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News
June 7, 2007
Situation around the Krishna community in Kazakhstan escalates
The Religious Organization Society for Krishna Consciousness has made three proposals in the search for a peaceful settlement of the situation surrounding their farm community in the Karasai district of Almaty province.
The Kazakhstan government has chosen the variant of conflict settlement which includes the following measures:
The same concept was agreed upon by the head of the Kazakhstan delegation at the OSCE meeting in Vienna on March 30, 2007, Mr. B.K. Baikadamov.
Two months have passed since the government accepted these variants regarding the allotment of land to the Krishna Society. As of today none of the measures have been adopted.
The Krishna Society's chairman makes appointments for meetings with the local authorities responsible for the allotment of land. He is then shown unusable pieces of land. The authorities declare that there is no more land to allocate in their regions. Thus, nothing is allotted.
The government officials verbally promise new plots of land to the Society. But to date there has been no document drafted which guarantees the Society will receive any compensation for the damage caused to the community.
The only official document which has been received from a government official is the letter of the Karasai district Hakim Mr. B.S. Kutpanov. This letter was delivered to the chairman of the Krishna Society Mr. V.I. Golous, on June 6, 2007.
In that document the Hakim has demanded:
that all "illegally constructed buildings" including the Krishna Society's Temple and the cowshed be demolished in 10 days.
Through the past 5 years the Krishna Society has repeatedly informed officials in the capital of Kazakhstan of the irregularities in the actions of the Karasai District authorities. The complaints were always ignored and the situation has escalated drastically.
In September 2006, due to pressure from international Hindu organizations, and immediately prior to the Second Congress of World and Traditional Religions, the Kazakh government established an inter-ministerial commission under the umbrella of Religious Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Justice.
This establishment of this commission deflected the concern of religious communities worldwide. But it did not fulfill its main purpose of reaching a peaceful and intelligent settlement of the issue.
The Krishna Society placed trust in the Kazakhstan government's promise of a peaceful settlement. However, on November 21, 2006, two months after the completion of the Religious Congress, and prior to the conclusion of the commissions work, the Kazakh authorities violated international rule of law by sanctioning the demolition of 13 houses of the community. This act left men, women and children in the freezing snow of a winter night.
At the present moment, "negotiations" continue, the Society is continually harassed and is being banished from the land which it has occupied since the time of its registration in 2002. The Society's Temple is the place where the organization is legally registered. The temple is now under the threat of demolition.
If the temple is destroyed, the Society will lose its juridical status of a registered religious organization. It is the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan that unregistered religious groups have no right to assemble and their activities are liable to prosecution according to the laws of the nation.
Officials at all levels of the Kazakh Government categorically deny that the Society for Krishna Consciousness is being persecuted on religious grounds. But there are government documents which reveal a planned campaign which aims at the Society's final liquidation through which the judicial system is employed.
These policies show the extreme and callous approach to minority religions by the Kazakhstan government. The manner in which the situation has been handled are detrimental to the international reputation of Kazakhstan as a secular state which ensures equal rights and opportunities for all religions and confessions.
See the video of the destruction of the Krishna Community
The Kazakhstan government has chosen the variant of conflict settlement which includes the following measures:
- a 0.5-0.75 acre plot of land will be given in Almaty city for the construction of a place of worship for Krishna Society:
- a plot of land will be given in Almaty province for keeping cows, including a cowshed and a pasture;
- a piece of land will be given for individual housing in close vicinity of the plot for keeping cows;
- the Society will be given compensation or the possibility of selling all the cottages of members of the Krishna Society. This would include the cottages under investigation in court as well as the demolished cottages.
The same concept was agreed upon by the head of the Kazakhstan delegation at the OSCE meeting in Vienna on March 30, 2007, Mr. B.K. Baikadamov.
Two months have passed since the government accepted these variants regarding the allotment of land to the Krishna Society. As of today none of the measures have been adopted.
The Krishna Society's chairman makes appointments for meetings with the local authorities responsible for the allotment of land. He is then shown unusable pieces of land. The authorities declare that there is no more land to allocate in their regions. Thus, nothing is allotted.
The government officials verbally promise new plots of land to the Society. But to date there has been no document drafted which guarantees the Society will receive any compensation for the damage caused to the community.
The only official document which has been received from a government official is the letter of the Karasai district Hakim Mr. B.S. Kutpanov. This letter was delivered to the chairman of the Krishna Society Mr. V.I. Golous, on June 6, 2007.
In that document the Hakim has demanded:
that all "illegally constructed buildings" including the Krishna Society's Temple and the cowshed be demolished in 10 days.
Through the past 5 years the Krishna Society has repeatedly informed officials in the capital of Kazakhstan of the irregularities in the actions of the Karasai District authorities. The complaints were always ignored and the situation has escalated drastically.
In September 2006, due to pressure from international Hindu organizations, and immediately prior to the Second Congress of World and Traditional Religions, the Kazakh government established an inter-ministerial commission under the umbrella of Religious Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Justice.
This establishment of this commission deflected the concern of religious communities worldwide. But it did not fulfill its main purpose of reaching a peaceful and intelligent settlement of the issue.
The Krishna Society placed trust in the Kazakhstan government's promise of a peaceful settlement. However, on November 21, 2006, two months after the completion of the Religious Congress, and prior to the conclusion of the commissions work, the Kazakh authorities violated international rule of law by sanctioning the demolition of 13 houses of the community. This act left men, women and children in the freezing snow of a winter night.
At the present moment, "negotiations" continue, the Society is continually harassed and is being banished from the land which it has occupied since the time of its registration in 2002. The Society's Temple is the place where the organization is legally registered. The temple is now under the threat of demolition.
If the temple is destroyed, the Society will lose its juridical status of a registered religious organization. It is the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan that unregistered religious groups have no right to assemble and their activities are liable to prosecution according to the laws of the nation.
Officials at all levels of the Kazakh Government categorically deny that the Society for Krishna Consciousness is being persecuted on religious grounds. But there are government documents which reveal a planned campaign which aims at the Society's final liquidation through which the judicial system is employed.
These policies show the extreme and callous approach to minority religions by the Kazakhstan government. The manner in which the situation has been handled are detrimental to the international reputation of Kazakhstan as a secular state which ensures equal rights and opportunities for all religions and confessions.
See the video of the destruction of the Krishna Community
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