Newspaper advertising published in the United States last week calls on the U.S. government to cut off aid to Mongolia unless the Mongolian government acts to “eliminate corruption and protect private property.”

The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) published a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal calling on President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to, according to the ad, "Send a Clear Message to Mongolia: Eliminate Corruption and Protect Private Property -- Or Risk Losing U.S. Foreign Aid."

The ad was published as the U.S. Commerce Department hosted a delegation of Mongolian officials at the third U.S.-Mongolia Business Forum in Washington D.C.

In the ad, CFIF highlighted trends they call “disturbing” which they claim have arisen since Mongolia received a nearly $300 million grant from the U.S. taxpayer-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). 

In part, the ad read, "Mongolia has begun a full-scale assault on the rule of law, disregarding legal contracts, shaking down private companies through confiscatory taxes on mining interests, and intimidating Western businesses into relinquishing ownership to the State."

CFIF also emphasized that MCC grants must be used for countries that demonstrate a commitment to upholding western values, "Millennium Challenge grants are intended to encourage countries to eliminate corruption, uphold the rule of law, and protect property rights -- all Western ideals and interests. MCC grants should not be used to subsidize countries headed in the wrong direction."

Founded in 1998, the Center for Individual Freedom is a Constitutional and free-market advocacy organization with more than 250,000 supporters and activist in the United States.

mongolia-web.com

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