THE KRISHNA COMMUNITY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT This Krishna community may be driven away from their property and homes at any moment. To assist in relocating dozens of faithful and their temple,

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By Rati Manjari Dasi on 2 Jan 2010

The latest news about the long-running battle between the Government of Kazakhstan and ISKCON’s “Krishna Society” has just come in: the Government now wants to allot devotees only one hectare of land as compensation for the forty-eight hectares they confiscated and the twenty-six homes they demolished back in late 2006.

In its most recent correspondence with the Kazakhstan government, the Krishna Society requested that it be allowed to keep just fifteen hectares of its original forty-eight hectare plot.

In response to this appeal, national, provincial and district authorities of the Kazakhstan government established a State Commission on November 15th to resolve the issue.

Members of the Commission visited the current ISKCON farm, which presently occupies the fifteen hectares the Krishna Society requests it be allotted. This includes a small building which is currently used as the place of worship, a barn for keeping cows, a field for growing cattle feed, an apple orchard planted by the society, and vegetable and flower gardens.

These facilities have been created and maintained by the Krishna Society for the past ten years and involved great financial and human resources. However, when officials arrived to observe and measure the lands occupied by the Society, they measured only the exact area of the temple building and barn­approximately one hectare.

One month with no communication from the Government followed. Finally on December 11th Mr. Tulesov, a Deputy Chairman of the National Religious Committee, met with ISKCON leaders to announce the Commission’s decision. He showed them plans of the one hectare area including only the temple building and barn, and completely cutting off all facilities for the cows and agriculture.

Despite all the previous agreements regarding land for cows and for the construction of a new temple complex, it was all that the government had decided to allot the Society.

The government no longer intends to entertain the idea of allotting land for cows, said Mr. Tulesov. Instead, it wants to divide ISKCON’s fifteen hectares into small plots to be given to needy persons in the local Karasai District.

ISKCON’s leaders knew from past experience that this was an unlikely story, and told Mr. Tulesov as much. The government had made the same claim when it confiscated ISKCON-owned land before, yet rather than being given to poor citizens of the Karasai District, this land is now owned and being developed by rich Almaty City dwellers.

Mr. Tulesov conveyed to the government ISKCON’s disapproval of its decision. The government’s response came on December 15th: The Krishna Society should either accept the one hectare of land, or vacate from the property.

This is a familiar repetition of the Krishna Society’s struggle over the past four years since the Kazakh government destroyed twenty-six practioners’ homes and confiscated forty-eight hectares of legally registered property. The land was transferred to the land reserve of the Kazakh government for resale, and the Krishna followers who had been left homeless were never given humanitarian aid or compensation.

And so, the battle continues.

By forum18.org on 17 Feb 2010

American college students meet with Russian youth at the only Baptist church in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Unless she succeeds in her appeal, Zhanna-Tereza Raudovich will be due to pay a massive fine for hosting a Sunday morning service in her home attended by several local Baptist women and their children.

Also, the government version of a new Code of Administrative Offenses, now in Parliament, continues almost unchanged the penalties for religious activity in the current Code and adds a new offense of "inciting social, racial, national, religious, class and clan superiority."

The 17 January worship service in Raudovich's home was raided by local police and she was fined three days later. She belongs to the Council of Churches Baptists, who reject state registration in all the former Soviet republics where they operate. They insist that such registration represents unwarranted state interference in their internal affairs.

The police who raided Raudovich's home in the village of Ayteke Bi in Kazaly District of Kyzylorda Region drew up an official record that "they had discovered an illegally functioning religious community."

Raudovich was found guilty on 20 January by Judge M. Zhubanganov at Kazaly District Court of violating Article 374-1 Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences (leadership or participation in the activity of an unregistered social or religious organisation) by conducting the Sunday service. She was fined 100 times the minimum monthly wage or 141,300 Tenge (5,713 Norwegian Kroner, 699 Euros or 955 US Dollars). She appealed against the fine to Kyzylorda Regional Court, where her appeal was scheduled to be heard on 11 February.

It remains unclear how Raudovich could pay the fine. She has six children and does not have a job, fellow Baptists pointed out. "This is the sixth such fine she has faced. The family has no items of value, so court executors have not been able to confiscate anything up till now to pay off the earlier fines."

ISKCON Kazakhstan Appeals to Keep Original Plot of Land
http://news.iskcon.com/node/2287/2009-09-19/iskcon_kazakhstan_appeals_keep_original_plot_land

By ISKCON News Weekly Staff for ferghana.ru on 17 Sep 2009

On September 16, 2009 the Krishna Society appealed to the Almaty Oblast deputy Hakim, S. Mukanov to allot the Society the 15-hectare land plot that the society has occupied and developed for the past ten years.

The Kazakhstan government destroyed 26 homes of Hindu practitioners of the community. Their land plots were confiscated. The owners of the destroyed houses were left homeless and never offered compensation or humanitarian aid. All of the land plots have been resold by the Kazakh government.

The Kazakh government also confiscated the 47.7 hectares (116 acres) legally registered property of the Krishna Society. This is the property where the only Krishna Temple in Kazakhstan exists. The claim for the confiscation is forgery but this point has never been proved in court. In both cases there are more than 40 examples of violation of due process and rule of law.

The Kazakh government has been requested by numerous organizations to address the issue of the Krishna Society. In response the Krishna Society has been offered a garbage dump and other unusable land plots. The Society refused to accept these offers.

As a result, in October 2008 the government began a case demanding the demolition of the Krishna Temple and the cowshed of the society. During the trial the Kazakh government failed to support it’s arguments and had to withdraw the claim.

In 2009 the Kazakh government instructed the Krishna Society to independently search for land plots with the assurance that district authorities would assist the Society in exchanging the suitable plots for the garbage dump. During the past 5 months the Krishna Society has located 13 suitable land plots but the Kazakh government has not approved any of these plots.

The government now demands the Krishna Society to accept 5-hectares of an abandoned agriculture field. The field has no access road, is on the other side of a creek, and has no public water or electrical supply. The Kazakh officials have suggested the Krishna Society build a bridge to access the property.

This particular plot was a portion of the original 47.7-hectare farm of the Krishna Society. The government is offering 5 hectares of inaccessible wasteland within one kilometer of the property that the society has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop over the past ten years.

The Kazakh authorities persist in their attempts to banish the Krishna Society from the property that it has occupied, cultivated, developed, and worshipped at, for the past ten years.

2010 is a notable year for the Republic of Kazakhstan. It commemorates acceptance of the chairmanship of OSCE. It also commemorates the sixth year since the Kazakh government began the campaign to destroy the farm community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness in Kazakhstan.

In light of the 2010 Kazakhstan Chairmanship of OSCE the resolve of the Krishna Society issue would be a practical step in demonstrating Kazakhstan's positive will in the human dimension.

By ISKCON News Weekly Staff on 11 Apr 2009

In a positive development for ISKCON in Kazakhstan, the government there has just closed its deportation case against Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami.

The case began on January 27, when the ISKCON leader was held without explanation at Almaty airport for twelve hours and denied entry into Kazakhstan, despite carrying a valid passport and visa.

Airport Officials told him that he was on the entry blacklist and refused to explain the denial of entry, claiming it was a “state secret.” They later said Govinda Swami had been deported because he had been found guilty of “illegal missionary activity” by Aktobe Regional court in 2008. This was despite the facts that such a case had never been heard, and that the supposed “illegal missionary activity” was simply a private talk Govinda Swami gave to devotees in Almaty, a registered religious community. Such harassment was typical of the Kazakh government since it raided the Hare Krishna community outside Almaty in 2006.

But when the director of ISKCON’s Almaty Society requested the General Prosecutor’s office to investigate Govinda Swami’s deportation, things began to take an upward turn. The Aktobe prosecutor agreed, and following the investigation withdrew the previous ruling.

Govinda Swami was then requested by the National Religious Committee to come to Kazakhstan to complete any formalities to assure that his name be removed from the blacklist.

On March 26, 2009, at 3:30 AM, Kairat Tulesov, Deputy Head of the National Religious Committee, accompanied by officers of the KNB and the General Prosecutor's Office received Govinda Swami in the Almaty airport. Mr. Tulesov welcomed him, escorted him through immigration, and assured him that the issue of his immigration was a closed case.

“With the amendments to the religious law having been rejected, religious persons being released from prison, and my deportation case being resolved, it appears that the Kazakhstan government is beginning to exhibit the will to have relationship through civil dialogue,” Govinda Swami said.

He added: “My deepest thanks to all the devotees around the world for your prayers and support. I humbly request that you continue to pray that the crisis of our society in Kazakhstan will soon be resolved.”

By Madhava Smullen for Friends of the BBT on 28 Mar 2009

With the collapse of communism in 1989, ISKCON devotees in Kazakhstan began to raise their heads out of hiding and students across the country found their interest in Krishna consciousness piqued. Radheshyama Dasa—whose parents had instilled in him a love of esoteric books since childhood—was one of these. When he saw a friend of his lost in a Russian copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he sought out devotees at Karaganda University, where he was a student of biology, and bought himself a stack of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

By 1991, he had joined the ISKCON temple in Moscow, and by the end of that year he was living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and distributing the same books back to his native people.

In 1992, the first BBT book in Kazakh—Easy Journey to Other Planets—was released after being translated by a volunteer. The North European BBT wanted to strike while the iron was hot. They needed someone more full-time. And who better than their enthusiastic new book distributor in Almaty?

“I started with Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, and between 1992 and 1994 we printed six of the most important small books,” Radheshyama recalls. He’s being generous with the word ‘we’—apart from some help from a few non-devotee translators, the Kazakh BBT was a veritable one-man show, with Radheshyama serving as translator, typesetter, proofreader, and editor.

By 1997, the demand for a Kazakh Bhagavad-gita was strong—the BBT, book distributors, general public, congregation, and ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission were all asking for it. When GBC member B. B. Govinda Swami addressed the Kazakh devotees, requesting that they translate the Bhagavad-gita, it came as no surprise that Radheshyama was nominated for the job.

It was a monumental task. Starting in late 1997 at the North European BBT’s Russian translation department in Sochi City, and finishing back in the Almaty temple when that branch was shut down, Radheshyama completed translation in 2001. It took another four years to proofread the manuscript, and two more to collect the funds needed for printing. But in January 2008, after generous contributions from well-wishers, 3,000 copies of the beautiful new Kazakh Bhagavad-gita were finally printed.

“Thanks to the many devotees who helped, the Kazakh Gita became a reality, just as many more books will become a reality in the future,” Radheshyama says. “Bhakta Kalkoz, a professional journalist who proofread the Bhagavad-gita and Beyond Birth and Death from his own home, deserves a special mention. His work is completely selfless—he never accepts pay. The same for Bhaktin Ulpan, a student who assisted with proofreading, for which she had to read the Kazakh Bhagavad-gita eight to ten times.”

While its network is growing, the Kazakh BBT remains a part of the North European BBT, with no offices or printing facilities—Kazakh books are printed at the Moscow CIS branch. “Of course, I still dream that one day we will have our own regional Kazakh BBT office and printing house,” Radheshyama says. “It would be a good step towards having a more focused work environment and saving money on transportation and printer fees.”

ISKCON’s growth in Kazakhstan in general has been stunted by government persecution. In November 2006 and June 2007, local authorities bulldozed 26 of the original 66 homes owned by devotees at the Sri Vrindavan Dham community in Almaty. They also stripped the community of ownership of the separate 118-acre farm, and continue to disrupt worship at the site. Book distribution has also been a victim—in recent years, local religion leaders have worked through the government to stop devotees distributing books at universities and colleges. And distribution on the streets can be dangerous.

“Kazakh-speaking people are somewhat aggressive towards other religions, because they think they are Muslim,” Radheshyama explains. “Once in 1999, Ksirodakasayi Dasa, who has distributed thousands of Kazakh books, was attacked and beaten up by one Kazakh man. Since Ksirodakasayi is very tough himself, devotees were a little surprised—until they learned that the man was a wrestling champion.”

Krishna Nayaka Dasi, who began distributing books in 1990 at the age of fifteen, has her own unique method of self-defense—she pretends she’s Japanese. “If fanatics know you’re Kazakh, they’re more likely to harm you, but if they think you’re a foreigner, they’ll leave you alone or may even buy books from you,” Radheshyama explains.

For those times when fanatics see through her guise, Krishna Nayaka relies on the Lord’s protection. “Recently one old man attacked her, ordering her not to preach to the Kazakh children,” Radheshyama says. “Suddenly, by Prabhupada’s mercy, she realized that the fear had left her. With a lovely smile on her face, she said: ‘I will preach to your children.’ The man’s heart melted, and he left her alone.”

Despite all the difficulty, book distribution in Kazakhstan remains healthy. And the BBT continues to produce new books there—Radheshyama is currently translating Science of Self-Realization, and many more are on the way.

Introduction

Hindus in Kazakhstan are mainly of the ISKCON sect and by expatriate Hindus from India.

The Indian community in Central Asia, which comprises Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, numbers only 2732 out of a total population of 55.5 million. It consists mainly of NRIs.

Recently, the decision of the Kazakh government to raze the Hindu temple created a big controversy [1]

[edit] Indians in Kazakhstan

The Indian community in Central Asia consists mainly of students, businessmen, workers,and representatives/employees of Indian or foreign companies. There is a respectable presence of managers, entrepreneurs and traders. Indians are well regarded, having a higher per capita income than the national averages of the respective countries of its habitation. Indians have adapted themselves to local conditions and has no problems with the local populations.

Out of the total diaspora of 2732, 1127 persons are stationed in Kazakhstan. 900 are medical students. About 127 workers/managers are employed by Ispat International, a Soviet era steel plant which was taken over by the NRI businessman Shri L.N. Mittal. The plant, now called Ispat Karmet under Indian management, is a major success story.

Indians also play an important role in other commercial activities and sectors such as pharmaceuticals. Besides Ispat Karmet, the following Indian companies have representatives in Kazakhstan – Ajanta Pharma Ltd, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Ranbaxy, Core, Lupin, IPCA and USV. In addition, a project for setting up a mobile heating unit in Kazakhstan has been commissioned with ITEC funding.

The Indian Cultural Centre in Almaty is active in projecting Indian culture. Several Indian cultural festivals have been held in Kazakhstan.

The Committee feels that the Indian community in Central Asia is bound to grow in view of its strategic and economic importance. The recommendations of the Committee would also apply, mutatis mutandis, to this region [2]

[edit] ISKCON in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan recognised Hare Krishna -- a form of Hinduism -- as an official religious movement in 2002 World wide Religious News

Hare Krishna community, has only two of their 10 currently registered communities – in Astana and in the commercial capital Almaty - more than 50 members. World wide Religious News

Thirty Hare Krishna families, most of them Kazakh citizens, lived in about 60 summer huts in Almaty World wide Religious News

[edit] Harassment of Hare Krishnas in Kazakhstan

Although the Hare Krishna movement was registered at the national and local levels, leaders reported continuing harassment by the local government in the form of repeated lawsuits seeking confiscation of land in Almaty Oblast used as a communal farm. In April 2006 an appeals court upheld a lower court decision that the land should revert to the Karasai regional akimat (equivalent to a county government), because the farmer from whom Hare Krishna followers had purchased the land in 1999 did not hold title, and thus the land had not been properly privatized. On April 25, 2006, local officials went to the commune to evict the followers. Hare Krishna followers peacefully resisted and local authorities did not escalate the situation through force. The Hare Krishnas claimed that the local government targeted the commune because they were a nontraditional religious community. They cited statements by local officials, such as an April 25, 2006, interview with Channel 31 in which a Karasai akimat official stated that the Hare Krishnas were "not accepted as a religion," and that they were dangerous for the country. Independent religious observers, however, believed that the cases are motivated primarily by a financial interest in the land, the value of which has appreciated significantly since 1999. Human rights advocates and international observers brought the issue to the attention of national officials. At the end of the reporting period, the Government had not evicted the residents from the commune and the Hare Krishnas' appeal was pending before the Supreme Court.

Prior to the land confiscation lawsuits, the Hare Krishnas reported tense relations with Karasai akimat authorities, which they believe resulted in the community being subject to frequent inspections. In 2004 the Hare Krishna commune was the subject of eleven inspections by different government agencies including the police, fire protection service, sanitary agency, environment protection agency, and land committee, and subsequently fined for various violations. According to the US State Department, the Hare Krishnas admitted several violations, which they attempted to rectify, but maintained that they had been subjected to closer scrutiny than their neighbors.[3]

By ISKCON News Weekly Staff on 11 Apr 2009

Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami is off the hook with the Kazakhstan government.

In a positive development for ISKCON in Kazakhstan, the government there has just closed its deportation case against Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami.

The case began on January 27, when the ISKCON leader was held without explanation at Almaty airport for twelve hours and denied entry into Kazakhstan, despite carrying a valid passport and visa.

Airport Officials told him that he was on the entry blacklist and refused to explain the denial of entry, claiming it was a “state secret.” They later said Govinda Swami had been deported because he had been found guilty of “illegal missionary activity” by Aktobe Regional court in 2008. This was despite the facts that such a case had never been heard, and that the supposed “illegal missionary activity” was simply a private talk Govinda Swami gave to devotees in Almaty, a registered religious community. Such harassment was typical of the Kazakh government since it raided the Hare Krishna community outside Almaty in 2006.

But when the director of ISKCON’s Almaty Society requested the General Prosecutor’s office to investigate Govinda Swami’s deportation, things began to take an upward turn. The Aktobe prosecutor agreed, and following the investigation withdrew the previous ruling.

Govinda Swami was then requested by the National Religious Committee to come to Kazakhstan to complete any formalities to assure that his name be removed from the blacklist.

On March 26, 2009, at 3:30 AM, Kairat Tulesov, Deputy Head of the National Religious Committee, accompanied by officers of the KNB and the General Prosecutor's Office received Govinda Swami in the Almaty airport. Mr. Tulesov welcomed him, escorted him through immigration, and assured him that the issue of his immigration was a closed case.

“With the amendments to the religious law having been rejected, religious persons being released from prison, and my deportation case being resolved, it appears that the Kazakhstan government is beginning to exhibit the will to have relationship through civil dialogue,” Govinda Swami said.

He added: “My deepest thanks to all the devotees around the world for your prayers and support. I humbly request that you continue to pray that the crisis of our society in Kazakhstan will soon be resolved.”

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>, and
Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

Human rights defenders and religious minorities have complained to Forum 18 News Service of a "wave" of hostile media coverage of religious communities. They think this is part of a government-sponsored campaign to gain greater public acceptance of a new Law restricting freedom of thought, conscience and belief. "All these articles have one source: the KNB secret police," Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, told Forum 18. Told that journalists and editors had denied this to Forum 18, she responded: "Who's going to admit such coverage is ordered?" Protestants such as Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists and Pentecostals have faced media attacks along with Ahmadi Muslims, the Hare Krishna community and Jehovah's Witnesses. One of many examples of media intolerance is four separate newspapers publishing an identical article attacking the Jehovah's Witnesses. One of the newspapers credited the article to a named former Jehovah's Witness, one credited a different author, and two of the newspapers credited KNB secret police offices in different Kazakh regions.
 

As Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council prepares to deliver its view of the constitutionality of the highly restrictive Law amending various laws covering religion, human rights defenders and religious minorities have complained to Forum 18 News Service of a "wave" of hostile media coverage of religious communities. They think this is part of a government-sponsored campaign to gain greater public acceptance of the new Law restricting freedom of thought, conscience and belief. "All these articles have one source: the KNB secret police," Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, told Forum 18 on 5 February. Told that journalists and editors had denied this to Forum 18, she responded: "Who's going to admit such coverage is ordered?"

The controversial new Law has been considered by the Constitutional Council since 8 January. In a brief announcement posted to its website today (5 February), it stated that the Law will be discussed at a meeting in the capital Astana, on the morning of 10 February.

Fokina told Forum 18 that Nikolai Belorukov from the Constitutional Council will present its view of the Law, while invited experts are expected to speak also. She said the public are allowed to attend such sessions by arrangement. She added that Constitutional Council decisions are generally released a day or two after such sessions.

