uyghurs felt was the suppression of own identity. Policies in the area had restricted religious practice, phased the Uyghur language out of schools and given more opportunities to Han businesspeople and migrant workers. It echoed similar complaints that had been coming out of Tibet of Sinicization (or, if you want to use a more incendiary term, "cultural genocide").

Heck, the Chinese government's not even above doing it to members of the Han majority - making this into, perhaps, more of an issue of controlling culture rather than just Han dominance: Speakers of Cantonese recently staged large protests all over Guangzhou over efforts to "phase out Cantonese in official settings in favor of Mandarin."

It's hard to say if changes to the heavy handed approach to propagating its version of Chinese culture would make a subset of Mongolians hate the Chinese government less - after all, they're still poor, they're still uneducated, the political system in Mongolia still isn't super and Neo-Nazis seem to be rising all over the world. But with things like this, you can't help thinking that there wasn't some kind of cause.

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Comments [rss]

  • nanheyangrouchuan

    Listen to BBC1, who is Han, tell someone with Mongolian descent how they will be treated.



    Xiaochensu was probably born and raised in the west so he may actually get a warm welcome.



    Certainly much warmer than Han-job BBC1.



    Quite the commie history lesson you received BBC, the west didn't learn about the USSR/PRC war until the late 80s, now it is discussed in western war colleges.

  • well, my grandpa don't even speak Mongolian...I better go get some lessons on Mongolian so that I can still pass for "pure Mongolian" (long shot, but I guess worth trying)

  • BBC1

    Won't work. The Mongolian dialect spoken in Nei Mongol is Chahar, which is distinct from the Khalka dialect of Outer Mongolia. They will know straightaway you are from Ovor Mongolia.

  • hmmm....considering that I am an ethnic Mongolian (even though I don't speak Mongolian and don't have a Mongolian name)...I wonder if I would get even worse treatment than the Han Chinese when I get to Mongolia proper (only thing worse than a foreign imperialist is a traitor, right?) any thoughts, guys?

  • BBC1

    You will be treated worst. The Mongolian Nazis consider Ovor Mongolians (Inner Mongolians) as Chinese tainted. Inner Mongolians are very nice people, and many Outer Mongolians too. But it can get very nasty if you run into the Nazis.

  • Pirx

    There is no future for racism, no place for racists in a rapidly internationalizing world.



    The attitude of the PRC towards Mongolia may be influenced by the fact that Mongolia became the second socialist country on earth after Russia, a quarter century before China turned socialist. An older brother. Plus, of course, Mongolia might be considered the greater Russian sphere of influence.



    The republicans in Taiwan seem to simply view Mongolians as Chinese.



    That makes history also easier to digest for the Taiwanese. The Yuan dynasty was Mongolian. If I understand correctly, under Mongolian rule the social order was Mongolians on top, followed by other foreigners, and at the bottom Han Chinese.



    By strict definition, it was not the Chinese who conquered Tibet, it was the Mongolians, rendering all Yuan dynasty territorial claims by China void.

  • BBC1

    Mongolia for China is its rich Mineral Resources, which only China can mine efficiently, since Mongolia is landlocked. Actually, you are off the mark with regards to Han Chinese' standing in the Mongol caste system during the Yuan. Mongols place those who opposed them the most vehemently at the bottom. Northern Hans and the Jurchens (ancestors of the Manchus) are placed 3rd, with the Southern Hans, Hmongs and other Manzi placed 4th. Interestingly enough, The Khitans are also placed in the 3rd rank, even though they are sinified Mongols. But of course, this did not stop them from utilizing increasing number of Hans in their armies. The victor of Baghdad was Guo Kan, a Han, who fought under Hulagu Khan. This over reliance on Han soldiers towards the latter Yuan peiod made Mongol collapse the more rapid. In fact, Genghiz Khan could never defeat the Jurchens of the Jin completely and it took the mighty Mongol armies decades to defeat the Song, this with the help of Han siege engineers and infantry. The Chinese were the toughest to defeat for the Mongols. It was also the Chinese under the Ming who destroyed and sack the Mongol capital of Karakorum. If there is one constant in history, China always have the last laugh.



    Actually, the Mongols did not carry out a full invasion campaign into Tibet, the Tibetans submitted with little fighting. The Ming inherited this right to Tibet vacated by the Yuan, just as the Indian Government inherited the conquests of the Mughals and the British. Tibetan theocrats continued to pay tribute to the Ming. The Manchus of course intervened in Tibet directly and established direct rule for a period, waning towards the latter Qing. The Chinese Republicans and the Communists inherited this claim to Tibet, a fact acknowledged by the world, since no one recognized Tibetan independence. So by definition and facts, China's claim to Tibet is strong. China's current territory is based on the conquests of the Manchus, who by cultural definition, are very Chinese.

  • nanheyangrouchuan

    This shouldn't be a surprise as a backlash against globalization, and the Chinese have no right to complain considering the hostile attitudes towards Chinese women with foreign husbands in China. But that is not Nazism, that is traditional culture right?



