Tsagaan Khas
Tsagaan Khas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mongolian name | Цагаан Хас |
| Founder | Ariunbold Altankhuum and "Big Brother" |
| Ideology | Ultranationalism Pan-Mongolism Neo-Nazism Sinophobia Environmentalism[1] Third Position Resource nationalism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism Tengriism |
| Ethnic group | Mongols |
| State Great Khural | 0 / 76 |
| Part of a series on |
| Nazism |
|---|
 |
|
Tsagaan Khas (Mongolian: Цагаан Хас; meaning white swastika) or Dayar Mongol is a Mongolian neo-Nazi organisation that claims to have 3,000 members,[2][3][4] though this claim is disputed. Other sources claim the organisation to have "more than 1,000 members".[5] According to Reuters in 2013, they had "only 100-plus members".[6] Nyam Puruv, a Mongolian historian, estimated in 2009 that the group actually had only dozens of members.[7] The organisation's electoral affiliate received 1 percent or less of the vote in the 2008 Mongolian legislative elections.[8][9]
The group was founded by Ariunbold Altankhuum.[1] It was founded in the 1990s.[6] The group came into being during Mongolia's transition to a market economy after traditional nomadic lifestyles became less viable and with a background of increasing economic inequality.[7][10]
According to Altankhuum, "The reason we chose this way is because what is happening here in Mongolia is like 1939, and Hitler's movement transformed his country into a powerful country."[6] Altankhuum has also expressed a positive view of Francisco Franco and Genghis Khan.[11]
The group's co-founder, who goes by the alias "Big Brother", said, "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity ... 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." The group's members dress in Nazi attire (such as uniforms resembling that of the Schutzstaffel) and make use of the "sieg heil" greeting, the Iron Cross, and the Nazi eagle. They have justified their use of Nazi imagery by pointing out that the swastika has Asian origins.[3][6][12][11]
Big Brother has claimed that the group does not promote crime and that it expels "criminal elements" from its membership, as well as requiring all members to have a good education. One of the group's leaders is an interior designer. He has also claimed that the group works closely with other ultra-nationalist groups in Mongolia.[12]
The group's members are characterized by their extreme anti-Chinese sentiment and opposition to interracial marriage. One follower of the group has expressed the view that, "We have to make sure that as a nation our blood is pure. That's about our independence... 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." The group has been accused of targeting interracial couples, immigrants, prostitutes, and the LGBT community, including by promotion of violence.[12][13][11][14] The group has targeted Mongolian women who have had relationships with Chinese men, shaving their hair off and sometimes tattooing their forehead.[7]
Some negative attitudes towards Chinese people in Mongolia from groups such as Tsagaan Khas may be traced to the Soviet Union's policy which cast China as a threat to Mongolia, so as to receive allegiance from Mongolia.[7] During this Sino-Soviet split, the Mongolian People's Republic gave the Soviet Union its steadfast support in all matters.[15]
In 2013, they tried to shift their focus to fighting pollution resulting from mining in Mongolia.[1] The group has appeared at mining operations, demanding to see paperwork and sometimes has sabotaged the mining operations if they are displeased with how they are managed. According to Altankhuum, the group wants to fulfill a role which they say the local authorities have failed at concerning foreign mining companies.[3][4] They demand soil samples from the mining operations, in order to check for soil contamination. In an interview with Reuters, Altankhuum stated, "[O]ur purpose changed from fighting foreigners in the streets to fighting the mining companies."[6]
References[]
- ^ a b c A Mongolian Neo-Nazi Environmentalist Walks into a Lingerie Store in Ulan Bator, a photo-report by Reuter's Carlos Barria, July 6, 2013, The Atlantic
- ^ Mongolskí neonacisti hajlujú proti Číne
- ^ a b c Blanc, Sebastien (October 10, 2013). "Mongolia's 'eco-Nazis' target foreign miners". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Mongolia's 'eco-Nazis' target foreign miners". The Korea Herald. Agence France-Presse. October 16, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b c d e Barria, Carlos (June 2, 2013). "Mongolia neo-Nazis announce a change of tack - pollution control". Reuters. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Fenbo, Wang; Giang, Chi Viet (September 15, 2009). Chowdhury, Arun (ed.). "Mongolian Nazis provoke Chinese resentment". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Ghosh, Palash (May 26, 2011). "Even Mongolia Has Neo-Nazis". International Business Times. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Hogg, Chris (September 6, 2010). "Discontent fuels Mongolia's far-right groups". BBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Spoor, Max (1996). "Mongolia: Agrarian Crisis in the Transition to a Market Economy". Europe-Asia Studies. 48 (4): 615–628. ISSN 0966-8136 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b c Aldama, Zigor (February 26, 2020). "Nazis en Mongolia: los hijos de Gengis Khan que admiran a Franco". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c Branigan, Tania (August 2, 2010). "Mongolian neo-Nazis: Anti-Chinese sentiment fuels rise of ultra-nationalism". The Guardian. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Gunasingham, Amresh; Ong, Kyler (February 27, 2020). "Why Asia may not be immune to far-right terrorism". CNA (TV network). Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Koch, Julie M. (March 2016). "Working with the LGBT community in Mongolia". American Psychological Association. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
Further, Neo-nazi groups such as the Tsagaan Khas (“white swastika”) emerged that target foreigners, inter-racial couples and LGBT persons...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rupen, Robert A. (1963). "Mongolia in the Sino-Soviet Dispute". The China Quarterly (16): 75–85. ISSN 0305-7410 – via JSTOR.
See also[]
- Neo-Nazism in Mongolia
- Mongolian anti-Chinese sentiment
- Anti-Chinese sentiment in Asia
- Environmentalism in Mongolia
- Far-right politics in Asia
- Mongolian nationalism
- Political organizations based in Mongolia
- Tengriism
- Third Position
- Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia
- Turanism
- Neo-Nazism in Asia