Southern Mongolian Declaration of Restoration of Independence

2020-09-27

Mongolia has been an independent sovereign nation that laid its nationhood as early as the Hungnuu era more than 2000 years ago and created the largest continuous land empire in human history, stretching across the Eurasian Continent. Although in the 18^th century Mongolia became a part of the Manchu Qing Empire as co-ruler, in 1911, a large part of the nation of Mongolia was able to restore its independence. Unfortunately, Southern Mongolia became part of China as a direct result of unfair treaties concluded among the major powers, including Russia, Japan, and China, to maintain the geopolitical status quo.

It is unjustifiable by international laws that China, former subject of the Qing Empire, has claimed to inherit the entire empire upon its collapse.

From 1911 through 1945, Southern Mongolia categorically rejected China’s attempt to fully annex Southern Mongolia and maintained its de facto sovereignty and independence. The top priority of the Mongolian nation has always been to unite Southern Mongolia with the independent part in the north.

On September 9, 1945, following the defeat of Japan in World War II, Southern Mongolia established its latest interim government to declare the restoration of full independence and adopted its new constitution.

In the fateful month of February 1945, the Yalta Treaty was concluded by the heads of three superpowers, namely the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, to seal the fate of Southern Mongolia: Southern Mongolia would remain under the jurisdiction of China. With this, Southern Mongolia’s painstaking effort to maintain its independence and sovereignty failed to gain international recognition and support.

In 1947, two years prior to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, with support from the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People’s Republic as well as the Chinese Communist Party, the Southern Mongolians made another attempt to take matters into their own hands by establishing the Southern Mongolia Autonomous Government along the communist line.

In 1949, Southern Mongolia was officially annexed to the People’s Republic of China as the first “nationality minority”.

From 1967 through 1969, China carried out a massive genocide campaign in Southern Mongolia that killed 100,000 Mongolians. This was one of the major genocides committed during peacetime after World War II.

In the so-called “Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region”, the political rights of Mongolians have systematically been taken away from all levels of decision making. Thanks to this institutionalized discrimination, all Southern Mongolians have become second class citizens of China. Especially after the fascist Xi Jinping came to power in China, political persecution, economic exploitation, and cultural eradication have intensified, threatening the very existence of the Southern Mongolians as a so-called “ethnic minority of China”. Starting late August and early September, the government of China has deprived the Southern Mongolians of the right to use their mother tongue to receive education and has used excessive force to intimidate those joining the peaceful protests. The Mongolians have had to suffer another bloody crackdown.

At this critical juncture in a life and death battle, as a nation with a long history of nationhood, statehood, extremely rich natural resources, and a vast territory inherited from our great forefather Chinggis Khan, we Southern Mongolians solemnly declare that it is the time for Southern Mongolia to restore its independence and put an end to Chinese colonization.

Inner Mongolia People’s Party