Hungarians Protest in front of Khaz Embassy

[Guest guest]

_______________________________

 

 

*Hungarian Krishna-devotees for Religious Freedom in Kazakhstan*

 

Giving emphasis to their message with a real bulldozer, the Hungarian

Krishna conscious devotees demonstrated in front of the Kazakhstan Embassy

in Budapest on May 3.

 

WHAT HAPPENED IN KAZAKHSTAN?

 

The Budapest protest was triggered by the events on April 25 when court

executives of the Karasai district, along with the representatives of the

local Hakimat and police, attempted to demolish one of the five cottages

owned by the members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. The local

government officials have decided to confiscate the land, purchased seven

years ago by the Krishna-conscious community. The attempt was thwarted

by the resistance of the devotees and the presence of the media. However,

representative of the Karasai district, R. G. Baimukhanbetova, said that

this week they would again attempt to demolish the houses and use force to

crush any resistance by Krishna devotees.

 

THE HUNGARIAN RESPONSE

 

On hearing the news, two hundred Hungarian Krishna-devotees demonstrated in

front of the Budapest Embassy of Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning, expressing

their disapproval of the government assault on their fellow community

members abroad. They accentuated their presence by placing a real bulldozer

across the street in front of the embassy and carrying placards with the

inscriptions: "WHERE IS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?BULLDOZERS AGAINST THE

RELIGIOUS?RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN KAZAKHSTAN!"

 

The three-person delegation of the demonstrators was received by caretaker

representative Rymtay Karibzhanov. Members of the delegation were Sivarama

Swami, chief pastor; Gusztáv Tornóczky, the communication representative of

the Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness; and Ms. Ilona Szent-Iványi,

European representative of the International Association for Religious

Freedom. According to Mr. Rymtay, harrassment of the devotees does not

indicate any intolerance by the state against religious minorities but is a

matter at the Karasai district level. Sivarama Swami responded that unless

the state acts swiftly against such harrassment, it is difficult to

distinguish independent behavior by a region from that of the state.

 

Mr Karibzhanov stated that the measures taken by the regional government

were not motivated by religious reasons but legal ones. However, the fact

remains that only the houses of the Krishna devotees are being threatened,

despite the fact that the legal status of the other houses is the same.

 

Sivarama Swami remarked that any issues emerging should be settled by

discussions with the owners of the land and houses, yet the local

authorities have rejected approaches by Krishna devotees for years.

 

Ms. Szent-Iványi indicated that the international human rights

organisations monitor and disapprove of the events in Kazakhstan. The

international news agency "Forum 18" covered the events for the

international press.

 

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

 

The demonstration in Hungary is a part of an international wave of protest

aimed at putting pressure on the Kazakhstan government to honour the

principles of freedom of religion it professes to practice. The coming days

will see similar actions in several European countries and in the United

States.

 

A larger scale demonstration and press conference is expected to be held in

New Delhi, where the representatives of the International Society for

Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will discuss the matter with government

officials in an effort to resolve the situation by means of diplomacy.

 

The situation is still tense. It is unknown whether the local executor will

carry out the threat to bulldoze five houses, and send two state troopers

for every devotee present. We can only hope that international protests

are effective and that the Kazakhstan government will stop this

discrimination and violation of basic human rights.

 

Pictures from the demonstration can be found here:

 

http://krisna.hu/galeria/thumbnails.php?album=76〈=english