The announcement of 10 February as the date when the Constitutional Council will hold its meeting on the Law came the day after the Legal Opinion by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the draft Law was made public. The OSCE Legal Opinion ­ prepared by the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief ­ makes very serious criticisms of the Law, finding that "significant outstanding issues remain if the law is to be brought into full compliance with Kazakhstan's OSCE commitments and other international standards" (see F18News 4 February 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1249).

Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee said coverage of religious issues in Kazakhstan's media is now ten times greater than five years ago, with about seventy percent of such coverage consisting of hostile attacks on religious communities. She said organising such coverage falls within the "ideological work" each Akimat (administration) undertakes. She said that Kazakhstan's media are so dependent on government resources that they cannot refuse to publish material officials want to see published.

The state-controlled mass media has regularly been used to promote intolerance of religious organisations the authorities dislike, as well as support for the draft Law's restrictions on freedom of thought, conscience and belief (see eg. F18News 30 April 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1123).

Forum 18 notes that prosecutors repeatedly tell the Kazakh media of cases where "dangerous" or "illegal" religious literature is confiscated and individuals are punished for often unspecified "illegal" religious activity. In its report of its activity in 2008 posted to the General Prosecutor's Office website on 29 January, the Kyzyl-Orda Prosecutor's Office reported checking up on local religious organisations, political parties and the media, resulting in 12 unnamed individuals being prosecuted under the Code of Administrative Offences. One woman, G. Asylova, was also reported as having been punished administratively on 20 October 2008 for "violating the procedure for conducting religious events".

Akmolinskaya Pravda, a Russian-language newspaper, reported on 13 December 2008 that local officials had taken part in a July 2008 training seminar on "legal aspects of the struggle with totalitarian religious cults". Volunteers from Zhas Otan, the youth division of the ruling Nur Otan party, were brought in to help in the "struggle" with such groups, while lectures were held at colleges. The paper said a Centre to Help the Victims of Destructive Religious Movements had also been set up in Kokshetau, one of several in the country. Kazakhstan Today reported on 22 November that at its opening ceremony, Gulmira Karimova, deputy head of the Regional Akimat's Department of Social Policy, said the authorities are concerned by the attraction of young people to "pseudo-spiritual movements".

Individual, named communities are often singled out for hostile coverage. "A great wave of newspaper articles against Protestants has begun," one Protestant who preferred not to be identified told Forum 18 in mid-January. "I believe this is designed to influence the Constitutional Council's decision on the new Law."

Among many recent articles seen by Forum 18, on 16 January the Russian-language paper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda criticised the Grace Church's activity across the country. The Church has faced repeated raids and pressure and a ban on its senior pastor ­ a US citizen - from entering the country (see F18News 30 January 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1078).

The article, by a freelance contributor Roman Tkachev, reported that 44 church members had faced legal cases and more than ten foreigners associated with the church had been expelled. It said the church was engaged in "subversive activity" and embezzlement, and concluded: "As long as such religious movements function in the country, society ­ and that means each of us ­ will remain in danger. So de we need such 'Grace'?"" The article did not include any response to such accusations from Church members.

The following day Grace Church was attacked in Ekspress K newspaper by its Taraz correspondent, Gulzhan Asanova, who claimed that Justice Ministry experts had found that a sermon in its local congregation had incited "religious intolerance". She said the preacher, whom she did not name, faced criminal trial for inciting religious and ethnic hatred under Article 164, Part 2 of the Criminal Code. This appears to be a reference to Sarybai Tanabaev (see F18News 12 December 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1229).

Both newspapers ­ which drew entirely on material from state security agencies such as the KNB secret police - rejected suggestions that the articles had been part of any campaign against religious minorities timed to coincide with consideration of the new Law. Sergei Volkov, deputy editor of Kazakhstanskaya Pravda with responsibility for the Friday edition where the article was published, laughed at the suggestion. "I can say firmly it was not part of any campaign," he told Forum 18 from Astana on 5 February. "We gave space to a journalist and he presented this material, that's all."

Asked whether the journalist could have been working with the National Security Committee (KNB) secret police or the Police, Volkov said it was "one hundred per cent not true". Asked whether he was concerned that the article described the Grace Church as dangerous without giving church members the chance to respond, he declared "No, I'm not worried."

Equally insistent that her article was not part of any campaign against religious minorities was Asanova of Ekspress K. She told Forum 18 from Taraz on 5 February that she had read about the church in a local paper and had approached the security agencies for more information. Asked why the article did not have any response from church members, she responded: "I didn't ask them. I was only interested in the fact that a criminal case is due to go to court and I didn't name the man or say he was guilty." She said church members could have contacted the paper after the article was published but had not done so. She told Forum 18 she was unaware that the same Church had been written about the day before in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.

But not only have Protestant communities such as the Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists and Pentecostals faced media attacks, hostile coverage has extended to Ahmadi Muslims, the Hare Krishna community and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Growing use in the media is being made of claims by individuals who have left such communities. Former Jehovah's Witness Bakhitbek Tarzhanov and former Ahmadis Aleksei Tolchennikov and Yerlan Bektimirov have repeatedly been interviewed on television and in the press criticising their former faiths. On 1 December the KTK commercial television station interviewed the two former Ahmadis, declaring in its summary: "The new Religion Law must be harsher ­ that's the view of former sectarians".

Nurym Taibek of the Ahmadi community told Forum 18 on 4 February that Tolchennikov had been excluded from the community for drinking alcohol and financial impropriety and complained that he "earned money" by repeating allegations in the media. He also complained that their representatives had been invited several times to filmed debates with representatives of the state-backed Muslim Board and while "slanderous" comments about the Ahmadi community were shown on television, their own responses were cut out. He said the 31 Kanal television station repeatedly showed such material.

Four separate newspapers published an identical article attacking the Jehovah's Witnesses, and quoting their former member Tarzhanov, in February and March 2008. In a clear signal of the involvement of the KNB secret police, one of the newspapers gave Tarzhanov as the author, one credited a different name Kharuan Yakhniya, one the KNB for Atyrau Region and one the KNB for Almaty Region.

Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18 from Almaty that Tarzhanov could be being used to discredit the organisation through the media. "Similar media attacks took place earlier too." They said it is unclear whether it is coincidence that articles against Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious groups coincided with the new Law reaching its last stage. "However, if it enters into force, the Religion Law would seriously restrict the practice of our religion."

The hostile press coverage also coincides with the launch of a new network, the Association of Centres for Work with Victims of Destructive Religious Movements, of which the Kokshetau centre is a part. A centre was originally founded by Yulia Denisenko in Kostanai several years ago, but, as she told Forum 18 on 5 February, she now has seven centres in the Association. "An eighth is being opened now and by the end of the year we will have a centre in each region of Kazakhstan."

She said the centres work against religious movements that are "against the family, the individual, society and the state". She did not name any groups she believe fall into this category, referring Forum 18 to the website run by the Moscow-based anti-cult activist Aleksandr Dvorkin who, she said, first gave her the idea of launching such work in Kazakhstan.

Denisenko insisted to Forum 18 that her centre in Kostanai and the Association are non-governmental organisations, but admitted that the bulk of the funding comes from the government. "We draw up projects and enter them in competitions for government funds and get support if we win." She said the centres also retain close ties with local Akimats, the Justice Ministry, the Culture Ministry and the Presidential Administration, but "most of all" with the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee.

A supporter of the proposed new Law, Denisenko said the Religious Affairs Committee and the two chambers of Parliament had invited her several times to take part in public discussions of the Law, paying her travel costs. "I gave my recommendations. If they want someone to be there it's normal for them to pay for the trip."

Mirambai Kemalov, Head of the Analytical Department of the Constitutional Council, told Forum 18 on 4 February that it is not authorised to answer whether the recent arrests of members of religious groups and media attacks against various religious communities is related to the moves to adopt the new Law.

Zhanna Onlashova, a legal expert at the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee, said the media attacks and arrests of religious believers were not being done to prove any point and have no connection to the process of new law's adoption.

"The New Law is not against religious organisations," she claimed to Forum 18 from Astana on 4 February. "On the contrary: many articles which could have made the Law stricter were removed during parliamentary discussions." She claimed that discussions had been "completely open" and that the views of religious communities had been listened to. "They never told us anything like the new Law was threatening their existence."

However, religious believers and human rights defenders have made numerous repeated criticisms of the Law (see eg. F18News 22 December 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1234).

Onlashova of the Religious Affairs Committee claimed that it is in constant touch with OSCE experts to improve the Law. "It's not perfect but it is much more lenient towards religious organisations than say, in Azerbaijan, or other countries of Central Asia."

She refused to say whether the Religious Affairs Committee at the Justice Ministry considers Ahmadis, Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, Baptists, and Hare Krishna devotees as "dangerous" for society. The Justice Ministry has supported screenings of a film claiming that the Hare Krishna faith incites devotees to commit murder (see F18News 9 January 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1238). Onlashova said she first needed to find out who Forum 18 is. (END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=564.

For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701.

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kazakhstan can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=29.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh.

Action follows global pressure
Julia Duin (Contact)
Friday, February 13, 2009

Kazakhstan, a key U.S. economic partner in Central Asia, has dramatically reversed legislation curtailing religious freedoms after the measure and the jailings and expulsions of two religious activists caused an international outcry.

With little explanation, the country's constitutional council announced Wednesday that amendments to a religion law were "inconsistent" with Kazakhstan's constitution.

A spokesman for the Kazakh Embassy said Thursday that the amendments did not dovetail with international human rights law and were sent back to committee.

On Feb. 4, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) assessed the law as not complying with human rights standards. The amendments bolstered the main religions in the country - Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church - whose leaders have been asking the government to crack down on religious minorities.

Human rights groups around the globe had complained about the amendments, which ratcheted up penalties for unregistered religious groups such as Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses, and increased from 10 to 50 the minimum number of members a religious organization must have in order for it to register.

Any community smaller than that could not teach, profess their religion, own property or rent public space for religious activities. Contributions from foreigners and anonymous donors were prohibited.

By Mushfig Bayram for Forum 18 News on 14 Feb 2009

Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council announced on 11 February that the restrictive "Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" is unconstitutional. Gulnara Baygeldy, the Council's press officer, told Forum 18 News Service from the capital Astana on 12 February that "now the President [Nursultan Nazarbaev] should decide to agree or disagree with us within 10 days." She declined to make further comments, or make the text of the Constitutional Council's judgment public. "Only after the President makes his decision can we make further comments," she told Forum 18.
The Chair of the Constitutional Council, Igor Rogov, made the announcement at a meeting in Astana widely shown on television and reported in the local media. He said that the proposed Law is not in accord with the Constitution and so "cannot be signed and brought into force".
President Nazarbaev has up to one month to respond to the decision. He can propose changes to the decision, but these must be supported by two-thirds of the Constitutional Council's members to take effect.
Rogov said the Constitutional Council particularly cited Article 39 paragraph 3 of the Constitution in support of its judgment that the draft Law is unconstitutional. This paragraph states that the "rights and freedoms stipulated by" various specific articles of the Constitution "shall not be restricted in any way". Among the articles listed is Article 14.2 stating "no one shall be subject to any discrimination for reasons of origin, social, property status, occupation, sex, race, nationality, language, attitude towards religion, convictions, place of residence or any other circumstances." Also listed is Article 19.1, which states that "everyone shall have the right to determine and indicate or not to indicate his national, party and religious affiliation."
Constitutional Council Chair Rogov said the draft Law violated the equality of all before the Law by giving different registration conditions for faiths "previously unknown in Kazakhstan". He added that the draft Law would also have infringed the rights of non-citizens by not specifically including legal residents who are not citizens as having equal rights.
Human rights defenders, religious communities, Kazakh and international human rights experts ­ including the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief - are strongly critical of the draft Law's many restrictions on fundamental human rights.
Yevgeni Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18 on 12 February that the Constitutional Council's judgement on the draft law also implies that the current Religion Law is unconstitutional.
He told Forum 18 that, as the Constitutional Council has indicated by its use of Article 39 paragraph 3 that the current Religion Law is also unconstitutional, the Kazakh Parliament should in principle scrap all its limitations on freedom of religion or belief. An example of the limitations, Zhovtis said, is the current Law's ban on the unregistered dissemination of religious views.
"Anyone charged with breaking the current Religion Law's limitations on religious freedom can cite the Constitutional Council's decision in court," Zhovtis said. "The court can then be asked to refer the current Religion Law to the Constitutional Council, for them to directly rule on the current Religion Law's constitutionality."
Human rights defender Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, agrees that the current Religion Law needs to be examined. "The Constitutional Court decision was only about the proposed Law and has no retroactive effect," she told Forum 18 on 12 February. "But of course it does have an impact on the current Law." However, she pointed to the difficulty of finding 20 parliamentary deputies, or a judge, or a senior government member, who would be likely to refer the current Law to the Constitutional Council for a review.
"It is also very important," Zhovtis told Forum 18, "that as well as looking at the draft Law, people also pay attention to the continuing violations by officials of everyone's freedom of religion or belief."
Human rights defender Fokina told Forum 18 that these violations include officials repeatedly encouraging intolerance of religious minorities and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Officials often ignore Kazakh law in carrying out human rights violations, for example banning a Hare Krishna devotee from the country after a trial which apparently never took place.

By Mushfig Bayram for Forum 18 News on Wed, 2009-02-04

Four weeks after Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council began reviewing a highly restrictive Law amending various laws covering religion, a senior official at the Constitutional Council has told Forum 18 News Service that final discussions on what their review will say have not yet taken place. "We have to finish the process of evaluation before 10 February," Mirambai Kemalov, Head of the Analytical Department, told Forum 18 from the capital Astana on 4 February.
Human rights defenders and religious communities remain highly concerned that the Constitutional Council will approve and President Nursultan Nazarbaev will sign the controversial Law. Many provisions of the Law have been seriously criticised in a Legal Opinion from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) made public today (4 February).
Highly sceptical of the authorities' intentions is Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, who has long opposed the new Law. "The Constitutional Council will do what it is told," she told Forum 18. "But what it is being told is unknown." She said she hopes the Constitutional Council will reject the Law as unconstitutional, but believes that even if it does so a similar Law will be proposed very quickly as the authorities are intent on increasing their control over religious activity still further. "The state's policy towards religion is part of its general policy towards civil society ­ including political parties, the media and non-governmental organisations," she told Forum 18. "This policy is to strengthen and harshen control." She predicted that arrests, raids and fines on religious communities would continue, whether or not the new Law is adopted.
The OSCE Legal Opinion ­ prepared by the OSCE/ODIHR Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief ­ highlights many provisions of the proposed Law which severely restrict freedom of religion and belief. As the OSCE Legal Opinion notes, at the start of its detailed analysis of the Law's non-compliance with international standards (which begins at paragraph 27): "many serious issues remain with respect to the Proposed Religion Law's compliance with international human rights standards, including in particular OSCE commitments."
The adoption of the new Law by Parliament in 2008 was surrounded by a campaign of intolerance against religious minorities from officials and the media, a campaign that has continued since the Law was sent to President Nazarbaev in late December.
Kazakhstan is due to chair the OSCE in 2010, and the OSCE Legal Opinion finds that there are serious problems with the Law, when it is compared against the country's OSCE commitments and international problems. Among the many problems identified in the OSCE Legal Opinion, the Executive Summary at paragraph 21 notes:
- a general pattern of structuring provisions in ways that impose impermissible limitations on manifestations of religion, in violation of applicable limitation clauses of international instruments;
- failure to fully respect the right of religious communities to acquire legal entity status;
- lack of clear standards for ascribing liability for wrongdoing of particular individuals to religious organizations;
- vague provisions which fail to comply with fundamental rule of law constraints because they are insufficiently precise and fail to give fair notice of what the law requires;
- inappropriate constraints on rights to express and disseminate religious beliefs;
- risks of non-neutral evaluation of the substantive content of religious beliefs;
- proscription of religious activities carried out by unregistered groups and on some of the religious activities of groups that have only "record registration";
- the requirement of an excessive number of members in order to obtain legal entity status (50 for each local religious organization);
- inadequate protection of the right of religious communities to autonomy in structuring their own affairs;
- parental consent provisions that are overly rigid and could deprive mature minors of religious freedom rights and could impose liability on religious groups for unpredictable teenage behavior despite good faith efforts to respect parental wishes regarding involvement of their children in religious activities;
- excessive penalties for non-compliance with registration rules;
- transition provisions that fail to adequately protect vested rights of existing religious organizations.
Paragraph 21 also notes that "in many key respects, their [smaller religious groups] rights to engage in the full range of religious activities are subjected to inappropriate limitations or restrictions."
The OSCE Legal Opinion notes in paragraph 22 that "rather than facilitating religious freedom, the Proposed Religion Law's registration provisions create potential obstacles to the rights of many groups to acquire legal entity status. The Proposed Religion Law is structured to make it difficult for smaller groups to carry out the full range of religious activities in which such groups would reasonably be expected to engage. Religious groups and local religious organizations and groups are not authorized to establish religious educational organizations. Rights to engage in missionary work, while less restricted than in an earlier draft of the legislation, are still constrained. Re-registration of all religious groups is required, putting at risk existing organizations and vested property rights in the event re-registration is denied."
The "Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" amends numerous articles of the current Religion Law, the Code of Administrative Offences and several other laws. The Law flagrantly ignores the suggestions contained in the OSCE / Venice Commission Guidelines for Review of Legislation Pertaining to Religion or Belief.
As the OSCE Legal Opinion concludes at paragraph 104: "significant outstanding issues remain if the law is to be brought into full compliance with Kazakhstan's OSCE commitments and other international standards. In many areas, the problems with the legislation reflect legitimate concerns that appropriate legislation can address, but in a manner that addresses problems with more narrowly tailored and sensitive provisions that can solve actual problems without imposing excessive burdens on freedom of religion or belief."
Kazakh officials repeatedly - and falsely - claimed that the OSCE blocked publication of the OSCE Legal Opinion. Kazakhstan has also consistently refused to make successive drafts and amendments of the Law available for discussion, both within and outside the country. As Kazakh officials continued to claim that publication of the Legal Opinion was being blocked by the OSCE, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) told Forum 18 that it "has recommended to the Kazakh authorities that the legal review be made public, as is normal practice".
Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Director of the ODIHR, expressed disappointment at the "hasty" passage of the Law through Parliament, and has called for it to be changed to make it "fully reflecting OSCE commitments and other international standards".
Kazakhstan ­ also in breach of its OSCE commitments - routinely incites intolerance of religious minorities. Kazakh Air Force personnel, for example, have been shown a film by the Justice Ministry claiming that the Hare Krishna faith incites devotees to murder people.
Official incitement to intolerance has also been formalised in a "State Programme of Patriotic Education," approved by a decree of President Nazarbaev, and a Justice Ministry booklet "How not to fall under the influence of religious sects". President Nazarbaev has openly attacked the right to freedom of religion or belief in Kazakhstan, despite the country being due to be Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE in 2010.
Nurym Taibek of the Ahmadis pointed out that the Justice Ministry booklet "How not to fall under the influence of religious sects" ­ which includes the Ahmadis ­ was just a "small link in a chain" of measures against them by government officials.
Intolerance of everyone's right to freedom of religion and belief has been repeatedly incited through the mass media, which has been used by the state to encourage support for both the Law and police raids on religious communities.
Religious communities in Kazakhstan have also been disturbed by increased official demands that they and their leaders complete highly intrusive questionnaires covering personal, political, religious and other matters, including who the close friends of leaders are.
Even the administration of legal rights supposedly guaranteed in Kazakhstan is open to serious criticism. In a February 2007 report on trial monitoring, the OSCE found that Kazakh court proceedings needed to offer "the right of the public to attend court, equality between the parties and the presumption of innocence".
In late January Kazakhstan banned a Hare Krishna devotee from visiting the country, openly breaking its own laws and also citing as a reason a trial which apparently never took place. Baptists and a missionary for the Unification Church (commonly known as the Moonies) ­ jailed after proceedings they strongly object to - are among the religious minorities who complain of unfair trials.
Similarly, legal experts have told Forum 18 that terrorism charges brought against 15 devout Muslims - which resulted in jail sentences of up to 19 and a half years - were not proven, and that at least fourteen of the accused are completely innocent.

February 23, 2009

ALMATY -- The Kazakhstan Society of Krishna Consciousness must vacate its property by February 28, according to a letter sent to them by the Kazakh authorities.

