Krishna Society summoned for trial re demolition of their only temple in Kazakhstan

On October 7, 2008, representatives of the Society for Krishna Consciousness received documents from the Karasai district court ordering their presence at trial. They were verbally informed that the trial would order demolition of the Temple, barn, and forced eviction from the property.

In 2001 the Krishna Society received a State Act of Building Usage that had deemed the buildings properly constructed and allowed the Society to use the structures. The Krishna Society is officially registered on this property.

In August 2008 the Karasai government annulled the State Act. The subsequent act was delivered to the Krishna Society with no signature, no document number, undated, and not printed on government letterhead.

The Krishna Society was then ordered to Astana for a meeting chaired by A. Dozhan of the National Religious Community. At that meeting the Kazakh Government tried to coerce the Krishna directors to sign an agreement to accept the garbage dump in Illysk District.

As the land is unusable the Krishna Society directors did not succumb to the government force. They requested the government to allot one plot of the land that they now occupy, as the Religious Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan ensures this.

They were told that the land is "too beautiful for a religion to occupy" and "that the only recourse will be legal action to destroy the buildings.

Kazakhstan continually tries to prove to the international community their qualification for OSCE chairmanship. They state that they will use this post to protect the democratic principles of the organization, and that they will instruct the world what is religious harmony.
 
The clearest indication of their sincerity to these commitments would be a proper, equitable resolve of this ongoing conflict.

Since 2006 and 2007 there have been 26 homes of the faithful destroyed, many members of the society have been left homeless, and the Kazakh government has confiscated 116 acres of privatized property.

The next step is to destroy the only Hindu temple in Kazakhstan.

The chairman of the Kazakh delegation to the OSCE meeting, A. Dozhan, explained in Warsaw that 5 land plots have been offered to the Krishna Society.

He failed to explain that 2 plots were in the steppes 70 kilometers from Almaty city, 2 plots were in graveyards, and the last plot is an active garbage dump.

Human rights are for humans. Not in the steppes for camels nor in a garbage dump.