    And the Mongol claims are legitimate, as China is kidnapping S. Asian women by luring them in with job offers, then they end up an imprisoned baby factory for local bosses and their sons.



    Bad, bad China.

  • BBC1

    I don't see any South Asian women like Sri Lankans or Indians being captured as brides. LOL! Get your geography right. LMAO! On top of that, Mongols are just sore wankers, pretty much like you. Ahahahaha!

  • nanheyangrouchuan

    South includes SE and many imprisoned brides do come from everywhere between Thailand and the PI. It wouldn't be too surprising if Burmese girls were being spirited into China's nether regions to satisfy the needs of local Party ogres.



    Russia has plenty of border with Mongolia and can mine the ore efficiently, and the US, Canada, SK and Japan are there to help. In fact, US and Russian military units are training with the Mongols.



    It was the USSR that saved Mongolia from being overrun by Han, 500,000 dead, mostly PLA, when the PLA human wave met USSR armor, artillery and dug in machine guns on the open plains.



    Funny, if China was the hardest for the Mongols to beat, how did they conquer so much of China and why was it the Russians who overthrew the Mongols????



    China is the greatest only in the minds of Chinese. For the rest of us, it is just a place of horrible smells, shoddy goods, easy women and odd males.

  • BBC1

    What a lame comeback. LOL! Yeah, Russia can mine Mongolia's minerals, but Russia has crappy infrastructure and longer routes to sea access. And Russia has little demand for Mongolia's minerals. If China don't buy or exert exorbitant right of passage costs, forget Mongolia exporting to other countries. Yeah, if you read thru the Guardian or New York Times, there are a lot of trafficked SE Asian women to the US and Europe. I am sure you tried some of the services.



    As for your 500K PLA dead, stop farting from your arse. Please provide a link. LOL! China never fought the Soviet Union in Mongolia. The Japanese did in WW2 and lost to the Soviets. The Mongols took decades to overrun China, only in the reign of Kublai Khan, go read up on the history. While it took the Mongols a few years to overrun Russia and Eastern Europe. The Mongols vanquished a powerful army of Teutonic knights at Legnitz and murdered almost half the Hungarian population and destroyed its army at Mohi. It was the Ming who overthrew the Yuan, not the Russians. It was 3 centuries later that Ivan the Terrible finally broke Mongol power of the Golden Horde, while Mongol rule only lasted decades in China, it lasted 300 years in Russia. And by now, I guess you are fuming by your complete lack of knowledge of history. LOL!



    And yeah, we love China. And obviously, you are obsessed by it, given your prolific flaming on Chinese forums. Ahahahaha!

  • Butcher Boy

    By the way, "Jew" is proper noun, just like Chinese, Mongolian and Nazi. Mind your caps.

  • BBC1

    I was in Mongolia a few years ago and neo-Nazism is very real. The Chinese threat is perceived and driven by the failure of the Mongolian polity. Here is one country that conquered a vast swathe of the known world is now dwarfed by the Goliath China. How dare a subject people loom so high and successful over the former masters! Everywhere you go in Mongolia, Genghiz Khan is never far away. He is in Subataar Square, on a hillside, even the Airport is named after him. Mongolia is so devoid of achievements, there is only 1 person in their history that is worth remembering, and he was the equivalent of Satan to the many peoples who sufferred genocide at his jands.



    Although Mongolian women are very comely (I had lot of success), it is the Koreans that go on package sex tours to Ulan Bataar, with daily flights from Seoul. For such a travesty, they are as equally hated, although Korean soap operas are very popular there. I think it is really irrelevant to compare the situation in Mongolia whith what happened in Xinjiang or the Cantonese protest. Mongolia is a sovereign nation and whatever Chinese there are in Mongolia, they keep a very low profile, unlike the Koreans, who stamp their economic power all over UB.



    Afterall, it's not funny if you are accosted by a group of Dayar or Aries youths. Even Caucasians have been attacked outside bars for being with Mongolian women. Afterall, Mongolian men have a reputation of drunkeness and violence against women, which drives them to the arms of foreign men.

  • EL JEFE

    I'm calling shenanigans. Afterall, someone that uses the word "comely" doesn't score without some cash.

  • beastman

    These guys would shit their own piss if they went to a couple of bars in Beijing.

  • Elcheecho

    once an article is published on the internet, it's there pretty much forever. in 50 years, I'm pretty sure there will only be one or two sentences in the above article that will be worth quoting or remembering. and not the good kind.

  • EL JEFE

    Totally agree, and I hope we're talking about the same two.



    First they came for the Han ren...

  • BBC1

    Oh El Jefe, why are you so jealous? I never pay for sex, unless you think buying a dinner or a few presents meant paying for sex. LOL! And Mongolian women are comely.

  • EL JEFE

    Oh yes, jealousy! Thats what I feel for your sex life that was defined by that one lay in 1964 when comely was part of the vernacular

  • BBC1

    Oh El Jefe, I wasn't even born in 1964. But a grand dad like you can sure get frustrated. LOL!

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