Society Chairwoman Galinna Glouz told RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service that the government offered to relocate the group to a location she described as a "dumpsite."

Deputy Governor Serik Mukanov said the organization was offered an acceptable alternative location by officials, which it accepted and then turned down at the last minute.

Last month, an American representing the Hare Krishnas was deported from Kazakhstan after landing at the Almaty airport, even though he had a valid visa.

The Kazakh government has been in conflict with the Hare Krishna community since last fall, when Almaty Oblast officials decided to demolish houses belonging to Krishna followers living on Almaty's outskirts.

Submitted by Madhava Smullen on March 13, 2009 - 7:43am.
Category: BBT Divisions
 

With the collapse of communism in 1989, ISKCON devotees in Kazakhstan began to raise their heads out of hiding and students across the country found their interest in Krishna consciousness piqued. Radheshyama Dasa-whose parents had instilled in him a love of esoteric books since childhood-was one of these. When he saw a friend of his lost in a Russian copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he sought out devotees at Karaganda University, where he was a student of biology, and bought himself a stack of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

By 1991, he had joined the ISKCON temple in Moscow, and by the end of that year he was living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and distributing the same books back to his native people.

In 1992, the first BBT book in Kazakh-Easy Journey to Other Planets-was released after being translated by a volunteer. The North European BBT wanted to strike while the iron was hot. They needed someone more full-time. And who better than their enthusiastic new book distributor in Almaty?

"I started with Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, and between 1992 and 1994 we printed six of the most important small books," Radheshyama recalls. He’s being generous with the word ‘we’-apart from some help from a few non-devotee translators, the Kazakh BBT was a veritable one-man show, with Radheshyama serving as translator, typesetter, proofreader, and editor.

By 1997, the demand for a Kazakh Bhagavad-gita was strong-the BBT, book distributors, general public, congregation, and ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission were all asking for it. When GBC member B. B. Govinda Swami addressed the Kazakh devotees, requesting that they translate the Bhagavad-gita, it came as no surprise that Radheshyama was nominated for the job.

It was a monumental task. Starting in late 1997 at the North European BBT’s Russian translation department in Sochi City, and finishing back in the Almaty temple when that branch was shut down, Radheshyama completed translation in 2001. It took another four years to proofread the manuscript, and two more to collect the funds needed for printing. But in January 2008, after generous contributions from well-wishers, 3,000 copies of the beautiful new Kazakh Bhagavad-gita were finally printed.
 

"Thanks to the many devotees who helped, the Kazakh Gita became a reality, just as many more books will become a reality in the future,"
Radheshyama says. "Bhakta Kalkoz, a professional journalist who proofread the Bhagavad-gita and Beyond Birth and Death from his own home, deserves a special mention. His work is completely selfless-he never accepts pay. The same for Bhaktin Ulpan, a student who assisted with proofreading, for which she had to read the Kazakh Bhagavad-gita eight to ten times."

While its network is growing, the Kazakh BBT remains a part of the North European BBT, with no offices or printing facilities-Kazakh books are printed at the Moscow CIS branch. "Of course, I still dream that one day we will have our own regional Kazakh BBT office and printing house," Radheshyama says. "It would be a good step towards having a more focused work environment and saving money on transportation and printer fees."

ISKCON’s growth in Kazakhstan in general has been stunted by government persecution. In November 2006 and June 2007, local authorities bulldozed 26 of the original 66 homes owned by devotees at the Sri Vrindavan Dham community in Almaty. They also stripped the community of ownership of the separate 118-acre farm, and continue to disrupt worship at the site. Book distribution has also been a victim-in recent years, local religion leaders have worked through the government to stop devotees distributing books at universities and colleges. And distribution on the streets can be dangerous.

"Kazakh-speaking people are somewhat aggressive towards other religions, because they think they are Muslim," Radheshyama explains. "Once in 1999, Ksirodakasayi Dasa, who has distributed thousands of Kazakh books, was attacked and beaten up by one Kazakh man. Since Ksirodakasayi is very tough himself, devotees were a little surprised-until they learned that the man was a wrestling champion."

Krishna Nayaka Dasi, who began distributing books in 1990 at the age of fifteen, has her own unique method of self-defense-she pretends she’s Japanese. "If fanatics know you’re Kazakh, they’re more likely to harm you, but if they think you’re a foreigner, they’ll leave you alone or may even buy books from you," Radheshyama explains.

For those times when fanatics see through her guise, Krishna Nayaka relies on the Lord’s protection. "Recently one old man attacked her, ordering her not to preach to the Kazakh children," Radheshyama says. "Suddenly, by Pra-bhupada’s mercy, she realized that the fear had left her. With a lovely smile on her face, she said: ‘I will preach to your children.’ The man’s heart melted, and he left her alone."

Despite all the difficulty, book distribution in Kazakhstan remains healthy. And the BBT continues to produce new books there-Radheshyama is currently translating Science of Self-Realization, and many more are on the way.

For Radheshyama, life is simple. "Pra-bhupada’s books have done so much for me, and in return I want to fulfill his instructions. My long term goal in life is simply to translate, print, distribute, and teach all of Prabhupada’s books."

By Felix Corley for Forum 18 News on Tue, 2009-03-17

President Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan will not be challenging the finding of the Constitutional Council that the proposed new law amending various laws on religion is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council told Forum 18 News Service that the Presidential Administration has informed it that President Nazarbaev agrees with its finding and is not planning to challenge it. However, Nikolai Golysin, the President's deputy spokesperson, told Forum 18 that "the head of state has given no official information on this. I don't know what official gave these remarks to the Constitutional Council."

Many in Kazakhstan remain wary, certain that officials will try again to impose harsh new restrictions on freedom of religion and belief. "This is not the end of the attempt to adopt such a law," Yevgeny Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18. "I think they will try again." He believes fresh attempts could come in 2011 or 2012, after Kazakhstan has completed its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). "But I'm not sure that they won't try again in 2009."

Human rights defenders and religious communities have cautiously welcomed the decision by President Nursultan Nazarbaev not to challenge the finding of the Constitutional Council that the proposed new law amending various laws on religion is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council insisted to Forum 18 News Service on 16 March that the Presidential Administration has informed it that President Nazarbaev agrees with its finding and is not planning to challenge it. "The Law violated the rights of Kazakh citizens, foreign citizens and people without citizenship in the area of freedom of religion. The President agrees with this assessment."

The Constitutional Council announced on 11 February its finding that the restrictive "Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" violated the Constitution. President Nazarbaev had up to one month to challenge or accept the finding. The Constitutional Council's reasoning implied, although it did not explicitly state, that the current Religion Law is also unconstitutional and open to challenge.

On 11 March, the Constitutional Council noted in a terse announcement on its website that it had already ruled that the Law approved by Parliament was "not in accord with the Constitution". It quoted the Presidential Administration as stating that President Nazarbaev agreed with the Constitutional Council decision and "does not intend to present an objection to it". It said the Constitutional Council's decision would be published in the official media.

Curiously, as of 17 March the Presidential website made no mention of the President's decision not to challenge the Constitutional Council's finding of the Religion Law's unconstitutionality. Seeveral times a week, new presidential decisions are recorded on the website. Almost every day Indeed, the website has made no mention of the proposed Law since it was adopted by Parliament in late 2008.

Even more strangely, Nikolai Golysin, the President's deputy spokesperson, told Forum 18 categorically on 16 March that the press service has no official information about any presidential decision and has made no official announcement. "The head of state has given no official information on this. I don't know what official gave these remarks to the Constitutional Council," he told Forum 18. "You're not the first to ask about this."

Many in Kazakhstan remain wary, certain that officials will try again to impose harsh new legal restrictions on freedom of religion and belief. "This is not the end of the attempt to adopt such a Law," Yevgeny Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18 from Almaty on 15 March. "I think they will try again." He believes fresh attempts could come in 2011 or 2012, after Kazakhstan has completed its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which will be at the end of 2010. "But I'm not sure that they won't try again in 2009."

Some Protestant leaders share Zhovtis' concern. "We have three years' grace before officials will adopt a new law with similar provisions," one Protestant who preferred not to be identified told Forum 18.

Forum 18 has learnt that, even before the Law was adopted by Parliament in late 2008, some extremely senior officials were alarmed by international protests. They proposed to President Nazarbaev that he postpone such a law until after Kazakhstan has completed its chairmanship of the OSCE at the end of 2010.

One of the deputies of the Majilis (Lower House of Parliament) who initiated the rejected Law, Berik Bekzhanov, acknowledged to Forum 18 on 17 March that the Constitutional Council ruling cannot be challenged and that this version of the Law has come to a halt. Asked whether deputies like him who advocate tighter restrictions on religious activity will continue to push for such legal changes, he responded: "We don't know what we'll do ­ the question remains open."

Bekzhanov insisted that the current Law should be amended to tackle religious groups "which violate the rights of young people and others". "There must be a ban on a legal basis." Asked to identify religious communities that he had in mind, he specified the Jehovah's Witnesses. "They don't recognise secular laws, symbols of the state, won't undergo secondary education, won't defend the country and ignore their obligations as citizens," he alleged. "Such groupings shouldn't be allowed to exist." Asked if he believes they should be banned in law, he responded: "Yes, of course."

Bekzhanov also approves of the fining of Council of Churches Baptists who hold worship services without state registration. "They have violated the law," he told Forum 18.

Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law told Forum 18 that in mid-February, after the Constitutional Court made its ruling and before the President made his final decision, the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee held a round-table meeting in Astana where "practically all the ideas of the Law were again repeated and supported as if there were no decision of the Constitutional Council". He believes it was an attempt to influence the final decision of the President.

He added that a big international conference is being held in Astana on "destructive sects" where Aleksandr Dvorkin, "the notorious Russian 'specialist' and author of a number of xenophobic and aggressive books about sects", is the key "expert".

Zhovtis told Forum 18 that, given these moves, the decision not to adopt the Law will make "no difference" to the life of religious communities, insisting that life for them has not become easier. "The pressure is still underway." He believes officials will continue to crack down on religious communities that they do not like, including independent Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, independent Muslims and Hare Krishna devotees. "Where possible they will threaten, blackmail and discredit them," he told Forum 18. "It seems that the National Security Committee (KNB) secret police, backed politically from the top, has a special department to harass religious minorities jointly with the Prosecutor's Office and the Interior Ministry."

Recent pressure on religious communities known to Forum 18 includes continued administrative cases launched against Council of Churches Baptists for holding unregistered worship services and confiscation of their property for unpaid fines imposed to punish them for such services, the court-ordered closure of a Christian-run rehabilitation centre for alcoholics and drug-addicts and continued pressure on the Hare Krishna commune near Almaty to leave its site.

Zhovtis also points out that the official press is still publishing "dirty articles" about "sects". "Maybe it is not so intense, as no such political request is coming from the top at this point, but it depends on the will," he told Forum 18. A media campaign against religious communities the authorities do not like was a key feature in the campaign to tighten legal controls on religious activity.

An official of the Prime Minister's Office, who asked not to be named, told Forum 18 on 17 March that the Justice Ministry had drawn up the rejected Law. "All of this came from them," the official insisted. "They were responsible. It came from the Religious Affairs Committee and was channelled through the Justice Minister." The official said the Justice Ministry had drawn up the conclusion endorsing the Law which Prime Minister Karim Masimov had signed and sent to Parliament in spring 2008.

"No new Religion Law is in the government's plan of new laws, which covers the next three years," the Prime Minister's Office official noted. "But I don't know if the Justice Ministry has abandoned this Law or not."

Officials at the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee in Astana refused to discuss with Forum 18 whether or not work on new legal restrictions on religious activity is continuing. One deputy chair, Amanbek Mukashev, put the phone down as soon as Forum 18 introduced itself on 16 and 17 March. The other deputy chair Kayrat Tulesov referred all enquiries to the parliamentary deputies who he said were behind the Law. "It was their initiative," he told Forum 18 on 17 March.

However, the Justice Ministry press office told Forum 18 categorically on 17 March that work on the Law has stopped with the Constitutional Council ruling. "The Law won't be considered further ­ nothing is planned at present. It would only happen if parliamentary deputies initiate it." The press office insisted that the Ministry did not write the rejected Law and merely gave its expert conclusion on it. Asked how the Ministry could have approved a Law that was so clearly in contradiction to Kazakhstan's Constitution and international human rights commitments, the press office declined to comment.

The new Law had been widely criticised by a range of religious communities within Kazakhstan, as well as international bodies, including the OSCE.

On 21 November 2008, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Asma Jahangir, had written to the Kazakh government pointing out that the Law "would impose undue restrictions on freedom of religion or belief". She highlighted the Law's continuation of the ban on unregistered religious activity, restrictions on missionary activity, controls on distributing religious materials, "theological analysis" of religious communities' registration applications, the ban on private religious education, "vague provisions" allowing for "abusive interpretation and discrimination on the part of the law enforcement authorities" and the lack of "public and open debate" on the Law.

By Peggy Stack for The Salt Lake Tribune on 28 Mar 2009

Staring at a row of demolished Hare Krishna homes in Kazakhstan, a world away from his office on the Brigham Young University campus, W. Cole Durham Jr. felt a surge of empathy.

"One reason I care about this is because my people were driven out of their homes," Durham, a Mormon, told the demoralized homeowners.

That wasn't just a pat line for Durham, an internationally respected expert in religious freedom. It was a simple but heartfelt explanation of what drives the Harvard-trained lawyer to help countries create legal protections for all faiths.

The task changes from country to country but one thing remains constant: It's not easy, but it is crucial.

"One of the challenges is to get people to understand that the way to protect the majority faith is to respect everyone else," Durham says.

During the last three decades, the soft-spoken scholar has defended the importance of religious freedom in countries across the globe, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Peru, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Thailand, and Ukraine.

He wrestles with topics ranging from the question of majority rule, whether to allow Western missionaries and the question of conversion, laws prohibiting blasphemy and supporting censorship, how to treat so-called "new religions," ways to integrate the Islamic sharia laws into a secular government, to what constitutes a religion.

"If we don't achieve respect for religion, the alternative is escalating hostilities and dangers beyond anything we've thought of," Durham says. "On the positive side, there's a strong correlation between religious freedom and [Gross National Product], literacy and women's rights."

In February, Durham attended the inaugural session of Nepal's Constitution Conference, where representatives were figuring out how to move the country from a Hindu kingdom to a secular state.

Consultants from Australia, Spain, German and the Americas arrived to offer their perspectives, but Durham argued that those within the country had to be the final arbiters of what will work.

"Foreigners can help build the base camp and be sherpas," Durham told the assembly, drawing on a Mt. Everest analogy. "But the climb has to be done by Nepalese."

Such sensitivity to language, tradition, faiths, practices and the law is what makes Durham so successful,

"Today millions of people live better, freer, happier lives because of Cole's work to spread religious freedom," said James Standish, president of the First Freedom Center, at a Jan. 15 dinner in Richmond, Va., where Durham was given the 2009 International First Freedom Award. "And, at the end of the day, making individuals' lives better is the measure of all we do."

On March 5, Durham was again honored, this time by lawyers and leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After all, one of the church's "Articles of Faith," written at a time of intense hostility towards the newly formed church, declares: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

Durham became intrigued with the questions of religious freedom while at Harvard Law School when writing a paper on comparative church/state issues in Germany, where he served a two-year LDS mission.

As a professor at BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, Durham taught a class in American church/state questions and another one on comparative international religious laws. In 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, he found himself consulting with some of the new democracies of Eastern Europe. Before long, he was asked to join several international boards that monitor religious freedom issues and make recommendations.

Through the years, Durham has seen many of the same debates played out in vastly different countries.

One of the chief concerns of a majority faith, for example, is a perceived loss of power if it allows smaller faiths complete freedom.

"A lot of places have a prevailing religion, but all religious groups also have a diaspora somewhere else," he says. "If they protect the rights of the minorities in their country, their people's rights to practice their faith in other countries are more likely to be protected."

That is what brought him to Kazakhstan, a former Communist country composed mainly of Muslim, Catholics and Orthodox believers. The Kazakhstan constitution allows broad religious freedom, but amendments severely limit the activities of such non-traditional faiths as Hare Krishnas.

A few years ago, the Krishnas bought property and began building a small community of believers, which raised the ire of local residents. The courts supported the Krishnas, but officials bulldozed their homes anyway. Since then, Durham and other international observers have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to defend the Krishnas.

By Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

Kazakhstan continues to actively violate its international human rights commitments, Forum 18 News Service has found. In the most recent of many known state actions against everyone's right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief, a Baptist is facing threats by the authorities to confiscate his means to support himself and his family because he led worship without state permission, the country's only Hare Krishna commune is still being pressured to accept a rubbish dump in exchange for their land, and Jehovah's Witnesses are still being denied the rights to use a private home and a Kingdom Hall they built for worship meetings. These human rights violations take place as President Nursultan Nazarbaev considers new legislation to even further restrict fundamental freedoms in the country. Among many other breaches of international human rights standards, the legal amendments would explicitly ban all unregistered religious activity. President Nazarbaev is formally due to sign or reject the amendments by around 2 January 2009.

A Baptist in northern Kazakhstan is facing the prospect of the authorities confiscating his means to support himself and his family, because he led worship without state permission, Forum 18 News Service has found. The authorities have threatened to confiscate his cows, refrigerator and gas stove. Bailiff V. Kapareyko told Forum 18 that "we will wait until after the New Year, and then seize his property." Meanwhile, the country's only Hare Krishna commune outside Almaty is still being pressured to accept a rubbish dump in exchange for their land, and Jehovah's Witnesses elsewhere in Kazakhstan are still being denied the rights to use a private home and a Kingdom Hall they built for worship meetings.

Kazakhstan's continuing state actions violating its international human rights commitments take place as President Nursultan Nazarbaev considers new legislation that would even further restrict freedom of thought, conscience and belief. The amendments to existing laws would ­ among many other breaches of international human rights standards - explicitly ban all unregistered religious activity (see F18News 26 November 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1222). President Nazarbaev is formally due to sign or reject the legal amendments by around 2 January 2009.

On 14 November, in Tayinsha in North Kazakhstan Region, Bailiff Kapareyko formally notified Baptist leader Aleksandr Kerker of the authorities' intention to confiscate his two cows, refrigerator and gas stove. Kerker and his wife have ten children, six of whom are minors. Kerker's wife says that confiscating this property would deprive the family of the means to feed themselves. The cows are "the main sources of livelihood," she told Forum 18 on 3 December. She insisted that as refrigerators and gas stoves are legally "of prime necessity", they cannot legally be confiscated.

Bailiff Kapareyko, who would not give his first name to Forum 18, denies that refrigerators and gas stoves cannot be confiscated. At least one of the cows will be confiscated, as "we think one would be enough to feed his family," Kapareyko told Forum 18 on 15 December. "We understand he [Kerker] has very limited income, but at the same time we are obliged to execute the court decision." Kapareyko said that "we will wait until after the New Year, and then seize his property".

Kerker, who belongs to the Baptist Council of Churches which rejects state registration on principle, has been convicted twice for leading unregistered worship. The investigation into this "offence" was led by the local police Department for the Struggle against Extremism, Separatism, and Terrorism (see F18News 6 October 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1199).

In violation of international human rights standards, unregistered religious activity is routinely prosecuted in Kazakhstan ­ even though current Kazakh law does not formally ban this (see F18News 4 August 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=625).

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ­ which Kazakhstan is due to chair in 2010 - has found that court proceedings in the country do not offer the guaranteed right to a fair trial. In a February 2007 report on trial monitoring, the OSCE found that Kazakh court proceedings needed to offer "the right of the public to attend court, equality between the parties and the presumption of innocence" (see http://www.osce.org/item/23396.html).

Meanwhile, the long-running attempts by Almaty Region's Karasai Akimat (local authority) to evict the country's only Hare Krishna commune are continuing. Because the Hare Krishna community's legally registered address is their temple at the commune, moving from this land would result in loss of the community's legal registration. Although the community has gained some court victories, the authorities remain determined to evict the commune (see F18News 21 November 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1220).

Judge Taken Shakirov of Karasai district court informed the Hare Krishna community on 1 December that the Karasai Akimat (Executive Authority) had withdrawn its claim against the community's buildings ­ the only Hare Krishna temple in Central Asia and the barn, Forum 18 has found. The latest twice-postponed court case began on 28 October (see F18News 28 October 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1210).

