Only Hare Krishna commune in KAZAKHSTAN to be confiscated

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KAZAKHSTAN: Only Hare Krishna commune in CIS to be confiscated

Forum 18 - Oslo,Norway

The long running struggle of Kazakhstan's Hare Krishna community to retain a

farm they own – their only commune in the former Soviet Union - has

intensified ...

 

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=764

KAZAKHSTAN: Only Hare Krishna commune in CIS to be confiscated

By Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

The long running struggle of Kazakhstan's Hare Krishna community to retain a

farm they own – their only commune in the former Soviet Union - has

intensified, Forum 18 News Service has learnt, as Almaty regional court has

ordered the farm to be confiscated without compensation. "We will contest this

decision in the Kazakhstan Supreme Court of Supervision. The situation is

critical. Under the law the court bailiffs can come to us at any moment and

begin to take the land from us," Rati Mandzhari (Yekaterina Levitskaya), of

the Society for Krishna Consciousness, told Forum 18. The commune has long

been the target of state attempts to close it down, which the community and an

OSCE official think may be motivated by state intolerance of Hare Krishna

devotees and greed for material gain. Other religious minorities in Kazakhstan

– such as Protestants – are also experiencing state intolerance of religious

freedom.

The long running struggle of Kazakhstan's Hare Krishna community to retain a

farm they own on the outskirts of the commercial capital Almaty has

intensified, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. On 29 March, Almaty regional

court decided to confiscate the farm without compensation. "We will contest

this decision in the Kazakhstan Supreme Court of Supervision. The situation is

critical. Under the law the court bailiffs can come to us at any moment and

begin to take the land from us," Rati Mandzhari (Yekaterina Levitskaya), of

the Society for Krishna Consciousness of Kazakhstan, told Forum 18 on 18

April.

 

The latest reason claimed by the state for confiscating the land is an

accusation of forgery, allegedly committed by the former owners – not the

current Hare Krishna owners - when the land was bought by the community in

1999. The state alleges that the former owners changed the registered use

recorded in the sale contract from 'peasant farm' to 'subsidiary farm'. Under

Kazakh law, only the district administration head (akim) has the right to

change the registered use of land. The 47.7 hectare [118 acre] farm is the

only Hare Krishna commune in the former Soviet Union, and has long been the

target of state attempts to close it down (see eg. F18News 14 October 2005

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=671).

 

However, Kazakhstan's case against the Hare Krishna devotees breaks the

country's own laws. When the current legal action was initiated in May 2005,

twice the time within which legal action should be taken (3 years) had already

elapsed. Despite this major flaw in the state's case, the Almaty regional

court ignored this objection.

 

"The state is trying to reduce the whole action to a mundane economic dispute.

However, it is obvious that the rights of dozens of Kazakh citizens belonging

to a religious minority are being crudely violated. In all the court documents

the religious adherence of the respondents is emphasised, which is a crude

violation of their constitutional rights", Levitskaya of the Hare Krishnas

told Forum 18.

 

She believes the local authorities are annoyed that a Hare Krishna commune is

in Kazakhstan. "Some officials in Astana [the capital] have said to me bluntly

'What do you expect - you are the only religious minority association that

owns such a large piece of land," Levitskaya told Forum 18. She also thinks

that material gain may be motivating Kazakh officials. "It really is a very

good and large piece of land. We have put a lot of effort into improving it.

It would be very advantageous to acquire such a property." Forum 18 has itself

documented state intolerance of the Hare Krishna devotees and their commune's

religious freedom (see F18News 14 October 2005

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=671).

 

Levitskaya's view that intolerance and greed for material gain is the

motivation for the state's actions is shared by others. "I think that in this

instance both political and purely mercenary motives coincided. It is unlikely

that anyone would dare to take away the land from the Hare Krishna community

so brazenly unless the authorities were irritated by the presence of an exotic

Hare Krishna commune so close to Almaty. Many Kazakh officials are irritated

that most people in the Hare Krishna village wear saris," an official of the

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who preferred to

remain anonymous, told Forum 18 from Almaty on 18 April.

 

Kazakh officials are reluctant to discuss the case with Forum 18. "It is too

soon to say this case is closed. The Hare Krishnas can contest the decision of

the regional court. I have been following this case very closely and I talk

regularly with the Hare Krishnas. But until the court proceedings are

concluded I cannot make any comment," Galaskar Syrybaev, the state Religious

Affairs Representative for Almaty region, told Forum 18 by phone on 18 April.

 

Other religious minorities in Kazakhstan – such as Protestants – are also

experiencing increasing state intolerance of religious freedom (see F18 News 1

March 2006