FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 2, 2008

Nearly 35,000 Letters Sent to President Bush Expressing Concern about Backsliding on the Rule of Law, Infringement of American Property Rights and Increased Corruption

Alexandria, VA – Today, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) announced that its supporters have sent nearly 35,000 letters to President Bush and Administration officials, asking that they reconsider foreign aid to Mongolia in response to government-sanctioned expropriation of Western interests there.

This groundswell of citizen activism demonstrates that Americans are opposed to having their tax dollars finance the ex-Communist government in Mongolia if it is merely going to undermine American free-market ideals and business interests. In recent months, the government of Mongolia has unfairly moved to force Western companies to relinquish control of mineral deposits to the state. This is a deliberate disruption of the business and legal climate in Mongolia, and a clear step towards forcing Western interests out of the country.

Most alarming, however, are the excessive foreign aid payments that Mongolia has received despite its gross transgressions against American and Western interests. For instance, Mongolia has received nearly $300 million in grants from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which was in turn used to improve the country’s Russian co-owned railway infrastructure.

“Mongolia’s activities threaten the rule of law and individual freedom around the world, and its attempt to seize Western business assets is an affront to its relationship with the U.S.” said Timothy H. Lee, CFIF’s Director of Legal and Public Affairs. “While the Mongolian government is attacking the values that Americans hold dear, including those demanded by the MCC, it is simultaneously accepting American taxpayer largesse. This is simply unacceptable.”

The letters therefore urged President Bush to reconsider American taxpayer support for Mongolia, given the country’s recent infractions against business and industry rights. “American taxpayers have clearly stated that they do not support MCC grants that will merely line Russian and Mongolian pockets at the expense of American taxpayers and Western interests,” said Lee.

Founded in 1998, the Center for Individual Freedom (www.cfif.org) is a Constitutional and free-market advocacy organization with more than 250,000 supporters and activists nationwide.