Maksim Varfolomeev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 on 15 December that Serik Mukanov, the Deputy Akim (administration head) of Almaty Region, recently told the commune that "the only solution of the dispute is for us to vacate the buildings on the farm land." Varfolomeev also reported Mukanov as saying that developers already have plans for the site the Hare Krishna community occupies.

The authorities have offered a rubbish dump in Almaty Region's Ili district in exchange, and have most recently claimed, Varfolomeev stated, that "the dump could be used for other purposes including commercial purposes, so that some others might be interested in exchanging their land with us."

Deputy Akim Mukanov argues that the land case with the Hare Krishna community is now settled. "We withdrew our claim and agreed with the chairman of the community that they would take the land we offer them," he told Forum 18 on 18 December. Asked whether the Akimat is still insisting that the Hare Krishna community move out of their current buildings he responded: "Of course we want them to move out. The case has been settled, and the community agreed to accept our offer." He rejected Hare Krishna claims that the land in the Ili district is not suitable for cultivation.

Meanwhile the Jehovah's Witnesses have had some success in overturning earlier court decisions to suspend their activity in South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions. Vladimir Voevodin of the Jehovah's Witness Centre told Forum 18 from Almaty on 16 December that the community welcomes these legal moves, but points out that obstacles to the communities' functioning still remain.

Kazakhstan's General Prosecutor's Office initiated the process of overturning the court decisions, Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18. In a 28 October letter to the Jehovah's Witness Centre in Almaty, the General Prosecutor informed them he had ordered regional prosecutors in South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions to challenge the court decisions against Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18 that the Supervisory Collegium of South Kazakhstan Regional Court decided in two separate hearings on 20 November to annul two decisions of the courts in the towns of Shymkent and Saryagash. Earlier on 13 November with a similar decision the Supervisory Collegium of Kyzylorda Regional Court restored the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, which was also suspended back in August.

South Kazakhstan Regional Court refused to comment to Forum 18 on 18 December on the recent decisions. Asked whether the position of the courts in the region have now changed towards the Jehovah's Witnesses, the official who answered the phone responded. "None of the judges want to make any comments."

Judge Abdukarim Bekturganov of Shymkent Specialised Administrative Court also declined to make comments on why they had suspended the activity of the local Jehovah's Witnesses. "We are not spokespersons for the Regional Court," he told Forum 18. "Ask them - they were the ones to take the latest decisions."

The Jehovah's Witness communities' activities had been banned in the wake of massive raids by various state agencies on local Jehovah's Witness communities from July and leaders of the Shymkent and Saryagash communities were given heavy fines (see F18News 9 September http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1184).

Jehovah's Witnesses in the southern town of Kentau are also facing ongoing property problems. Voevodin told Forum 18 a Kentau resident is still facing court action to try to seize and demolish his house. The authorities argue that the house was built as a place of worship when it should have been a residential house (see F18News 9 September 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1184). "The local administration still wants the house to be destroyed and the land handed to State ownership," Voevodin complained.

The South Kazakhstan Court told Forum 18 on 18 December that the Kentau city Court's decision was annulled and the case was returned to the city court for a new hearing. The official who answered the phone said the judges declined to make comments on this case as well.

Similarly in the nearby town of Shymkent, despite having restored their rights to religious activity in the city, the Jehovah's Witnesses still cannot use their Kingdom Hall for worship. "We have to build a lightning conductor attached to the hall as the City Fire Brigade demands," Voevodin explained. "Work on the lightning conductor is underway and we will have to get the Fire Brigade's permission after that."

Many religious communities are facing similar attacks on their property by the authorities. New Life Church north-western city of Aktobe [Aqtobe], for example, has been evicted from its church building (see F18News 20 August 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1174). In Semey, in eastern Kazakhstan, the Fire Brigade was also used to provide an excuse for preventing a church using its own building (see F18News 3 July 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1154). (END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=564.

For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701.

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kazakhstan can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=29.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh.

President Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan has sent a repressive new law severely limiting freedom of religion or belief for review by the country's Constitutional Council, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Meanwhile, the government continues to repress the exercise of freedom of thought, conscience and belief. A Baptist has this month had his main source of income confiscated and been fired from his job, because he led worship without state permission. Speaking of his former employer, who fired him after being visited by court officials, Pastor Aleksandr Kerker said that "he is not to blame though ­ he was afraid." Hare Krishna devotees have been detained by police in Almaty for handing out religious literature. Officer candidates and other students at the Kazakh Air Force's main training establishment have been warned against "religious extremism" and "religious groups non-traditional for Kazakhstan". They were also shown a film claiming that the Hare Krishna faith incites devotees to commit murder.

Human rights defenders and religious communities have given a cautious welcome to President Nursultan Nazarbaev's decision to send the restrictive new Religion Law for a review by the Constitutional Council. "We'll be delighted if the President doesn't sign the law," Baptist pastor Yaroslav Senyushkevich told Forum 18 News Service from the capital Astana on 8 January. "The Law would introduce harsh persecution." However, he pointed out that his communities ­ which refuse to seek state registration on principle ­ already face repression. "We're fined and banned from meeting for worship ­ they want to close our churches."

The Constitutional Council consists of people directly nominated by President Nazarbaev and by the upper and lower houses of parliament ­ both of which are dominated by the President's own party. The new Law was passed by both houses of parliament.

The government continues to repress people exercising freedom of thought, conscience and belief in the country. In the latest problem for Baptist pastor Aleksandr Kerker in Tayinsha in North Kazakhstan Region, court bailiffs seeking to recover the fine he has refused to pay for leading unregistered worship went to his private employer in early January 2009, demanding that he hand over the money from Kerker's wages. "He refused, telling them they should deal with this directly with me," Kerker told Forum 18 from Tayinsha on 8 January. "But he sacked me anyway, saying he can do without such problems. He is not to blame though ­ he was afraid."

Kerker said he now has no source of income to support himself, his wife and his ten children, six of whom are minors. Bailiffs have already told him they will return after New Year to confiscate a cow, his refrigerator and gas stove.

Kerker defended his right to worship without seeking state permission and insisted that such items should not be confiscated as they are necessities. He said it is not clear when the bailiffs might return to take away the items.

Court bailiff Vladimir Kapareyko denied any responsibility for Kerker's sacking. "It has nothing to do with us," he told Forum 18 on 9 January. "If he had paid his fine this would never have happened." Asked why Kerker is being punished for meeting for worship Kapareyko responded: "They were meeting without state registration ­ he even opened a prayer house in a private home." Asked what was wrong with that, Kapareyko responded: "We're acting in accordance with the law. We're getting on with our job."

He declined to say when the cows, refrigerator and stove are due to be confiscated and declined to discuss whether bailiffs are allowed to confiscate necessities.

Other members of the Council of Churches Baptists point to continuing problems. The church in the village of Konaevo near the town of Shu in the southern Zhambyl Region remains sealed. "The authorities said it would remain sealed until we register," church members told Forum 18 from Konaevo on 8 January. "But we will never do this." The authorities sealed the church in May 2008 after it was "banned" by a local court.

Pastor Senyushkevich remains sceptical about the authorities' intentions. He pointed out that President Nazarbaev refused to sign a harsh new Religion Law in 2002 after the Constitutional Council ruled it unconstitutional. "Despite this, in 2005 new amendments were adopted increasing state control," he told Forum 18. "Maybe even if the President doesn't sign the Law now, he will in future."

State officials also continue to incite hostility against religious minorities. This continues, the Justice Ministry stating that on 6 December 2008, the local Religious Affairs Department in Aktobe [Aqtobe] lectured all students at the Kazakh Air Force's main training establishment about what it described as "religious extremism" and "religious groups non-traditional for Kazakhstan." Officer candidates and other students at the "Military Institute of Air Defense Forces named after twice Hero of Soviet Union T.Y. Begeldinov" were also shown a 2004 Russian film "Religious Sect ­ Freedom from Conscience", made with the support of the Orthodox Church. At one point the film - which has been seen by Forum 18 - claims that the Hare Krishna faith incites devotees to commit murder.

The website of the Constitutional Council noted in a brief statement on 8 January that President Nazarbaev had sent on the Religion Law "for verification of [its] conformity to the Constitution". It added that the date when the Constitutional Council will meet to review the Law will be given later. Curiously, the presidential website has made no mention of the decision to send the Law for a review.

The Law on the Constitutional Council gives it one month to rule on whether a draft law complies with the Constitution. "The President has the right to reduce this period to ten days when he considers it urgent, but there was no information on that," Yevgeny Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18 on 8 January. He said this means that the Constitutional Council has until 8 February to rule on the Religion Law, though he believes a decision could be made by the end of January.

Murat Telibekov, who heads the Union of Muslims of Kazakhstan, an independent grouping, says the President's decision to send the Law to the Constitutional Council was "predictable". "It is a highly reactionary Law and has many critics in society," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 8 January. "Adopting it would put the country and the President in a bad light." He speculated that the decision to send the Law for review could be a "political game to raise the image of the President in the eyes of the international community" ahead of Kazakhstan's role as Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.

Telibekov told Forum 18 he believes the current Religion Law is adequate and sees no reason to adopt a new Law. However, he pointed to "negative factors" that already exist, including state pressure on "non-traditional" forms of Islam and state pressure on imams to "orient listeners to their sermons to one form of Sunni Islam". He said religious affairs officials in local akimats (administrations) and the National Security Committee (KNB) secret police already watch imams closely.

Bishop Yuri Novgorodov of the Lutheran Church welcomed the President's decision, pointing to the Law's "contradictions" with the Constitution. Like Telibekov, he believes the current Law is broadly adequate, though he would like to see a few improvements to it. "But any changes should be responsible," he told Forum 18 from Astana on 8 January. "The whole process of creating this new Law was too fast and too emotional."

Viktor Golous, head of the Hare Krishna community in Almaty Region, shares many of Novgorodov's views. "If this Law had been signed it would have done great harm to believers," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 8 January. "The Law was directed at restricting religious rights. We believe this Law must be reconsidered."

Golous pointed out that even under the current Law, their commune near Almaty has faced sustained official attempts to close it down. "Of course, there was no need for them to have moved against the commune at all," he insisted. "Twenty-six homes were destroyed and they are trying to close the rest down. We're barely existing there."

Golous said the state has prevented the Hare Krishna community developing elsewhere in the country too. "Difficulties arise when we become visible in any particular place." He said that in Almaty, two devotees were held by police for nearly three hours in December 2008 for giving out literature. He said they were freed without charge.

The Law on Amendments and Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations amends numerous articles of the current Religion Law, the Code of Administrative Offences and several other laws.

Among the new restrictions, the Law would for the first time explicitly ban unregistered religious activity. It would also ban anyone from sharing their beliefs without both the written backing of a registered religious association and also personal state registration as a missionary. It would require permission from both parents for children to attend any religious event.

Small "religious groups" ­ the lowest level of registered community - would only be authorised to carry out religious activity with existing members and would not be allowed to maintain places of worship "open to a wide access". Nor would they be allowed to conduct missionary activity. Apart from a few personal items, all religious literature imported into the country would require approval through a "religious expert assessment".

Penalties for holding religious services, conducting charitable work, importing, publishing or distributing religious literature or building or opening places of worship in violation of "demands established in law" would be increased. Repeat "offences" would lead to a religious community being banned.

The controversial Law was approved by parliament and sent to President Nazarbaev on 2 December 2008, despite widespread criticism by human rights defenders and many of Kazakhstan's religious communities. It was also criticised by many institutions, governments and organisations around the world, including the European Union, the Moscow Patriarchate, the Lutheran World Federation, and Pope Benedict XVI.

The Kazakh authorities have repeatedly refused to allow the publication of a legal review of the draft conducted by the OSCE, claiming ­ falsely ­ that this refusal is due to the OSCE. Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Director of the ODIHR, has expressed disappointment at the "hasty" passage of the Law, and has called for it to be changed to make it "fully reflecting OSCE commitments and other international standards".

Pope Benedict XVI made a further apparent reference to this Law and proposed harsh new Religion Laws in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in his traditional annual address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on 8 January. "The Church, as has often been said, does not demand privileges, but the full application of the principle of religious freedom," he was quoted by the official Vatican Information Service as declaring. "In this perspective, it is important that, in central Asia, legislation concerning religious communities guarantee the full exercise of this fundamental right, in respect for international norms."

PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Priya Abraham
202-835-8760/Abraham@religionandpolicy.org

Institute condemns deportation of Hare Krishna leader from Kazakhstan

Washington, DC, Jan. 29, 2009-The Institute on Religion and Public Policy condemns the Jan. 27 deportation of the religious leader of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), B. B. Govinda Swami, from Kazakhstan.

According to ISKON, Govinda Swami was held without explanation at the airport in Almaty for 12 hours and denied entry into Kazakhstan, despite carrying a valid passport and visa. He was reportedly on a government list of people who are not allowed into Kazakhstan.

The move against Govinda Swami appears to be the latest in a Kazakh campaign to limit severely the activities of non-traditional religions in the country. Hare Krishnas continually face harassment and undue monitoring, and in a prominent case that began in 2006, lost a commune outside Almaty when the government first raided then seized their property.

“The Kazakh government seems to continually and erroneously view peaceful minority religions as a threat to security, and the country’s abysmal record on religious freedom shows it,” said Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski. “We call on the government of Kazakhstan to allow Govinda Swami to enter the country and meet with his fellow Hare Krishnas, and allow the community as a whole to worship freely.”

The Institute has consistently engaged the government of Kazakhstan on its religious freedom abuses, and has called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to rescind the country’s scheduled 2010 chairmanship of the group.

Click here
http://religionandpolicy.org/cms/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=1488&Itemid=342

to read the Institute’s latest report on religious freedom in Kazakhstan,

and here
http://religionandpolicy.org/cms/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=1663&Itemid=242

for a letter to President Nursultan Nazarbaev.

PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Priya Abraham
202-835-8760/Abraham@religionandpolicy.org

Institute condemns deportation of Hare Krishna leader from Kazakhstan

Washington, DC, Jan. 29, 2009-The Institute on Religion and Public Policy condemns the Jan. 27 deportation of the religious leader of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), B. B. Govinda Swami, from Kazakhstan.

According to ISKCON, Govinda Swami was held without explanation at the airport in Almaty for 12 hours and denied entry into Kazakhstan, despite carrying a valid passport and visa. He was reportedly on a government list of people who are not allowed into Kazakhstan.

The move against Govinda Swami appears to be the latest in a Kazakh campaign to limit severely the activities of non-traditional religions in the country. Hare Krishnas continually face harassment and undue monitoring, and in a prominent case that began in 2006, lost a commune outside Almaty when the government first raided then seized their property.

“The Kazakh government seems to continually and erroneously view peaceful minority religions as a threat to security, and the country’s abysmal record on religious freedom shows it,” said Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski. “We call on the government of Kazakhstan to allow Govinda Swami to enter the country and meet with his fellow Hare Krishnas, and allow the community as a whole to worship freely.”

The Institute has consistently engaged the government of Kazakhstan on its religious freedom abuses, and has called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to rescind the country’s scheduled 2010 chairmanship of the group.

Click here
http://religionandpolicy.org/cms/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=1488&Itemid=342

to read the Institute’s latest report on religious freedom in Kazakhstan,

and here
http://religionandpolicy.org/cms/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=1663&Itemid=242

for a letter to President Nursultan Nazarbaev.
—————————

Press release

Society for Krishna Consciousness, Kazakhstan

January 28, 2009

On January 27, 2009, the religious leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, US citizen B. B. Govinda Swami, was deported from the airport of Almaty while attempting to enter Kazakhstan. The officials have given no explanation.

Govinda Swami was invited to Almaty by the Society for Krishna Consciousness in Kazakhstan. With the valid passport and the valid visa to Kazakhstan on hand, he arrived to the Almaty airport from Moscow on January 27, 5:45 a. m. Govinda Swami was unexpectedly stopped at the passport control desk: the border guards confiscated his passport and told him that he would be deported back to Moscow. They did not disclose the cause for deportation. The chief officer of the Airport Border Service did not allow the lawyer of Govinda Swami, who came to the airport, to meet with him.

Govinda Swami was kept in the airport for 12 hours. He was obliged to pay for his ticket for the evening (6:55 p. m.) flight to Moscow. Govinda Swami got his passport back only in Sheremetievo, Moscow.

The Society for Krishna Consciousness was informed of the so called “black list” of personae non grata who cannot enter Kazakhstan. Govinda Swami’s name was put in that list. According to information from the Committee of Religious Affairs, the decision about prohibiting Govinda Swami from entering the country was taken by the migration police of Actobe city that acted on the order of the Actobe Prosecutor’s office.

The RK law stipulates that the decision about declaring a foreigner persona non grata can only be taken by the court. Upon what rules of law did the Actobe migration police base their decision against the US citizen Govinda Swami? The Society for Krishna Consciousness, as the inviting party, intends to go into court to appeal against the decision of the Actobe authorities.

Society for Krishna Consciousness, Kazakhstan

+7 727 296 9719 +7 701 7407943 +7 72771 34287

By Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

Kazakhstan has barred the Hare Krishna community's leader in Central Asia from visiting the country, Forum 18 News Service has found. Kazakh officials have claimed that US citizen Seane Hobgood (religious name Govinda Swami) was found guilty of "illegal missionary activity" by Aktobe Regional court in 2008. The alleged "illegal missionary activity" was a private talk to devotees. However, Aktobe Regional Court, Aktobe City Administrative Court and City Civil Court all confirmed to Forum 18 that they did not hear any case relating to Govinda Swami (Seane Hobgood) in 2008. Also, Govinda Swami had previously visited Kazakhstan since the alleged conviction, without being banned. Human rights defender Yevgeni Zhovtis pointed out to Forum 18 that describing Govinda Swami's talk to a registered religious community as "illegal missionary activity" is "absolute rubbish". Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Forum 18 that police filmed the gathering. In 2006, an American university lecturer was fined and given a deportation order, after the authorities filmed him taking part in a Bible discussion at a Baptist church he attended.

The leader of the Hare Krishna community in Central Asia, Seane Hobgood (religious name Govinda Swami), was denied entry to Kazakhstan at Almaty airport on 27 January, his colleague Maksim Varfolomeev who had arrived on the same flight from Moscow told Forum 18 News Service. Officials told Govinda Swami, who holds a US passport and has a valid multi-entry Kazakh visa which runs out in April 2009, that he has been barred from the country in the wake of a conviction by Aktobe [Aqtobe] Regional Court in 2008. Ruslan Zhasanov, who covers religious cases at Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office, told Forum 18 on 28 January from Aktobe that Govinda Swami has been barred from the country because of his "illegal missionary activity" in Aktobe in May 2008. He said the Prosecutor's Office asked the Migration Police to impose the ban. However, Forum 18 has been unable to find that any legal case ever took place.

Yevgeni Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, said it is "nonsense" to say that the Migration Police has the authority whether or not to allow a foreign citizen into Kazakhstan. "It can only be done on the basis of a court decision by the State Border Service, which is under the auspices of the National Security Committee (KNB) secret police," he told Forum 18 on 29 January.

He added that under Kazakhstan's current Religion Law it is "absolute rubbish" to talk about Govinda Swami's "illegal missionary activity". Zhovtis said, according to the Law, propagation of a religion by an individual is only considered missionary activity if that religion does not already exist or is not registered in Kazakhstan. "As I understand, Govinda Swami was preaching in a registered Hare Krishna community."

Kenzhebulat Beknazarov, the KNB secret police spokesperson, insisted that the KNB has nothing to do with the case but defended the ban. "The authorities acted lawfully while barring Seane Hobgood from entry," he told Forum 18 on 27 January from the capital Astana. He too claimed that Govinda Swami had engaged in illegal missionary activity in May 2008. "The decision to bar Hobgood's entry into Kazakhstan was made by the Migration Police on the claim brought by the Aktobe City Prosecutor's office."

An official of Aktobe City's Migration Police, who did not give his name, refused to talk to Forum 18 on 27 January about the case. Forum 18 was also unable to discuss the case with the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee on 27 and 28 January.

