Mongolian president declares state of Emergency

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest_of_World/Mongolian_president_declares_state_of_Emergency_/articleshow/3186417.cms

ULAN BATOR: Mongolian President Nambariin Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of Emergency as protesters went on the rampage in the capital claiming that weekend elections were rigged.

"From 11:30pm (Local time) there will be a four-day state of emergency," said a presidential decree read out on state television.

The decree warned that anyone caught on the streets after the curfew without documentation would be arrested. Public gatherings and independent media broadcasts were also banned.

The action came after thousands of people took to the streets of the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator to voice their outrage at weekend elections they claim were rigged.

The headquarters of the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in the centre of Ulan Bator was set alight and looted, according witnesses at the scene.

Some of an estimated 6,000 protesters from the rival Democratic Party -- which claims the MPRP bought votes and used other tactics to win Sunday's election -- threw rocks at firefighters arriving to put out the blaze.

Police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas but the clashes continued and the violence later spread to other parts of the capital.

A police station was attacked when protesters attempted to free rioters imprisoned earlier in the day.

Part of the Cultural Palace, which contains an art gallery, a museum and a theatre, was on fire early today as violence continued despite the emergency decree.

TV images showed riot police around the Cultural Palace apparently arresting people and firing rubber bullets in an attempt to secure the area. Later images appeared to show the situation was calmer.