Mongolia's mines provide fertile ground for 'eco-Nazis'
Environmental ultra-nationalist groups accuse foreign companies of making money at the expense of the Mongolian landscape
A silver swastika hanging around his neck, Boldbaatar Gombodorj points out his targets on a map of Mongolia like a second world war commander: little flags representing foreign mining firms that he and fellow "eco-Nazis" accuse of destroying their country.
Mongolia's mining boom has brought the vast, sparsely populated country immense wealth but also inequality and ecological damage. Fringe ultranationalist environmentalist movements are now emerging in response.
Here we want people with Mongolian hearts and Mongolian blood. Those who pollute the rivers and springs taint their purity and they should be punished by death
Herders have roamed Mongolia's steppe for centuries, while the country only threw off the Soviet yoke after decades of domination, creating fertile ground for a mix of communal land rights and nationalism that can turn into unashamed racism.
"Here we want people with Mongolian hearts and Mongolian blood. Those who pollute the rivers and springs taint their purity and they should be punished by death," said Gombodorj, citing the revered Mongol warrior Genghis Khan.
Gombodorj, a 56-year-old retired soldier whose first name means "hero forged from steel", said the swastika was an ancient Mongol symbol and that his group, Fight for the Security of Mongolia, did not support fascism. But others openly identify themselves as neo-Nazis.
Gombodorj is ready to fight for his cause. A few weeks ago his group was in a tense stand-off with guards at a South Korean-owned mine. "We would have fired if they had," he said.
Mining makes up a fifth of Mongolia's economy and it has enjoyed one of the world's highest growth rates since the authorities invited in foreign companies to extract its gold, copper, coal and iron ore.