Aktobe Regional Court, Aktobe City Administrative Court and City Civil Court confirmed to Forum 18 on 27 January that they did not hear any case relating to Govinda Swami (Seane Hobgood) in 2008.

Varfolomeev complained to Forum 18 that the community has not seen any court verdict. "This is the first any of us knew about this case against him," Varfolomeev told Forum 18. He said the border guards at Almaty Airport had initially told Govinda Swami merely that he was on the entry blacklist and refused to explain the denial of entry, claiming it was a "state secret". They then suggested Govinda Swami should ask the KNB secret police. It was only when the Hare Krishna devotees called Kayrat Tulesov of the Religious Affairs Committee in Astana that they were told of the conviction. Tulesov told them that the General Prosecutor's Office had denied that they had ordered Govinda Swami barred, but did not say who had ordered the bar.

Govinda Swami then asked the community's lawyer to come to the holding area at Almaty Airport, but security staff refused to allow him access to the area where Govinda Swami was being held, Varfolomeev added. Govinda Swami told Forum 18 on 29 January from Dubai that he was detained at the airport for twelve hours and forced to buy a return ticket to Moscow on the evening flight. He was accompanied on the flight by Kazakh border officials who returned his passport to him only at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.

Govinda Swami said their lawyers are now in the process of trying to get a written official declaration giving the cause of deportation. "As I understand it, the deportation can be ordered only by a court decision," he told Forum 18.

Govinda Swami visited the registered Hare Krishna community in Aktobe on 28 May 2008. "As soon as we arrived in Aktobe's Airport, we took him directly to the Regional Akimat (administration) to get permission for his planned activity," Varfolomeev said. He reported that Yermek Tauanov, the Regional Akimat's Chief Expert on religious affairs, did not give permission for public meetings but said that Govinda Swami "could meet with his fellow-believers in Aktobe in private."

Zhasanov of Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Forum 18 that Hare Krishna devotees had asked the Akimat for permission but that this was refused. However, Tauanov denied ever speaking about permission for Govinda Swami. "I have worked in this office for almost 10 years but I have never seen or talked to Seane Hobgood," he told Forum 18 on 28 January.

In the wake of the refusal, Govinda Swami addressed devotees in a private house, Varfolomeev reported. However, two people not recognised by the community were also present. "They filmed the meeting on their mobile phones, to which we made no objection," Varfolomeev told Forum 18. "Soon they left and officers from Aktobe city Police arrived, telling Govinda Swami that he was engaged in illegal activity." He said officers forced Govinda Swami to sign a document which he did not understand and appear at the Prosecutor's Office the following morning.

Zhasanov of the Prosecutor's Office also confirmed that the police checked up on and filmed the gathering. "Based on the video materials, and the refusal of the Akimat, we evaluated his actions as illegal missionary," he told Forum 18. Asked why Govinda Swami's activity was illegal if he was talking to a private gathering, Zhasanov was vague. "Of course he could have avoided the problem if he just came to the prosecutor's office back in May and explained what happened." Zhasanov said in the worst case he might have been fined. But he said Govinda Swami did not come and instead left the city the next day for Almaty.

Varfolomeev said Govinda Swami was advised by his lawyer to go to Almaty and sort out the incident by a help of a professional interpreter and inform the US consulate about the issue, which he did. Govinda Swami spoke to the US Consul and gave his contacts in case the authorities in Aktobe had any questions. Varfolomeev said Govinda Swami stayed in Almaty until 5 June and then left Kazakhstan, but that the Aktobe authorities never tried to reach him.

Varfolomeev pointed out that Govinda Swami had been in Kazakhstan in mid-January without problem and had even had to show his passport and visa to three Migration Police officers who questioned him one night after he left his birthday party in Almaty. "Everything was in order then, so we don't understand why this has happened."

Later, Varfolomeev added, local Hare Krishna members heard rumours that Aktobe city Prosecutor's Office was seeking to ban Govinda Swami's entry into the country. "We did not want to believe this then," he said.

Varfolomeev said they understood the rumours of the-sought-for ban could be true when they saw an article by Alina Pak in Megapolis, an Almaty-based national newspaper, on 7 July 2008. The article, entitled "Like an Englishman, Without Saying Goodbye", claims that an unnamed American Buddhist preacher, instead of appearing before the Prosecutor, "ran away" from Aktobe. The author reported that prosecutors were insisting on a ban of his entry into Kazakhstan.

Zhaslan Zhugunisov, head of a division of the State Agency of Oversight of Prosecution Bodies, told the newspaper that the foreigner was invited to the city Prosecutor's Office to testify about his activity in Aktobe, but instead "he packed up, and left the city." Zhugunisov claimed that had the visiting American asked for a registration from the local Akimat, without which he said it is illegal to engage in missionary activity, he would not have had any troubles.

Varfolomeev told Forum 18 that before this article they did not even worry about the incident in Aktobe, because they "received no phone calls, or inquiries from the authorities on Govinda Swami's visit to Aktobe."

Zhasanov of Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office defended the refusal to give Govinda Swami reasons for the deportation. "Imagine that I go to the United States," he said, "if I am stopped at the border and deported, the officials will not explain to me the reasons." He added that just like America, Kazakhstan is a sovereign state with its own rules and regulations. "Even though we are a secular state, the issue of religion is a very sensitive one in Kazakhstan where the majority of population is Muslim," he said.

A source from Kazakhstan, who preferred to remain unnamed, told Forum 18 on 28 January that in June 2008, Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office officials had contacted them to "broker a deal" between the Hare Krishna devotees and the authorities. If the Hare Krishna community was "prepared to pay five thousand US Dollars each to the Aktobe's City's Prosecutor, KNB secret police and Migration Police" then the case would be closed. Zhasanov vigorously denied to Forum 18 that Aktobe City Prosecutor's Office had demanded any bribe since he was appointed to the post in October 2008.

Asked how long the ban would remain in force, Zhasanov told Forum 18 that although the ban on his entry into Kazakhstan was permanent, Govinda Swami might get his ban lifted. "Let him write letters to the Migration Police, General Prosecutor's office, KNB, and the Border Service explaining why he did not appear before the Prosecutor back then," he said, "and promise in the letter that he would not in the future violate Kazakhstan's law, then it might be possible to lift his ban."

Varfolomeev said they remained pessimistic over the success of the community's efforts to bring a legal appeal against the denial of entry. "Govinda Swami is our spiritual master and the community wants to hear from him," he told Forum 18. "He is also our administrative leader. The community had invited him and paid for his ticket."

The Kazakh authorities have previously spied on and expelled foreigners involved in religious activity. In 2006 Dan Ballast, an American working as a university lecturer in Oskemen, was deported after officials secretly filmed him participating in a Bible discussion at a Baptist church he attended (see F18News 12 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=886).

Still barred from entry into Kazakhstan is Aleksei Ledyayev, chief pastor of the New Generation Pentecostal church which has congregations in the country. Ledyayev ­ who was born in Kazakhstan, and is a permanent resident of Latvia ­ told Forum 18 from the Latvian capital Riga on 28 January that he remains barred from Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Armenia, and often encounters problems when he applies to visit Ukraine. "There are no changes ­ I am persona non grata," he told Forum 18. He said he believes he was placed on the Kazakh blacklist after being blacklisted by Russia in 2002. "The Russians dictate to Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan."

Kazakhstan denied Ledyayev a visa in 2005, which led the New Generation Church to cancel a conference due to have been held in Almaty. The Kazakh consulate in Riga told him he was on a blacklist and that his presence in Kazakhstan was "not desirable" (see F18News 8 June 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=578).

Varfolomeev of the Hare Krishna community also told Forum 18 that the authorities are now pressuring the Hare Krishna commune near Almaty to vacate their land by 1 May. The authorities have long been seeking to close down the commune and seize the land (see F18News 9 January 2009 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1238).

"Officials from the Religious Affairs Committee in Astana told us by phone we have a deadline of 1 May to leave. They sounded very angry that we have not written to say that we are happy to accept the rubbish dump that has been offered to us." He speculates that officials are desperate to have in writing a letter from the community renouncing any claims against officials and accepting the loss of their land. He said officials' promises in late December that they would help the community try to exchange the rubbish dump for a more suitable alternative site have now been abandoned. "They are now telling us they cannot help us exchange the site. This completely contradicts their earlier statements." (END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=564

For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kazakhstan can be found at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=29.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh.

Kazakh government withdraws the claim for demolition of the only Temple of the Krishna Society in Kazakhstan
http://www.dandavats.com/?p=6739

by BB Govinda Swami

December 1, 2008

Press Release

Society for Krishna Consciousness

Kazakh government withdraws the claim for demolition of the only Temple of the Krishna Society in Kazakhstan.

On December 1, 2008 the Karasai district court Judge Shakirov informed the directors of the Krishna Society that the Karasai government had withdrawn its claim to invalidate the purpose of usage and demolition of the Temple and barn at the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

From the beginning of the case the Kazakh government failed to produce documentation requested by the court and the Krishna Society. Judge Shakirov expressed that he did not wish to rule on this case and openly requested the Karasai government to withdraw its case and establish an amicable settlement.

Independent observers from OSCE and the United Nations attended the hearings.

The Krishna Society now fears that the Kazakh government will develop a stronger case to complete the systematic destruction of the Krishna community in the Karasai District.

The directors of the Krishna Society met the deputy Hakim of Almaty province, S. Mukanov and requested to use the land that they legally purchased in 2004.

Mukanov replied, “Three hundred percent we will never allow you to stay there. Developers have already made their plans for the area.” He suggested searching for 5 hectares of alternative land in the Iliysk district of Almaty province.

Since 2005 court procedures by the Kazakh government have resulted in the demolition of 26 homes of Hindu practitioners of the Krishna Society as well as the confiscation of the Society’s 116 acre scenic property on the edge of Almaty city.

The property was transferred to the national land reserve, for the purpose of resale, without any compensation given to the Society.

The Krishna Society is registered at the address of their Temple. The forced eviction of the Society from this property would most likely result in the loss of the legal registration of the Society.

The conflict surrounding the Krishna Society is an example of the Kazakh governments will and intent in honoring its commitments to OSCE standards of freedom of religion and belief in light of its OSCE Chairmanship in 2010.

Press service of the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness in Kazakhstan,

Telephone +7 7272 969719,

Fax +7 7277134287

Mobile +7 701 7407943

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This is a short letter to express my thanks for your response in sending letters to Kazakh Embassies and the Kazakh President’s Administration. Your efforts have seemed to slow the Kazakh government from another quick round of ruthless behaviour.

There have been 3 court hearings now regarding the demolition of the exisiting temple building and barn. From the evidence presented it appears that the government may have to withdraw it’s claim.

The next hearing is next Monday.

We have also been contacted from the government that they are willing to offer us something other than the garbage dump. Our society directors are looking at these sites today.

I am including a link to a report that was published on Al Jazeera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwTko6TttQ

We again thank you for you continuing prayers, support, and response to requests for letters and faxes.

I will keep you posted on any developments.

With affectionate regards.

Your servant,

BB Govinda Swami

Kuli Mela, the festival to bond and inspire youth (Kulis) who have grown up in the Hare Krishna movement, truly showed its scope and adaptability this year when it reached Siberia.

Held in Tomsk from July 3 ­ 7, the event attracted 250 young devotees from CIS countries that most westerners have never heard of, and probably couldn’t even pronounce, including Moscow, Ulan Ude, Almaty (Kazakhstan), Novosibirsk, Novokuznetsk, and Krasnoyarsk. “Many imagine that Siberia is a place where bears walk on the streets,” laughs Siberian ISKCON youth Radha-Tattva Dasi. “True, we are rather remote, but the fact that so many people came to our Mela just shows that all devotee youth are bound like one family ­ a friend is a friend everywhere, in every town and village.”

The festival was organized by five enthusiastic local youth ­ Tatyana Stukalova, Kirtana Rasa, Roman Dvaladze, Oleg Lavrenov, Roman Lankin, Lakshman, Sergey Danilenko, and Sasha Filkina. “We attended Moscow Kuli Mela in 2007, where we met Kapila Monet, one of the creators of Kuli Mela,” Tatyana says. “We started to discuss organizing a festival in Tomsk -- and suddenly everything just started moving.”

 All four days of the festival were saturated with spiritual, cultural and sports activities. Participants got the opportunity to make friends and share their life and spiritual experiences. They also attended varied seminars and workshops, joined enthusiastic chanting parties, took part in evening fire sacrifices and ceremonies, and ate delicious sacred food. Despite uncertain weather and power cuts, nothing could spoil the festive occasion.

Highlights included Mukunda Murari, a Moscow congregation leader, who delighted everyone by transforming his usual persona into that of a hip-hop superstar and delivering a set of philosophical rap compositions. And the night-time kirtan that culminated in hundreds of red-hued candles being released to drift down the river burned itself into everyone’s memory.

“The festival’s motto was ‘Kuli Mela is a family,’” says Ananda dasi, one of the main organizers of Moscow’s Kuli Mela earlier this year. “And all the participants could really feel it. On the last evening, no one wanted to leave. So we stayed up glorifying each other, after which we had an ecstatic kirtan. All of us could feel the mission of Srila Prabhupada spreading throughout the world, and bearing with it the power of the Holy Name and service. Everyone was inspired to take part in spreading it further.”

It’s already happening: ISKCON youth in Kazakhstan are fearlessly organizing a Kuli Mela in Almaty for 2009, despite recent oppression from the government. They aim to make the event a significant one for both their community and for the entire ISKCON CIS. “Kuli Mela is going to draw a lot of attention to the Almaty community and will host a large number of people from outside it,” Ananda says. “So it may even help to change the attitudes and opinions of the wider community.”

“Each Kuli Mela has its own flavor,” she adds. “But I think Kuli Mela in Almaty will be a particularly interesting event, because they are going to make the festival open and attractive for non-devotee youth as well. Kazakhstan devotees are very enthusiastic and active so I'm sure it will be a very bright spiritual experience.”

At least 400 are expected for the groundbreaking event. And with a second event planned for Siberia in 2010, the Kuli Mela juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. “I think that Kuli Mela can give our movement a real breakthrough in relationships between devotees of different generations,” Ananda says. “It inspires us to serve and to connect with each other in friendly warm relationships without dividing the society by groups, clans or levels.”

She concludes: “The energy from Kuli Mela, from the youth, is what will give our society a second life.”

Almaty regional Public Prosecutor's Office seems keen to seize property from religious communities, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Six property cases against Christian and Muslim religious organisations in the region are known to have been initiated since mid-June. Amongst them is Agafe Protestant Church, the regional Economic Court ruling ­ despite numerous violations of due process ­ that the Church's building and land should be confiscated. A defence lawyer has received anonymous death threats, and an appeal will take place on 27 August. The regions' Hare Krishna commune also continues to struggle to retain its property. Similar attempts to seize religious property continue elsewhere in Kazakhstan. Near the north-western town of Alga, New Life Protestant Church has been evicted from its building. Grace Protestant Church in Semey, eastern Kazakhstan, has been forced to brick up windows, as the Fire Brigade insists on this "in case there is a fire in the neighbouring property." The Church has also been prohibited from using its own building.

Almaty Region, the area around Kazakhstan's commercial capital, seems to be keen to seize property from religious communities, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee told Forum 18 on 14 August that she knew of six property cases against Christian and Muslim religious organisations in the region, initiated by the region's Public Prosecutor's Office, between mid-June and mid-August.

Zhangazy Kunserkin, a defence lawyer who has acted in these cases, told Forum 18 on 15 August that one Protestant Church ­ which wishes to remain unnamed ­ was given a small fine in June for allegedly misusing land. Kunserkin, based on his experience, suspects that this will not be the end of the matter. "In six months the authorities will fine the Church again, and then they will try to confiscate the building." He also knows of some religious organisations who have reached agreements with the authorities that they do not wish to make public.

Rashid Abekov from the Almaty regional Public Prosecutor's Office told Forum 18 on 14 August that each case was considered on its own merits. He would not discuss why all the property cases are directed against religious organisations.

Similar attempts by the authorities to seize religious property continue elsewhere in Kazakhstan. In the small town of Alga, near the north-western city of Aktobe [Aqtobe], the authorities have been trying to seize the New Life Protestant Church's building (link - http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1120). On 12 May, Alga District Civil Court decided to evict the church. "We could not appeal against this, because the building was not listed as belonging to us on the official documents," Vasili Kim of the Church told Forum 18 on 20 August.

In 2005 the Hakimat (district authority) of Alga district decided to strip the church of its building, but church leaders did not want to challenge the authorities in the courts. The Hakimat took the case to Alga District Court ­ without the Church knowing of this ­ and the court decided that the church building was "derelict." Because this was not legally challenged, there are no grounds to appeal against the eviction.

The authorities did not offer any compensation to the Church, but said they might allow the Church to ­ at its own expense ­ buy land at commercial rates on the on the outskirts of the town. Kim explained that this would be too expensive, so they are trying to rent land.

"We are preparing all the necessary documents to rent land, but it's not going to be easy," Kim explained. "We have to overcome all kinds of bureaucratic barriers, including getting documents from officials responsible for electricity, architecture, public health, water and sewage," Kim complained. Once all these documents have been obtained, the land then has to be registered with the Hakimat.

The Deputy Akim (Head of Executive Authority) of Aktobe, Nurkhan Agniyazov, told Forum 18 on 20 August that he did not want to talk about the eviction. "I am not entitled to report to you what we do or do not do", he stated angrily.

The Agafe Protestant Church in Almaty Region is also struggling to retain its property. On Wednesday 27 August, the Region's specialised Economic Court is due to hear an appeal against the Court's 12 June decision to expropriate the church building and the 0.44 hectares (1 acre) of land on which it stands in the village of Pyramoy Put.

The Karasai district Public Prosecutor's Office brought the 12 June case before Judge Sholpan Murzekenova. District Prosecutor Kenjaly Usipbaev claimed, in a legal statement seen by Forum 18, that the Almaty regional Department of State Property Management and the Karasai district Hakim did not "appropriately organise" the transfer of state property to the Church. In October 2007, the Department of State Property Management gave the village's House of Culture to the Church free-of-charge, the Hakimat having in October 2004 sold the land on which it stood to the Church.

Vladimir Sadykov, a defence lawyer working on the case, told Forum 18 on 11 August that the church had invested much time, energy, and resources in the building, which was derelict for two years before the transfer. The heating, electric wiring, sewage and plumbing systems were ruined. The roof was totally ruined, and the façade of the building was partially destroyed. Sadykov stated that the Church had completely overhauled the building.

Another defence lawyer working on the case, Olga Parfyonova, told Forum 18 on 13 August that the Economic Court's expropriation decision "was done in haste, without proper questioning of witnesses." The people who transferred the building to the Church, Vyacheslav Filatov the former director of the House of Culture and Nasreddin Tusupov the Hakim of Irgeli rural district (now the Deputy Hakim of Karasai District) were not questioned by the Court. Parfyonova stated that courts of first instance often make such decisions in favour of the State or some influential persons without due process.

The Church's legal appeal of 26 June, which Forum 18 has seen, also notes that:

- the Court went beyond the stated case in questioning the legal status and "missionary activity" of the church's leader Ee Syn Bok;

- the Court did not investigate the circumstances of the case;

- the Court accepted testimony from a prosecution witness who had not been named in the Public Prosecutor's claim, Smagul Sadyrkuliuly of the village's Council of Veterans, without giving due notice of his testimony to the defence;

- the Court did not make Sadyrkuliuly swear that he was not giving false testimony;

- the Court claimed that as the building was not registered in the name of Ee Sun Bok, and she could not determine its legal status, but ignored the fact that the building is legally the property of the Church;

- the Court did not cite the legal owner, the Church, in the case;

- and the Court accepted false testimony from the Public Prosecutor that the Church is not registered with the Justice Ministry, even though it was registered on 7 March1996.

Also, the Church notes that the Public Prosecutor, in his claim that the transfer violated the Privatisation Law, ignored the fact that the transfer actually took place under the Religion Law. Article 16 of the Law entitles religious organisations to own property transferred by the state, and Article 17 entitles local executive authorities to transfer the rights of ownership of cultural buildings or the rights to use them to religious organisations.

