ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (Reuter) - Mongolian activists Saturday demonstrated against Chinese rule in Inner Mongolia, saying Beijing should free political prisoners and allow independence and democracy in the neighbouring region.
A small group of demonstrators protested near the Chinese embassy in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator to mark the 50th anniversary Sunday of the creation of China's Inner Mongolian autonomous region.
``We want the Chinese Communist Party to stop ruling Inner Mongolia and our final goal is an independent country,'' said activist M. Altanbat, who was born in Inner Mongolia.
Altanbat, who said he was a member of a new Inner Mongolian People's Party formed in New York in March, called on Beijing to stop the cultural assimilation of Inner Mongolia, where ethnic Mongolians had become an ethnic minority in their own land.
Activists carrying banners with slogans such as ``Give independence and freedom to Inner Mongolia'' also accused China of dumping nuclear waste and of allowing heavy industrial pollution in the huge region, which lies south of Mongolia.
A group of six protesters marched to the Chinese Embassy shouting pro-independence and anti-communist slogans, prompting angry embassy staff to rush into the street.
``These people have no right to represent the people of Inner Mongolia,'' said one Chinese official. ``Inner Mongolia is an inseparable part of China.''
China held no political prisoners and the detainees identified by the protesters had all been convicted of civil crimes, he said, adding that the embassy would complain to the Mongolian authorities about the demonstration.