Notes from an independent observer

I, Ninel Konstantinovna Fokina, the chairman of the Almaty Helsinki Committee (International Helsinki Human Rights Federation) was invited by the Society for Krishna Consciousness in the Republic of Kazakhstan as an independent observer to oversee activities of the special commission established by the Department of Religious Affairs of the RK Ministry of Justice to resolve the issue around the Krishna community in the Karasai district, Almaty region.
I took part in the following three meetings of the commission:

1) September 7, 2006
the Religious Affairs Department's office, Astana
- Managerial Meeting -

The minutes of the meeting and the list of the commission's members were not made available.

2) September 28, 2006
the Karasai district Hakimat's office

Two members of the commission were present: A. Mukhashov, the assistant director of the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice, and Mr. Tlentchiev, an officer of the General Prosecutor's office. The meeting was virtually a trial against SKC. Speeches were delivered by the officers of the Karasai district Hakimat, the local priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, the imam of the local Muslim community, and purposefully invited local citizens who had no connection with the land issue. They all said that the Krishna community's activities are illegal (inadmissible), that it "produces poisonous fruits" etc. All the attempts of the community's lawyers to present juridical arguments against the illegal court decisions (made against the community) were suppressed.

The minutes of the meeting and the list of participants were not made available.

3) October 1, 2006
the SKC's farm in the Karasai district

Two members of the commission were present: A. Mukhashov, the assistant director of the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice, and Mr. Tlentchiev, the officer of the General Prosecutor's office. First part of the meeting took place on one of the summer co-operative's plots adjoining the community. The meeting was attended by citizens of another village who had no connection with the land issue but actively expressed their objection to the existence of the Krishna community in the village. TV reporters invited by the district Hakimat filmed the event. The discussion boiled down to protests against the religious activities of the community.

Second part of the meeting took place on the territory of the community and was also attended by citizens of the neighboring villages. Members of the summer co-operative, some of them members of the community and others not, both expressed their dissatisfaction with the local authorities. A. Mukhashov, who chaired the meeting, insisted that the community's activities are illegal, and suppressed all the attempts by the lawyers and members of the community to argue against the court decisions and the actions of the district authorities.

The minutes of the meeting and the list of participants were not made available.

Ninel Fokina,
the chairman of the Almaty Helsinki Committee (International Helsinki Human Rights Federation),
tel. (3272) 695328

December 15, 2006