Many other Houses of Culture were given away free-of-charge or sold to private persons, Parfyonova, the Church's lawyer, told Forum 18. "Former culture houses are now bars, restaurants, mosques and used for other purposes in Almaty region," she said. "However," she continued, "the authorities are mainly trying to get back buildings used by religious organisations."

Judge Murzekenova insisted to Forum 18 that the Agafe Church was not singled out by the authorities. "Although it is the first such court case in our district, other property cases have been tried by the courts in other districts and regions", she stated on 13 August. Asked why there were so many violations of due process, Murzekenova did not want to discuss the case further. "Look, I am not allowed to discuss the case with you over the phone," she said.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has found that court proceedings in Kazakhstan do not offer the guaranteed right to a fair trial. In a February 2007 report on trial monitoring, the OSCE found that Kazakh court proceedings needed to offer "the right of the public to attend court, equality between the parties and the presumption of innocence" (link - http://www.osce.org/item/23396.html).

Sadykov from the Church's lawyers complained to Forum 18 that he had received telephone death threats. "People, who I did not recognise, phoned me, and threatened that they would kill me if I did not drop pressing this case", Sadykov stated. Lawyers working on another case in Karasai District, the attempted confiscate of a Hare Krishna commune, have been intimidated into dropping the case (link - http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=881).

"Courts were politically engaged" in Kazakhstan, Sadykov suggested. "I think there is an influential person interested in the building and the piece of land", he said. Commenting on the Church's extensive refurbishment of the building, he thought that "some people are interested in getting the building in good shape for free now."

Almaty regional Civil Court, presided over by Judge Murat Turzhan, decided on 16 July after the Church's appeal to partially cancel the Economic Court's decision and return the case for further investigation. However, Judge Turzhan has not stated what part of the Economic Court's decision was upheld. "We are dealing with many cases at the moment," he told Forum 18 on 13 August, "and I do not remember this."

Abekov from the Almaty regional Public Prosecutor's Office, asked whether they would punish also those from the Hakimat "guilty" of the "illegal" transfer, stated "let the court case finish, and only then we will talk to you about this." Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee noted that the courts as a rule do not punish the authorities for making "illegal" decisions. "They will not do it because they are only interested in expropriating the religious organisations' property," she said.

Judge Zhanna Akhanova of the Economic Court will preside at the appeal hearing on 27 August.

The Hare Krishna community, also in the Karasai District of Almaty Region, continues its ongoing struggle to retain its property, and to resist the the authorities' attempts to move them to a rubbish dump without water outside Almaty (link - http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1120).

Maxim Varfolomeev of the Hare Krishna community pointed out that the authorities have left land confiscated from the community in early 2007 "empty and unused." "We were told by the authorities that they would give it back to the kindergarten," he told Forum 18 on 20 August, "but no one, including the kindergarten has done anything on the land." The Hakimat wronlgly claimed that the kindergarten could not use the land because the community still occupied it, Varfolomeev stated.

Viktor Golous, the leader of the Hare Krishna community, told Forum 18 on 20 August that they were notified by the Almaty regional Hakimat on 19 August that the community will be sued to force them off their own land.

The Deputy Hakim of the Almaty Region, Serik Mukanov, refused to talk to Forum 18 on 15 August about the religious property cases in the Region. "Call me in the afternoon" he told over the phone. When called in the afternoon, he hung up the phone as soon as he heard the name Forum 18.

Grace Protestant Church in Semey, in Eastern Kazakhstan Region, continues to face legal claims - which the Church strongly disputes ­ that it does not comply with fire safety regulations. One example is a claim that their should be a six meter gap between their building and the next building. However, a church member told Forum 18, "there is no building on that land, it is an empty plot." Another commented that "it looks like they are trying to close down our church with any excuse" (link - http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1154).

Despite the flaws in the authorities' claims, the Church is trying to comply with the authorities' demands. "We have now bricked up windows facing a neighbour's property," a church member who wished to remain anonymous told Forum 18 on 20 August. The Fire Brigade had told the church that the windows must be bricked up "in case there is a fire in the neighbouring property."

It is unknown how much time will be needed to comply with the authorities' demands, however unreasonable. But the church building cannot be used until the authorities' demands are met. "In the meantime we are meeting in another small building," Forum 18 was told.

Immediately following the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Astana dedicated to "Transparency in the OSCE" the Kazakhstan government has begun a new attack on the embattled religious community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The Karasai District Hakim, A. Musakhanov, has cancelled the license to use the buildings possessed by the Krishna Society. The deputy Hakim, M. Bigediev, has told the directors of the Krishna Society to "be ready for new court cases."

On July 11, 2008, the directors of the Krishna Society were called for a meeting with the Karasai deputy Hakim. They were presented a document that annuls the license to use the buildings, quarters and cottages owned by the Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The Karasai government issued the license permitting usage in 2001. The current Hakim, Musakhanov, signed the annulment document.

The Krishna Society representatives questioned the reason for revoking the license permitting the buildings usage. The government's legal representative told them that the government possesses the right to issue a license for usage and to arbitrarily revoke it.

The Krishna Society had no lawyers at the meeting and they did not comply with the order to sign the document. They requested the document be sent by registered post and upon receipt the Society's lawyers would review the document.

The deputy Hakim Bigediev responded by threatening, "Be prepared for new court cases."

The buildings in question include the Krishna Society's Temple, barn, and remaining residences.

The Kazakhstan government has been trying to establish legal status to demolish the Krishna Society's Temple and remaining properties.

In January 2008 the Department of State Architectural and Construction Control conducted a special investigation to determine if the buildings were legal.

In March 2008 the Hakim of Almaty Province instructed the Krishna Society that they had one week to accept unusable land plots. Failure to do so would result demolition of their temple and barn.

The Kazakh government prosecution against the Krishna Society began in 2005.

The process of selective discrimination has resulted in the demolition of 26 homes of the Hindu practitioners in 2006 and 2007. It also resulted in the confiscation of 116 acres of the legally owned property of the society.

The Kazakh government has offered no humanitarian aid or compensation to the society or it's members.

The Kazakh government has become a member of the OSCE managing troika preceding their 2010 chairmanship. According to the statements of the government officers, Kazakhstan may soon start legal procedures to legitimize the demolition of the only established Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and central Asia.

Kazakhstan continues to try to close places of worship, Forum 18 News Service has found. The latest incident is a court case brought against Grace Protestant Church in Semey, in eastern Kazakhstan. The Fire Brigade claim that their newly constructed place of worship does not meet fire safety requirements, stating that that there must be a six meter gap between their building and the next building. However, a church member told Forum 18, "there is no building on that land, it is an empty plot." Church members and their lawyer insist that all relevant building permits, including those from the Fire Brigade, are in order. But "the court ignored these documents." A church member told Forum 18 that "it looks like they are trying to close down our church with any excuse." The state's long-running attempts to intimidate Almaty's Hare Krishna commune also continue. In a separate case, a Soviet-era prisoner of conscience, Yegor Prokopenko, pastor of an unregistered Baptist church, has been fined for a second time in three years for unregistered religious activity. Local prosecutor Tatyana Semynina told Forum 18 that "they can believe as much as they want, but should not organize religious meetings."

Kazakh authorities continue to apply pressure against religious communities across the country, Forum 18 News Service has found. The latest example of the authorities' attempts to take places of worship away from religious minorities is a court case against Grace Protestant Church in Semey, in Eastern Kazakhstan Region. The case was brought before the regional Economic Court by Semey Fire Brigade on 25 June, Forum 18 was told by church members. The Fire Brigade claimed that the church's newly constructed place of worship does not meet fire safety requirements.

Semey Fire Brigade told Grace Church that there must be a six meter [six and a half yard] between their building and the next building, church members stated. However, they pointed out, "there is a wall two and half meters from our building, between us and the neighbouring plot of land." And, a church member continued, "there is no building on that land, it is an empty plot."

Judge Armana Kuzhambetova decided that until the church has fulfilled all the fire rules, it was prohibited from using their own building. A church member pointed out that the church had been under construction for four years, but "when we had just completed it the Fire Brigade suddenly appeared and told us we could not use the building." The church already has all the necessary building permits, including a permit from the Fire Brigade, "but the court ignored these documents," Forum 18 was told. "It looks like they are trying to close down our church with any excuse," a church member stated.

Marat Dauletin, Deputy Head of Semey Fire Brigade, claimed to Forum 18 on 2 July that Grace Church had violated fire regulations. "We did not bring them before the court for nothing", Dauletine stated. But he had difficulty in explaining exactly what fire regulations the church had violated. "I do not remember exactly, because they are just one organisation among many who we have brought before the court for violations," he said. "If they disagree they can hire a lawyer to defend their interests."

Judge Armana Kuzhambetova was not available to talk to Forum 18 on 3 July, but an official who answered the phone stated that Grace Church "either need to pull the building down and move it further away from their neighbour, or install a special fire system around the building." The official stated that they could not explain the "special fire system" over the telephone.

No such explanation of the Court's decision was given at the trial, Marasbek Raisov, the church's lawyer, told Forum 18 on 3 July. "This is the first time I have heard the reasons the Economic Court gave you," he told Forum 18. Despite the claims of the Fire Brigade, the lawyer, like church members, insisted that all the necessary official documents for the building's construction were in order.

A highly restrictive draft Religion Law will ­ among other attacks on freedom of thought, conscience and belief - to ban all religious communities with less than 50 members from owning property (see F18News 10 June 2008). The Law completed its first reading in the Kazakh parliament on 11 June. Kazakh authorities are also carrying out raids and media attacks on religious minorities (see F18News 30 May 2008), as well as attacks on their right to own their own property (see F18News 25 April 2008).

In 2007, Semey authorities banned a mother and her young child from their home after a Court Executor sealed the Baptist church premises in Shymkent where they live, to prevent the church from meeting. The local National Security Committee (KNB) secret police tried to pressure the church's Pastor into informing them of everything happening within the church, claiming that "terrorists" are entering the congregation and conducting "subversive activity" (see F18News 23 July 2007). Along with authorities across Kazakhstan, local state authorities have pressured religious minority communities and their leaders into completing highly intrusive questionnaires (see F18News 25 February 2008).

Elsewhere in Kazakhstan, members of the Baptist Council of Churches network contiune to be fined. Zyryanovsk district Criminal Court, in East Kazakhstan Region, under Judge G. Zhumashova fined Yegor Prokopenko, the pastor of the town's unregistered Baptist Church 29,200 Tenge (1,230 Norwegian Kroner, 150 Euros, or 240 US Dollars). He is a Soviet-era dissident who was a prisoner of conscience, and this fine was for unregistered religious activity under part 1, article 362, of the Criminal Code.

Baptist Council of Churches congregations refuse on principle to register with the authorities in post-Soviet countries. Their congregation members are regularly prosecuted in Kazakhstan, Belarus and other states where ­ in breach of international human rights standards - registration is compulsory.

Zyryanovsk Prosecutor Tatyana Semynina told Forum 18 that she could not do anything about the fine given to Prokopenko. "He has violated the Religion Law," she stated. "He must respect the Law". Told that this is a peaceful group of believers and asked why they should be punished for their faith, Semynina said that "they can believe as much as they want, but should not organize religious meetings." When asked what was wrong when groups of religious believers do not want to register as legal persons but want to worship together, Semynina said the question must be asked to the lawmakers. "We as State Prosecutors function according to the law," she emphasized. "There is the Religion Law, and we act based upon that Law."

Professor Roman Podoprigora of the Adilet Law School in Almaty has noted that Kazakh law contradicts itself on whether or not the registration of religious organisations is compulsory (see F18 News 4 August 2005).

Yegor Prokopenko, born 1926, was imprisoned several times during the Soviet period for his religious activity. His last Soviet-era jail sentence began in July 1982, when he was given a three year strict regime labour camp term. In June 2006, he was fined the very large sum of 103,000 Tenge (5,425 Norwegian Kroner, 686 Euros or 870 US Dollars) by Zyryanovsk District Specialised Administrative Court, while congregation member Pyotr Shevel was fined half that amount (see F18News 14 July 2006). Appeals against those fines were rejected (see F18News 1 December 2006).

Kazakhstan's long-running attempts to intimidate Almaty's Hare Krishna commune also continue. On 22 June, Orynbay Zhanedil, the Hakim (Head of the Executive Authority) of Zhetisu rural area of Almaty region's Karasai district personally intimidated devotees at a worship service of the Commune. "As the Krishna congregation arrived by bus at the commune, Orynbay Zhanedil also arrived accompanied by local policemen," Maksim Varfolomeev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 on 30 June.

"The Hakim stopped our worshippers, and warned us that the meeting was illegal," complained Varfolomeev. "He demanded that we vacate the area within one hour, and threatened that, if we failed to comply, he would bring more police to conduct a check up on all the attendees." While leaving the commune, Zhanedil warned the Hare Krishna devotees that their land "belonged to him." The Hakim also confiscated the bus driver's driving license, returning it later with a warning "never to drive people to the Krishna commune again," Varfolomeev told Forum 18.

Zhanedil's actions "were a flagrant violation of our Constitutional rights", complained Varfolomeev. He also stated that the Hakim "violated Article 12 of the Religion Law," which states that religious worship, ceremonies and rites may be freely performed in places of worship. The Hakim has not since returned to the Commune, and Hare Krishna devotees contiue to worship in their temple.

Forum 18 has repeatedly tried to talk to the Hakim about the Hare Krishna Commune, but the telephone has been repeatedly put down by a woman who answered the call. At the most recent attempt to speak to the Hakim on 3 July, Forum 18 was told to "call back tomorrow when maybe there will be someone to talk to you."

In previous attempts to intimidate the Hare Krishna devotees into giving up their land, the local authorities have bulldozed about half of the houses on the commune, without offering compensation or alternative accommodation for the devotees made homeless (see F18 News 15 June 2007). The authorities continue to try to evict the Hare Krishna commune, offering unsuitable alternative land - including a rubbish dump (see F18News 25 April 2008).

ALMATY, Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan's parliament tentatively approved a bill Wednesday intended to increase government control over the activities of religious associations.

The bill has drawn protests from rights groups, which say the changes will hinder religious minorities and could force some of them out of existence.

Under the proposed rules, missionary activities would be curtailed and fines for unregistered religious organizations sharply increased. The bill also would restrict the right to publish religious literature to a limited number of approved organizations.

Groups that are already registered would have to go through the procedure again.

"This bill will destroy all freedoms of conscience," said Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee. "It bears no relation to the country's constitutional norms and to our obligations before the international community."

Lawmaker Kamal Burkhanov said the bill was drafted in the spirit of international democratic standards.

"We have 47 different confessional denominations in Kazakhstan, but in order for them not to disturb each other's work we have decided to put the system in order," said Burkhanov, who chairs a working group on the bill.

Kazakhstan submitted the proposed bill to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for scrutiny last month, but Burkhanov said the group had not yet voiced its findings.

The OSCE's Office for Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights said it sent its review to Kazakh authorities Tuesday evening and that further consultations will be held later this month.

Before the bill receives presidential approval, it must pass a second reading in parliament and then be scrutinized by the upper chamber and a constitutional review committee.

Kazakhstan has sought in recent years to convey the image of religious tolerance to the world. But human rights activists say its laws on religion have hampered freedom of conscience.

The oil-rich Central Asian nation hosted an international forum on religious rights in 2006, swiftly building a 77-meter (250-foot) glass pyramid-shaped venue costing more US$65 million (€42 million) in the capital, Astana, in time for the meeting.

But observers say constant changes to the law regulating religious organizations have seriously harmed minority faiths.

"Restrictions are tighter, controls are more intrusive, and those that want to peacefully practice their faith in conditions the government doesn't like face more and more restrictions," said Felix Corley, editor of Forum 18, a Norwegian-based religious freedom advocacy group.

Amendments passed in 2005, ostensibly aimed at addressing concerns about national security, required all religious activity to be registered. The OSCE condemned the measures as a breach of Kazakhstan's commitments on freedom of association, religion and expression.

Earlier this year, 82-year old Baptist pastor Yegor Prokopenko was fined 29,200 tenge (US$240, €155) by a court in eastern Kazakhstan for refusing to register his group. Baptist pastors remain adamant that even the prospect of stiffer penalties will not change their position.

"We consider all requirements to register as an interference in our affairs," said fellow Baptist pastor Dmitry Jantsen. "We lived in the Soviet Union and we know perfectly well what registration is all about."

By BB Govinda Swami

Press Release

June 17, 2008

As an effort to resolve the conflict caused by the destruction of 26 homes and confiscation of 116 acres of property of the Society for Krishna Consciousness the Kazakhstan government has continually offered unsuitable land plots.

The latest offer has been 10 acres of a landfill/garbage dump in Illi District, Almaty Province.

The directors of the Krishna Society have repeatedly expressed their willingness to cooperate with government authorities to resolve this conflict. But, they have expressed that they cannot accept an active garbage dump, which does not have drinking water or water for irrigation, as a satisfying resolve.

The chairman of the Krishna Society was informed on June 17, 2008 that the government has officially allotted this parcel of land despite the Krishna Society not having agreed to accept the plot.

In a telephone conversation with the Deputy Hakim of Almaty Province, Serik Mukanov, the officials of the Krishna Society were warned that failure to comply to this order could result in the loss of the Temple building and barn which the society still occupies in Karasai District. The deputy Hakim stated that he would contact the Karasai District government with the instruction that they resolve the issue.

The Karasai District government oversaw anti-Krishna media broadcasts, opened court cases against the society, oversaw the demolition of homes of the community members, and has had the 116 acres of community land returned to the land reserve of the district.

The pretence for the confiscation of the 116 acres is that forgery was committed in the original sales and purchase agreement. To date there has no ruling that forgery took place.

The farm of the Krishna Society was legally purchased and privatized by the society. It is presently valued as a multi-million dollar property. The farm was the main center of the Krishna religion in Kazakhstan and central Asia.

Many families were displaced by the demolitions that took place during the winter of 2006 and summer of 2007. Despite requests by OSCE, the American government, and the International Helsinki Foundation, the Kazakh government offered no humanitarian aid or compensation to the families following the destruction.

The Krishna Society has been featured in recent television reports against non-traditional religions in Kazakhstan. The latest wave of anti-sect media propaganda has intensified as the Kazakh government is reviewing controversial amendments to the religious laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Human rights observers have stated that the amendments would be in gross violation of international standards of freedom of religion and belief.

Society for Krishna Consciousness Kazakhstan

+7 701 7407943

+7 72771 34287

info@kazakhkrishna.com

Visit www. kazakhkrishna. com to see the tragedy of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

See the video of the destruction of the Krishna Community:

http://www.kazakhkrishna.com/en-video/4.htm

The following was excerpted from an article by the religious freedom news service Forum 18. The full article can be read in its original context here.

In attempts to intimidate the Hare Krishna devotees to give up the land, the local authorities [Almaty, Kazakhstan] in the past demolished some of the houses on the land where the devotees used to live.

Maxim Varfolomeev of the Hare Krishna Community told Forum 18 on 18 April that the Regional Akimat has given them an ultimatum to vacate the place as soon as possible. "Otherwise the authorities pledge to pull down our temple and other buildings including living residences in our presence," Varfolomeev told Forum 18.

Serik Umbetov, the Akim of the region, gathered officials of Akimats of local districts around Karasai region, and the leaders of the Hare Krishna commune on 25 March to offer an alternative site for the commune. "The authorities through the court stripped our property rights to 49 hectares of fertile lands next to a beautiful lake which is also within an hour of Almaty city," complained Varfolomeev. "But now they won't give us a minimum of two hectares needed for building of the temple, the housing of the devotees and the shed for the cows."

At the meeting the Hare Krishna community was offered four places in different districts but found none of them appropriate, Varfolomeev reported. "One site is next to a rubbish dump, another is next to a cemetery, and the best is on a hill that would need to be levelled out," he said. All these sites are too remote and cannot be reached by public transport, which would make it very difficult for members to attend the meetings, he complained.

The new head of the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee, Ardak Doszhan, received the leaders of the Hare Krishna commune at his office in Astana on 28 March and promised to give his support to the commune, Varfolomeev told Forum 18. The authorities have not taken steps to demolish the buildings yet. "This shows us that the Akimat is trying to talk us into signing papers that we agree to the plans to move us out of the current location, so they can have a legal basis for the demolition," he said. The Commune is resolute in its decision not to give in to pressure and sign any papers. "We just want two hectares of land on even ground in an appropriate surrounding not far from the city," reiterated Varfolomeev.

