ISKCON Press Release re Kazakhstan

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MEDIA RELEASE - ISKCON COMMUNICATIONS

 

HINDUS BRACING FOR NEXT ROUND OF ATTACKS

Kazakhstan continues aggression against minorities, ignores international

outcry

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2007

 

Contact: Vineet Chander - (201) 925-4973; vineet (AT) iskcon (DOT) com

 

Almaty - Impervious to international outcry, government officials in the

Central Asian country of Kazakhstan have intensified their attacks against

members of the Hare Krishna religion, a Vaishnava Hindu tradition. A local

court ordered more homes belonging to the Krishna devotees to be demolished,

the Associated Press reported, threatening to leave more families homeless

in freezing temperatures at any moment.

 

The latest court ruling, sanctioning the government to confiscate the

Krishna land without compensation, came as a shock to members of the

community. According to a January 31 report by Forum 18, a religious rights

watchdog group, the decision was rendered after the judge told Hare Krishna

chairperson Viktor Golous that the case would be postponed and that he could

leave. Incredulously, after Golous left the court, the judge ruled against

him in his absence. Such questionable judicial practices have led many to

conclude that the Hindus are being denied due process and targeted because

of their faith.

 

“The issue at dispute has less to do with property rights than with the

right of people living in Kazakhstan to exercise their religion freely,”

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Executive Director Aaron

Rhodes stated in an open letter. “Since the dispute started, Kazakh

authorities have been reluctant to deal with the issue in a fair and

unbiased manner.”

 

The court order is the next step in what human rights organizations have

labeled a land-grab by government officials against a religious minority.

In November 2006, several busloads of riot police and two bulldozers

demolished thirteen homes owned by members of the Hare Krishna religion.

The surprise attack evoked outrage from the worldwide Hindu community, and

elicited statements of concern from the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan, the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the United

States Commission on International Religious Freedom. In the United

Kingdom, Parliament passed an Early Day Motion condemning the harassment of

Hindus in Kazakhstan and calling upon Kazakh President Nazarbayev to

intervene. British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed Parliament members'

concerns during his Question Time, assuring them that he would continue to

push the Kazakhstan government to protect religious rights.

 

Kazakhstan's mistreatment of Hindus and other religious minorities was a key

reason the country was refused its bid to chair the OSCE in 2009.

 

“tate sponsored action has been focused upon members of the Hare Krishna

community in a manner that suggests they have been targeted on the basis of

their religious affiliation,” the OSCE Advisory Council on Freedom of

Religion or Belief said in a statement they released, adding that it “calls

upon the Kazakh authorities to halt any further demolitions and to extend

immediate humanitarian assistance to those whose homes have been destroyed.”

In light of the Kazakh government's latest moves against the Krishna

community, that call seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

For more information about the persecution of religious minorities in

Kazakhstan visit:

www.KazakhKrishna.com and www.Forum18.org

BACKGROUNDER - ISKCON COMMUNICATIONS

The following are excerpts from statements raising concerns about the

Kazakhstan government's aggression against the Hare Krishna community in

Almaty.

“The embassy has several concerns regarding the legal basis for the actions

against the Hare Krishna community. Regardless of the merits of the

underlying case, the forceful eviction of homeowners in freezing

temperatures and the destruction of their possessions, contradicted

principles of due process and fairness. The embassy urges the Karasai

district authorities to refrain from any further aggressive actions against

the Hare Krishnas, and to work toward a fair, lawful, and peaceful

resolution of the ongoing legal dispute.”

(U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan)

“From the information available to the Advisory Council, it appears that

state sponsored action has been focused upon members of the Hare Krishna

community in a manner that suggests they have been targeted on the basis of

their religious affiliation. In the view of the Advisory Council, this

raises serious issues regarding the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and

belief by members of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan.”

(The OSCE Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief)

“Recent steps against the Hare Krishnas and members of other religious

communities indicate that the government of Kazakhstan, regrettably, is

moving in the wrong direction with regard to respecting the universal right

to freedom of religion or belief. This action against the Hare Krishna

community is the latest in a series of developments over the past two years

that signal a retreat from Kazakhstan's previously positive record of

respect for the right to religious freedom.”

(The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

“While President Nazarbayev's initiative to bring world religions together

to promote tolerance is laudable, his government's harsh treatment of small

and independent groups displays a sad absence of tolerance. In short, I do

not believe these actions befit a country that would be a leader of nations.

I urge President Nazarbayev and the Government of Kazakhstan to end these

practices, withdraw the court cases to seize the Hare Krishna's land, and

ensure that all individuals are compensated for their lost property.”

(The Hon. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey)

“That this House, prior to the visit of the President of Kazakhstan,

condemns the harassment of and discrimination against Hindu minorities in

KazakhstanR and further calls upon the President to order the Karasai

District Hakimat to have all cases against the Kazakh Hindus withdrawnR and

to stop harassment of Hindus in Kazakhstan.”

(The United Kingdom Parliament, Early Day Motion No. 140)

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