Gazizat Shtabaeva of Karasai Akimat, who now oversees the land dispute, was reached by Forum 18 on 25 April but she declined to talk about the issue.

"Ryskul Zhunisbaeva who used to oversee this dispute has now resigned from her position, and I have just taken over this issue," she said. "I don't know much about it at the moment."

Ardak Zholtaev, the Assistant to the Akim, declined to talk about the issue over the phone to Forum 18 on 25 April. The telephone of the deputy Akim, Edil Kaliev, went unanswered. Kayrat Tulesov, the deputy chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee, also declined to discuss the case with Forum 18 by telephone on 25 April.

Among other religious communities, Jehovah's Witnesses, independent Muslims and Protestant churches continue to suffer in Kazakhstan. Recently a group of 15 independent Muslims were given heavy prison sentences for belonging to a terrorist organisation. 14 of the 15 Muslims were given prison sentences of between 14 and 19 and a half years at a closed trial. The fifteenth received a three-year corrective labour sentence. The terrorist allegations by the authorities were not proven, according to independent legal experts in Kazakhstan.

A young mother with her newborn baby, photographed from outside her window as Kazakh police break down her door and prepare to demolish her home.

On March 25, 2008 the directors of the Krishna Society were summoned to a meeting organized by the Hakim of Almaty Province. The subject of the meeting was the imminent eviction of the Religious Organization Society for Krishna Consciousness from their property in Karasai District.

The Krishna organization was given a period of one week to accept the government demands to vacate their developed 116 acre farm. The proposed alternative is a 5-acre plot of undeveloped land in the wilds of Talgar district. The proposed site is further from Almaty city than their current location.

The Krishna Society was informed that if does not accept these conditions, within one week, that the officers of GASK (the State Architectural and Construction Board), will open a lawsuit to demolish the Krishna Society's existing temple and barn.

The Krishna Society's project near Almaty is a unique spiritual center for Kazakhstan and the entire CIS. It serves as the cultural center for the followers of the Krishna faith in Central Asia.

The three-year prosecution against the Society has resulted in the demolition of 26 homes of the faithful. The Society's 116-acre farmland has been confiscated and returned to the Kazakh Government Land Reserve.

During the meeting on March 25th it was announced that the confiscated land would be subdivided and sold by the government for private villas.

The religious organization will be liquidated when it loses its current legal address. The followers of the Krishna belief will be deprived of the opportunity to practice their religion collectively, which is the main component of freedom of conscience and faith.

A fair and reasonable solution to this conflict would underline Kazakhstan's commitment in upholding international commitments to human rights, religious tolerance and ethnic amity. But in this case there is no element of fairness to be found.

For more information visit http://www.kazakhkrishna.com

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev criticized foreign missionaries on Thursday as a threat to national stability and urged lawmakers to curb their activities.

The mainly Muslim country has positioned itself as an area of stability in the potentially volatile Central Asian region. But some rights groups have criticized its treatment of small groups such as Hare Krishna.

Speaking at a congress of the Nur-Otan party, which holds all seats in the lower house of the parliament, Nazarbayev said foreign missionaries posed a threat to secularity.

"We are a secular state where religion is separated from the state, but this does not mean Kazakhstan should become a dumping ground for all kinds of religious movements," he said the veteran leader, without naming any groups.

"There are tens of thousands of missionary organizations working in Kazakhstan today. We don't know what their aims are. ... We cannot leave it like that and let them do something that our country does not need," he said.

Nazarbayev often singles out ethnic and religious accord as one of his main achievements in the country, which has a large Orthodox Christian community.

But Western human rights groups say religious intolerance toward smaller groups is on the rise.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized Kazakhstan last year for destroying houses belonging to followers of Hare Krishna, who practice yoga and vegetarianism in a village near Almaty.

November 11, 2007

On November 8, 2007, the Supervisory Panel of the Almaty Provincial Court cancelled its previous decision on the transfer of 116-acre Krishna Society farm to Mr. E. Abdykalykov. The court ruled that the land be again returned to the Kazakhstan Government.

This is the second time the court has returned the property to the government of Kazakhstan.

In April 2007, by decision of the provincial court, the property which was legally owned by the Krishna Society was transferred to the state land reserve. This decision was enacted without compensation to the Society.

On October 23, 2007 Abdykalykov presented an appeal to the provincial court to regain ownership of the property.

The panel of judges satisfied his appeal despite his right of appeal having expired twenty-two months earlier. When the land was returned to his ownership he appeared at the Krishna farm demanding the society vacate the territory within one week.

But, during the November 8th hearing, a joint protest of the decision was presented by the prosecutor of Almaty Province and supervisory appeal of the Hakimat (Governor) of  the Karasai District.

The protest was based on new evidence which stated that the disputed 116-acre property was offered, on a lease of five years, to an orphanage for a summer camp.

Abdykalykov was not present on the court hearing. The panel of judges ruled in favor of the government and transferred the land back to the land reserve of the Karasai district.

On November 10, 2007 Abdykalykov became aware of the decision. He explained that he had not been informed of the hearing and still considered himself to be the rightful owner of the property. Karasai District was represented by the Hakimat's hired advocate and Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, the Hakimat's expert on religious issues.

Ms. Zhunisbayeva was last seen leading a migration police raid at the Krishna farm in September. She has also presented inflammatory statements regarding the Krishna Society on the national television.

Her xenophobic attitude to the Krishna followers, and her presence at the hearing, only gave further evidence that the Krishna issue is not an economic dispute, as the government continues to advocate, but is motivated by bigotry against a religious minority.

The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Karim Masimov, has issued a directive to dismiss Karasai District Hakim BS Kutpanov on charges of corruption related to property deals. Kutpanov is the government official who illegally acted as the plaintiff in every case against the Krishna community.

"The Prime Minister ordered the dismissal of the official responsible for this tragedy, now the government must acknowledge that things have gone terribly wrong in the handling of the Krishna issue, and resolve it fairly with our community," said Shyama Gopal, Krishna spokesperson.  "For three years the government has procrastinated in fairly resolving the issue, now it is time to address it.

The land in question was properly purchased, privatized, and cultivated by the Krishna Society for eight years, and today provides food for the members, and also 30 dairy cows owned by the community.

On that property, forty Kazakh citizens still worship in their small temple, still cultivate the land, and still care for their cows. They do this despite the fact that the government has destroyed twenty-six of their homes and more than 500 members of the Krishna faith from Almaty city and province have been deprived of their place of worship.

"The Kazakh government's new claim that it plans to give children a summer camp for five years is just a smoke screen. After five years, who will camp on it next?" asked Shyama Gopal.

Image: http://www.kazakhkrishna.com
Hare Krishna members' homes demolished by the Kazakh government.

Madrid ­ Foreign Ministers of the 56 member states belonging to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will discuss the issue of Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE in 2009, at the group’s meeting of the Council of Ministers, held here on November 29-30. The current meeting follows the OSCE’s earlier decision to postpone approving Kazakhstan’s bid until the Central Asian country could demonstrate efforts to improve its poor human rights record.

The ongoing persecution of a Hare Krishna community in Almaty ­ which the OSCE Advisory Council said “raises serious issues regarding the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and belief by members of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan” ­ is said to be one reason the bid was turned down.

Since then, however, the plight of the Krishna devotees and other persecuted religious minorities seems only to have gotten worse. A series of court rulings, contested by the devotees and by human rights activists as seriously compromised, have officially handed ownership of the116-acre Krishna community over to the government. Meanwhile, officials continue to deny that the matter is in any way connected to the group’s religious faith or that the government acted improperly in confiscating the coveted property.

Human rights experts disagree. In a Congressional Hearing held in Washington, DC last month, Kazakh human rights expert Yevgeniy Zhovtiz and U.S. Representative Christopher Smith both called Kazakh Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov to task on reports that his country was sponsoring religiously motivated land grabs.

“I will not be able to support a Kazakh bid any year until the country makes the substantive reforms. And that's what we're calling for,” Mr. Smith testified at the hearing. Smith also called the confiscation of the Krishna farm a “compelling issue” and likened it to a “holdover from the Nazi era [and] the Communist era.”

In a curious twist, only one month ago,Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov ordered the forced resignation of several local officials (hakims)—including the one overseeing the area with the confiscated Krishna property. KazakhstanToday reported that Hakim Bularbek Kutpanov of the Karasai district of Almaty was among several local officials given the pink slip as part of a purported corruption crackdown. According to the report, the Prime Minister left the question of punishment or censure of the ousted hakims “up to the head of the state.”

“The fact that the governor was removed only underscores what we have been trying to communicate to the Kazakhstan government all along: that corruption and persecution on the ground level is making a mockery of Kazakshtan’s stated ideals,” opined Hare Krishna spokesperson Vyenkata Bhatta Dasa, who helped to author ISKCON’s report on the persecution. “At the same time, we can’t help but wonder whether this is a genuine attempt to weed out the corrupt and abuse players, or just an attempt to repair Kazkahstan’s tarnished image in time for the OSCE meeting.”

By (Bhakti Bhrnga) Govinda Swami on 6 Nov 2007

On November 4, 2007, the practitioners of the Society for Krishna Consciousness were informed that they have one week to vacate their farm.

Mr. Ermek Abdykalykov, the former owner of the Krishna property, visited the Krishna farm during the Sunday services, and placed this demand upon the members of the community. He stated that since the provincial court has ruled in favor of his appeal and he has set the deadline of one week for the society to vacate the premises.

According to the ruling of the supervisory instance of the Almaty provincial court of October 23, 2007, Abdykalykov’s appeal to regain possession of the land was satisfied. Thus the sale and purchase contract of 1999 with the members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness was cancelled and 116 acres of land were returned to him as a former owner.

This action is an ongoing instance of the flawed judiciary and blatant breakage of rule of law of the nation.

In a previous hearing of the same court, the 116-acre land was returned to the land reserve of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The satisfaction of Abdykalykov’s appeal has again shown the ability to manipulate the Kazakh judiciary for the purpose of confiscation of properties.

It should be noted that Abdykalykov’s right of appeal expired 22 months ago.

During his visit to the Krishna farm, Abdykalykov was accompanied by Mr. Batyr, who had previously visited the Krishna farm and had introduced himself as an “an interested party from Astana.” When formally requested to identify themselves only Abdykalykov responded.

Walking freely on the property they questioned how native Kazakhs, who are Moslems, have become Hindu Krishna believers. They then emphatically declared that, “Now, finally, we will finish the Krishna Society. At that point they left without waiting for the society chairman who was on his way from the city.

On November 5, 2007 the chairman of the Krishna Society was informed by the Secretary of the Provincial Court that the decision of the October 23rd case has been written and is in the post.

Kazakh officials have repeatedly attempted to assure the world community that the Krishna land has been commissioned for usage as an orphanage. The Kazakh ambassador to the United States, Mr. E. Idrissov, presented this point during a congressional hearing in Washington in October.

The chairman of the Religious Committee, Mr. E. Tugzhanov echoed the same point in a meeting with the officials of the Krishna Society in Astana on November 1, 2007. He stated, “Our government wants this property. Do you actually think that the government can give up this land so easily?”

The Religious Committee repeatedly states that the Krishna Society was offered 5 acres of land in Talgar District as compensation for the 116 acres confiscated by the government. When asked why the government does not place its orphanage in Talgar District, and allow the Krishna Society to remain on their own property, the committee repeatedly states that the land was lost in the “courts of Kazakhstan.”

But if this committee, and the Kazakh government, have raised objection to the October 23rd court decision, why is it not possible for them to understand that all other cases in regard to the Krishna issue have been the products of procedural flaw, and biased judgments.

In one Provincial Court hearing the judge questioned if the Krishna Society was a “terrorist organization.” The officer of the government land committee replied yes, and, the case was ruled against the Krishna Society.

The Krishna Society has been ordered to vacate the land within one week. The Hindu practitioners are fearful that they will be subjected to violent measures to evict them from their property. It is a common practice to engage gang members or mobsters to violently evict tenants.

If this situation arises only Abdykalykov will be responsible for the violence. The Kazakh government will remain uninvolved.

Thus, the Krishna Society will be driven out by Abdykalykov’s hands and later the Prosecutor’s office will contest the October 23rd ruling and return the land to the Kazakh government.

That is the apparent cause of the government’s escalated actions. The Krishna member will be beaten and forcefully driven away and their 116-acre property will be awarded for the noble usage as an orphanage.

Submitted by jswami on November 11, 2007 - 4:39am.

from His Holiness Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami, leader for the Hare Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan

November 5, 2007

On November 4, 2007, the practitioners of the Society for Krishna Consciousness were informed that they have one week to vacate their farm.

Mr. Ermek Abdykalykov, the former owner of the Krishna property, visited the Krishna farm during the Sunday services and placed this demand upon the members of the community. He stated that since the provincial court has ruled in favor of his appeal and he has set the deadline of one week for the society to vacate the premises.

According to the ruling of the supervisory instance of the Almaty provincial court of October 23, 2007, Abdykalykov’s appeal to regain possession of the land was satisfied. Thus the sale and purchase contract of 1999 with the members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness was cancelled, and 116 acres of land were returned to him as a former owner.

This action is an ongoing instance of the flawed judiciary and blatant breakage of rule of law of the nation.

In a previous hearing of the same court, the 116-acre land was returned to the land reserve of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The satisfaction of Abdykalykov’s appeal has again shown the ability to manipulate the Kazakh judiciary for the purpose of confiscation of properties.

It should be noted that Abdykalykov’s right of appeal expired 22 months ago.

During his visit to the Krishna farm, Abdykalykov was accompanied by Mr. Batyr, who had previously visited the Krishna farm and had introduced himself as “an interested party from Astana.” When formally requested to identify themselves, only Abdykalykov responded.

Walking freely on the property, they questioned how native Kazakhs, who are Muslims, have become Hindu Krishna believers. They then emphatically declared that, “Now, finally, we will finish the Krishna Society. At that point they left without waiting for the society chairman, who was on his way from the city.

On November 5, 2007, the chairman of the Krishna Society was informed by the Secretary of the Provincial Court that the decision of the October 23rd case has been written and is in the post.

Kazakh officials have repeatedly attempted to assure the world community that the Krishna land has been commissioned for usage as an orphanage. The Kazakh ambassador to the United States, Mr. E. Idrissov, presented this point during a congressional hearing in Washington in October.

The chairman of the Religious Committee, Mr. E. Tugzhanov, echoed the same point in a meeting with the officials of the Krishna Society in Astana on November 1, 2007. He stated, “Our government wants this property. Do you actually think that the government can give up this land so easily?”

The Religious Committee repeatedly states that the Krishna Society was offered 5 acres of land in Talgar District as compensation for the 116 acres confiscated by the government. When asked why the government does not place its orphanage in Talgar District and allow the Krishna Society to remain on their own property, the committee repeatedly states that the land was lost in the “courts of Kazakhstan.”

But if this committee and the Kazakh government have raised objection to the October 23rd court decision, why is it not possible for them to understand that all other cases in regard to the Krishna issue have been the products of procedural flaw, and biased judgments.

In one Provincial Court hearing the judge questioned if the Krishna Society was a “terrorist organization.” The officer of the government land committee replied yes, and the case was ruled against the Krishna Society.

The Krishna Society has been ordered to vacate the land within one week. The Hindu practitioners are fearful that they will be subjected to violent measures to evict them from their property. It is a common practice to engage gang members or mobsters to violently evict tenants.

If this situation arises only Abdykalykov will be responsible for the violence. The Kazakh government will remain uninvolved.

Thus, the Krishna Society will be driven out by Abdykalykov’s hands, and later the Prosecutor’s office will contest the October 23rd ruling and return the land to the Kazakh government.

That is the apparent cause of the government’s escalated actions. The Krishna member will be beaten and forcefully driven away, and their 116-acre property will be awarded for the noble usage as an orphanage.

By Felix Corley for Forum 18 News Service on 9 Nov 2007

A court in Kazakhstan decided on 23 October to hand a confiscated Hare Krishna farm near the commercial capital Almaty from the regional authority's ownership into the hands of the man who originally sold it in 1999. But since the court decision, Forum 18 News Service has learnt, a battle has emerged between the state and the new "owner".

The Hare Krishna commune fears that this conflict has made their community even more vulnerable. "Now the court has transferred the land to a private individual, the authorities will have a strong basis to argue that this is a purely economic issue," Maksim Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishnas told Forum 18 from Astana on 1 November. "They can claim that any expulsion is a private matter between the owner and us. They have someone to do their dirty work for them. It is a very dangerous situation."

Varfolomeyev insists that religious factors are behind the long-running campaign to crush the commune. "The conflict is based upon the apparent and proven intolerance of a minority religious group," he told Forum 18.

Amongst other religious minorities facing Kazakh authorities' hostility are Presbyterians targeted by the KNB secret police, Baptists facing home confiscations for "illegal" worship and Jehovah's Witnesses fined for worshiping without state registration.

A new Religion Law is planned to even more severely restrict religious freedom. Presidential and Justice Ministry documents encourage intolerance of religious minorities including Ahmadi Muslims.

Ermek Abdykalykov, who sold the rights to use the 47.7 hectare (118 acre) farm in 1999, lodged a suit to have the sale annulled, eight years on. The Hare Krishna community claims the deadline for him to challenge the original sale had run out 22 months earlier. Yet his suit was upheld at the 23 October hearing in the Supervisory Division of Almaty Regional Court, overturning a 2006 court ruling that the land should be taken from the Hare Krishna community and handed to the local authority. The Hare Krishna community expressed astonishment that the three judges accepted Abdykalykov's claim based only on his oral presentation and with no documentation.

Abdykalykov in 1999 sold the rights to use the farm land (before the law allowed privatisation) to three individuals, who later sold it on to one individual (not a Hare Krishna devotee) who was prepared to hold legal title on behalf of the community. The land was privatised in 2004. The following year the community bought it from the owner in the name of the community, but the authorities repeatedly refused to register the community's formal ownership of the land.

Varfolomeyev said the latest court ruling was unprecedented. "It is very strange that the government took back the land and then gave it to another individual. In Kazakhstan this is incredible." He says that Abdykalykov will "definitely" expel the commune from the farm.

Yet Yerali Tugzhanov, Kazakhstan's senior religious affairs official, angrily rejected the 23 October court ruling. "The land still belongs to the authorities. Why should any private individual have any claim to it?" he told Forum 18 from Astana on 1 November. "I don't know what right this individual has, but that's his problem." He insisted that the General Prosecutor's Office "and other agencies" are already looking into the legality of the court decision.

But Tugzhanov, who has been deeply involved in the long-running state attempts to close down the commune, had little comfort for the Hare Krishna devotees. "The land doesn't belong to the Hare Krishna community either ­ it's long been in the hands of a children's home," he insisted. He declined to answer any other questions, declaring that he does not "get involved in legal questions" and put down the phone.

No official has previously told Forum 18 that the land has been handed to a children's home. Forum 18 was unable to reach any officials at the Karasai District Akimat (administration) on 1 November to find out if this is true. The woman who answered the phone of Gulnara Sultanova, the head of the Akimat's Internal Policy Department, told Forum 18 that she was out. No other official was available to discuss the case.

Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community regards the claims that the land has been given to a children's home as a "trick". "It's obvious that people will still be following what happens to the land," he told Forum 18. "The officials want to show they're not bad people, so they will say they confiscated the land from the Hare Krishna community to hand to a children's home."

On 28 October, Forum 18 visited the Sri Vrindavan Dham commune - located in the village of Seleksia in Zhetisu rural area of Karasai district and named after the "beautiful forest of Vrindavan" in India where Krishna spent his youth. The commune's temple is located in the two-storey former farmhouse.

Some 40 devotees live crammed into buildings on the farm since 26 Hare Krishna-owned homes on separate plots near the farm were demolished by the authorities in November 2006 and June 2007. No compensation was ever offered for the seized farm or for the 26 bulldozed homes. Similar homes owned by non-Hare Krishna devotees on the same basis have not been touched. In September, Migration Police accompanied by the police and Akimat officials raided the commune.

The commune has decided not to plant any new crops on the farm because of the uncertainty, but it retains its herd of some 30 cows, an animal considered sacred by Hindus. Hare Krishna devotees told Forum 18 that Abdykalykov, the new "owner", had telephoned commune members several times and harassed them. He told the devotees the most he could do is to pay for the buildings on the farm. Forum 18 tried repeatedly to reach Abdykalykov on 1 and 2 November, but his mobile phone was switched off.

Azamat Aitzhan, an Almaty-based lawyer who represented the member of the Hare Krishna community in whose name the farm was owned, told Forum 18 on 1 November that he was present at the 23 October hearing, but was not allowed to participate. "In accordance with the Civil Procedure Code I should have been allowed to participate, but the judge refused to allow this. I'm going to lodge a complaint about that."

Aitzhan admitted that the hearing was "strange". "It was fairly one-sided in court ­ I was the only one there on behalf of the Hare Krishna devotees." He said the representative of the Almaty Regional Prosecutor's Office had urged that the land continue to be held by the regional administration, but that the court had rejected this.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has found that court proceedings in Kazakhstan do not offer the guaranteed right to a fair trial. In a February 2007 report on trial monitoring, the OSCE found that Kazakh court proceedings needed to offer "the right of the public to attend court, equality between the parties and the presumption of innocence".

Hare Krishna community lawyer Aitzkhan declined to speculate on who the farm should ultimately belong to. "The law covering land ownership is contradictory, and anyone who wants to can find a pretext for questioning any transaction," he told Forum 18. "No land-owner in Kazakhstan has a guarantee that tomorrow their land might not be taken away from them. But I can't say that either the 2006 court decision to take the land away from the Hare Krishna devotees and hand it to the local authority, or the latest decision to hand it to the original user is legal. We consider neither decision to be legal."

Aitzhan said that the decision to transfer the land to the original user came into force immediately it was announced, though the court has up to one month to issue the decision in writing. He said he would lodge an appeal on behalf of the member of the Hare Krishna community as soon as he has been able to study the written decision. He said he did not know if the prosecutor's office will also appeal against the decision.

The lawyer added that now the land has officially been transferred to the original user Abdykalykov, he could now remove the Hare Krishna devotees from what is now officially his land.

Varfolomeyev and fellow devotees were in Astana, the capital, on 1 November to meet officials. They believe the order in late October by the Prime Minister Karim Masimov to remove from office a number of akims (administration chiefs), including Karasai District Akim Bolat-bi Kutpanov over alleged corruption, makes the time right for officials in the capital to review all decisions over the commune.

"Now the Prime Minister himself is confirming the fact of the corrupted actions of the ex-Akim," Varfolomeyev told Forum 18. "It would be nice if the government would not stop at verification of this fact, but would take concrete steps to eliminate the consequences of the ex-Karasai Akim's malpractice in regard to the Krishna community."

By BB Govinda Swami

On November 8, 2007, the Supervisory Panel of the Almaty Provincial Court cancelled its decision on the transfer of 116-acre Krishna Society farm to Mr. E. Abdykalykov. The court ruled that the land be again returned to the Kazakhstan Government.

This is the second time the court has returned the property to the government of Kazakhstan.

In April 2007, by decision of the provincial court, the property which was legally owned by the Krishna Society was transferred to the state land reserve. This decision was enacted without consideration of compensation to the Society.

On October 23, 2007 Abdykalykov presented an appeal to the provincial court to regain ownership of the property.

The panel of judges satisfied his appeal despite his right of appeal having expired twenty-two months earlier. When the land was returned to his ownership he appeared at the Krishna farm demanding the society to vacate the territory within one week.

But, during the November 8th hearing, a joint protest of the decision was presented by the prosecutors of Karasai District and Almaty Province.

The protest was based on new evidence which stated that the disputed
116-acre property was offered, on a lease of five years, to an orphanage, for camping in the summer.

Abdykalykov was not present on the court hearing. The panel of judges ruled in favor of the government and transferred the land back to the land reserve of the Karasai district.

On November 10, 2007 Abdykalykov became aware of the decision. He explained that he had not been informed of the hearing and still considered himself to be the rightful owner of the property.

Karasai District was represented by the Hakimat’s hired advocate and Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, the Hakimat’s expert on religious issues.

Zhunisbayeva was last seen leading a migration police raid at the Krishna farm in September. She has also presented inflammatory statements regarding the Krishna Society on the national television.

Her xenophobic attitude to the Krishna followers, and her presence at the hearing, only solidified the doubt that the Krishna issue is an economic dispute with no traces of religious discrimination.

The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Karim Masimov, has issued a directive to dismiss Karasai District Hakim BS Kutpanov on charges of corruption related to property deals. Kutpanov is the government official who illegally acted as the plaintiff in every case against the Krishna community.

As the Prime Minister has ordered the dismissal of the official responsible for this tragedy, why can’t the government acknowledge that things have gone terribly wrong in the handling of the Krishna issue.

For three years the government has procrastinated in fairly resolving the issue. Now, the government has placed the Krishna community and camping orphans on a collision path. This further complicates the unresolved issue.

The land was properly purchased, privatized, and cultivated by the Krishna Society for eight years. This provided food for the members, and dairy cattle, of the community.

On that property, forty Kazakh citizens, faithful Krishna devotees, still worship in their small temple. They still cultivate the land, and still care for their cows. They do this despite the fact that the government has destroyed twenty-six of their homes.

They stay because the government has made no fair offer of compensation for the destruction that has taken place due to discrimination and corruption in the Karasai District.

More than 500 members of the Krishna faith from Almaty city and province have been deprived of their place of worship.

Truly, the Kazakh government’s efforts to give children a summer camp, even if only for five years, is noble. But after five years of summer camp, what will happen to this multi-million dollar property? Who will camp on it next?

The real question is why should this be done at the expense of peaceful citizens who have purchased property, made sizable investments, and who are ultimately left with no compensation?

Press-service,

Society for Krishna Consciousness Kazakhstan

+7 701 7407943

+7 72771 34287

info@kazakhkrishna.com

Visit www. kazakhkrishna. com to see the tragedy of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

See the video of the destruction of the Krishna Community:

http://www.kazakhkrishna.com/en-video/4.html

Asian Image (UK) on 24 Oct 2007

The British government is being urged to speak to the Kazakhstan President to stop the harassment and human rights abuse against minority Hindu communities in that country.

British MP's this week said they would pressure the Foreign Secretary to act after attending an event organized by the Hindu Forum of Europe at the House of Commons.

At the event two Kazakh human rights activists, Yevgeniy Zhovtis and Ninel Fokina made a presentation on how Hindu houses have been selectively targeted for demolition and a Hindu temple confiscated by a Kazakh Government that they claim is increasingly modeled on the totalitarian style of the older Soviet Union'.

Despite international pressure, the local Government in Kazakhstan has decided to demolish houses belonging to 100 Hindus without following any procedure, protocol or observance of human rights.

Riot police moved into Hindu properties and demolished them on 21 November 2006 and again on 15 June 2007 to render Kazakh citizens homeless simply because they were Hindu, while people of other faiths living in the same area have no problems and continue to live without any form of discrimination.

This was followed by an official order of the government to demolish the Hindu Temple and the dairy farm of the community.

The Temple continues to be under threat and the authorities could come at any time to demolish it.

Despite flagrant disregard for minority faith communities and blatant violation of human rights, Kazakhstan is seeking to Chair the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a body that safeguards human rights in Europe.

British MPs have now promised to take up this issue with the Foreign Secretary as well as the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. They plan to table an Early Day Motion to seek support from other MPs.

"The human rights abuse against Kazakh Hindus is shocking," said Virendra Sharma MP, who was one of the hosts of the event. "It is important that international institutions and world governments begin to understand the scale of abuse against minorities like Hindus and Baptists that is taking place in this country."

"Freedom to practise one's religion is an absolute right," said James Clappison MP who was also hosting the event. "We cannot just stand back and do nothing when women and children are being rudely thrown out of their homes into the streets during freezing winter conditions."

Referring to the Kazakh Government's official stand that the dispute was a legal matter, Sarah Teather MP, another Parliamentary host for the event commented, "Laws are made to uphold human dignity. If they allow minority communities to be persecuted, then it is clear that they need to be changed."

Faith leaders form the Sikh, Buddhist and Christian communities responded to the presentations made on the abuse in Kazakhstan.

Anne Noonan from the Catholic Bishop's conference said, "Catholics have also faced plenty of problems in Kazakhstan. UK has made a huge progress in dialogue between faith communities and we have a real model here which we can present."

"How can Kazakhstan bid to Chair the OCSE when its human rights record is so appalling?" asked Sudarshan Bhatia, President of the Hindu Forum of Europe.

"The judicial system of the Republic of Kazakhstan has passed rulings which do not reflect the constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and severely affects the lives of the Kazakh Hindu community. These rulings allow the government to evacuate the Hindus from their home, destroy their homes, and confiscate their properties."

"We want the world to wake up and hear what is happening to the Hindu community in Kazakhstan," declared Hari Halai, Vice President of the Hindu Forum of Europe.

"The Kazakh government is determined to grab the land belonging to the temple because of the property is now worth twenty times more than it originally was.

Human rights activist have pointed to a growing nexus between the mafia and the government in which the vulnerable Hindu community has been made a victim."

Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain said that the Kazakh Government had set up a Commission to enquire into these issues. "But it reached no conclusion, had no representation of Hindus and collapsed without any just discussion," he added.

"The Supreme Court heard cases about Kazakh Hindus in their absence without serving them notice or allowing their lawyers to argue their case in complete viloation of their human rights.

"We hope that this discussion in the House of Commons will focus attention on the women and children who were dragged out of their lawful homes and left out in the cold winter for the simple reason that they were Hindus."

"We do need to do something more proactive," said Raj Joshi from the Society of Black Lawyers.

"An Early Day Motion is not going to achieve much. We need to ask the Foreign Secretary to consider imposing economic sanctions and political isolation on rogue nations like Kazakhstan. They will only listen if it hurts."

C B Patel, Chair of the Hindu Forum of Britain's Patrons Council requested the Members of Parliament to take up this issue in earnest. "We have seen what can be done when Hindus come together as they did for the Hare Krishna Temple Defence Movement. We must gather our forces in a similar way for this event is just the beginning of this fight."

The Defend Kazakh Hindus campaign is supported by the Hindu Forum of Europe, Hindu Forum of Britain, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu Forum of Belgium, Hindu Council of Holland, Italian Hindu Union, Federation of Hindu Temples in France, Hindu Council of Africa, Hindu Council of Australia, Hindu Conference of Canada, National Council of Hindu Temples UK, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness..

By Amanda Abrams on 25 Sep 2007

Police in Kazakhstan bulldoze the home of devotees.

The future of Hare Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan is still in doubt months after the government demolished two dozen homes of believers. Widespread human rights abuses by the government have mobilized human rights organizations in the US to oppose the Kazahk bid to chair an important international organization, the OSCE.

Freedom House, together with six of the U.S.’s most prominent human rights organizations, issued a letter today to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging her to strongly oppose a bid by Kazakhstan to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009.

Despite a well-documented record of undemocratic governance, Kazakhstan has continued to push to lead the OSCE, an organization with a respected track record in human rights promotion and election monitoring. After years of lobbying by the Kazakhstani government, most European countries now support Kazakhstan’s bid. Only the U.S. and the U.K. are still in opposition, and a change of position by the U.S. may be imminent.

“A chairmanship by Kazakhstan would irreparably damage the OSCE’s legitimacy and ability to defend those working on the front lines for democratic change,” wrote the groups in the letter. “It would render the organization powerless in promoting vibrant civil societies and human rights, and will assure a solidly undemocratic government that democratic credentials do not matter. We strongly urge that the United States government reconsider a tacit endorsement of Kazakhstan’s bid.”

The letter was signed by representatives of Amnesty International USA, Global Rights, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, and Physicians for Human Rights, as well as Freedom House.

The text of the letter is below.

September 21, 2007

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

We understand that a U.S. decision to concur in the selection of Kazakhstan to preside over the Organization for Security and Cooperation during the 2009 term is imminent. Due to the Kazakhstani government’s poor record on democracy, we believe that its chairmanship will be a disaster for the OSCE’s ability to be a guarantor of human rights among its member states and that the U.S. should therefore continue to oppose it.

Kazakhstan’s anti-democratic record is well-documented. Kazakhstan has yet to hold a national election that meets OSCE standards. President Nazarbayev’s sweeping victory in the December 2005 presidential election came against a backdrop of government pressure on the country’s civil society and political opposition, charges of electoral fraud, and a highly critical report by poll monitors from the OSCE. The brutal February 2006 murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayev highlighted the country’s disturbing tendency toward political violence. President Nazarbayev’s welcoming of the single-party parliament that resulted from the August elections as “a wonderful opportunity toi speed up our country’s economic and political modernization" speaks volumes to his respect for institutions promoting pluralism.

Over the years, the OSCE has established a respected track record of credibility in election monitoring and human rights defense. In fact, it is one of the few remaining serious intergovernmental bodies that advocates for democracy and human rights. A Kazakhstan chairmanship would irreparably damage the OSCE’s legitimacy and ability to defend those working on the front lines for democratic change.

In 2005, President Bush said that “one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.” Kazakhstan is one such dark corner that remains. Rewarding Kazakhstan with the OSCE chairmanship will only serve to assure a solidly undemocratic government that democratic credentials do not matter, while sending a stark message to human rights defenders around the world. At this crucial time, the countries of Europe cannot afford to ignore the defense of liberty and human rights, nor can the U.S. We strongly urge that the United States government reconsider this tacit endorsement of Kazakhstan’s bid.

Sincerely,

Robert Arsenault, President
International League for Human Rights

Mr. Salih Booker, Executive Director
Global Rights

Ms. Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director
Human Rights First

Ms. Felice D. Gaer, Director
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights

Mr. Tom Malinowski, Washington Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch

Robin Phillips, Executive Director
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights

Len Rubenstein, President
Physicians for Human Rights

Ms. Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director Freedom House

27 Sep 2007

Warsaw--ISKCON Leader, BB Govinda Swami, addressed an international conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), commonly known as the Helsinki Commission, on September 26th. The Swami is the spiritual head of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan, where repeated abuses of believers by the government authorities have drawn international protests [see article here].

The issue is drawing increased attention at this time, because Kazakhstan is up for election to the Chair of the OSCE, and many governments are opposing due to the poor history of humanitarian rights in Kazakhstan.

The speech is printed below in its entirety.

Thank you Mr. Moderator,

Yesterday there was fine discussion on combating intolerance and discrimination.

I would like to present examples of how governments quite unfortunately use intolerance and discrimination to impede the freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief.

Since the 2006 HDIM (Human Dimension Implementation Meeting) the Kazakh Government has destroyed the Krishna commune in Kazakhstan.

Demolition of 14 homes of Krishna Hindu practitioners, and eviction of families, took place in November 2006.

Homes were destroyed one by one. Mothers with infants were thrown from their homes into the snow. Family belongings were loaded on trucks and driven away.

Kazakhstan has been requested by numerous organizations to address the issue of those who suffered due to demolitions. But nothing has been done to improve the situation.

The situation has become worse. New cases, and, another demolition conducted in June 2007, at 5 AM while people were still in bed. Twelve more homes destroyed, bringing the grand total of 26 homes.

Now, that's quite an alarm to wake up to, and, I feel it is a strong alarm that we should all be hearing today.

Only Krishna homes were targeted. Other homeowners with identical legal status, but different religious affiliation, have not had their ownership disturbed.

The government calls the issue a "property dispute," citing infractions committed by the community. But there are more than 40 examples of violation of due process and rule of law, committed by the government. This is never acknowledged.

Mr. Moderator, when a religious community is targeted by a campaign to prevent them from privatizing their land, drive them from their residences, seize their rightfully purchased homes, community land, and place of worship, it is more than a "property issue".

It is an example of an OSCE state using the nation's laws and judicial system for implementing discrimination and violence against a minority religion.

August 19th, 2007 Editor

The corruption continues…

By OLESSYA IVANOVA, Associated Press Writer Sun Aug 19, 3:03 PM ET

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - The authoritarian president’s party swept Kazakhstan’s parliamentary election, winning all the seats in a vote that was rejected Sunday by the opposition and deemed flawed by international observers.
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Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party received 88 percent of Saturday’s vote, and no other party cleared the 7 percent barrier needed to win a seat in the legislature, according to preliminary results released Sunday by the Central Elections Commission.

The two largest opposition groups condemned the results, saying they had been manipulated.

Nazarbayev, who has ruled the oil-rich Central Asian country since 1989 when it was still a Soviet republic, had pledged the elections would be free and fair. He is pushing for Kazakhstan to become chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009, and the group has delayed making a decision because of concerns over Kazakhstan’s commitment to democracy.

The election, which was called two years early after Nazarbayev pushed through constitutional amendments in May, was widely seen as a maneuver by him to try to improve Kazakhstan’s democratic image while maintaining his grip on power. But there had been some hope that he would be willing to loosen his hold a bit.

The stability of Kazakhstan, the most prosperous nation in ex-Soviet Central Asia, is of particular importance to regional powers Russia and China because of its substantial oil and gas reserves. The United States has also sought greater access to Kazakh energy resources.

The OSCE, which had sent more than 400 election observers to Kazakhstan, said there were irregularities in the vote count in more than 40 percent of the polling stations visited, mainly due to procedural problems and lack of transparency.

Lubomir Kopaj, who heads the long-term election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said the results showed Kazakhstan still needs to improve its election process.

“I have never seen a democratic country with one political party in parliament,” Kopaj said at a news conference in the capital, Astana.

However, the head of the OSCE observer mission, Canadian senator Consiglio Di Nino, noted there was some progress in the vote.

“Notwithstanding the concerns contained in the report, I believe that these elections continue to move Kazakhstan forward in its evolution toward a democratic country,” he said in a statement.

The election had been expected to slightly improve the position of the opposition, which held only one seat in the outgoing parliament. Instead, the largest opposition groups were shut out.

“We don’t recognize the results of the election. They absolutely do not reflect the actual alignment of political forces and the social support they draw,” Burikhan Nurmukhamedov, a leader of the Ak Zhol party, was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Interfax.

The elections commission said Ak Zhol received 3.25 percent of the vote, but Nurmukhamedov said the party’s own surveys indicated it had won about 12 percent.

“We have definitely won those votes,” he said, adding the party was preparing reports on voting irregularities to be given to the elections commission and the prosecutor-general, Interfax said.

“The elections have been utterly profaned,” said Ualikhan Kaisarov of the National Social Democratic Party, which received less than 5 percent of the vote, according to Interfax.

The OSCE mission expressed concern over the requirement that a party garner at least 7 percent of the vote in order to be represented in parliament. The same threshold has been introduced in Russia, where parliamentary elections are scheduled for December.

An observer mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a group comprising Russia, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet republics, said the Kazakh elections were “free and transparent,” the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting CIS secretary Vladimir Rushailo.

The CIS observers consider the elections “a reflection of the stable social and economic development of Kazakhstan,” said Rushailo, a former Russian interior minister.

Nazarbayev has brought relative prosperity to the nation of 15 million, where economic growth has been in the double digits in recent years. But his rule has been marred by accusations of autocratic policies and the slayings of two vocal critics of his policies, which opposition leaders said were politically motivated.

At an Osce conference, the countries religious authorities vaunt Astana’s religious freedom and tolerance. At the same time Jehovah Witnesses are sentenced for having gathered in prayer and the temple of the Hare Krishna is demolished. The systematic persecution of religious minorities.

Astana (AsiaNews/F18) – In a conference in Romania against religious discrimination, the Kazak delegate vaunted his countries promotion of religious freedom and tolerance.  At the same time in the homeland the Hare Krishna are ordered to tear down their temple and the Jehovah’s witnesses are sentenced for having held a prayer meeting.

June 7th in Bucharest, at a conference sponsored by the Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe, Yeraly Tugzhanov, Chief of the Kazk Committee for religious affairs, said that his country is “an oasis of stability and religious harmony” and that religious discrimination does not exist.

But Forum 18 reveals that on June 5th the Hare Krishna in Seleksia village, Karasai district, was ordered to demolish their temple and dwellings by Sri Vrindavan Dham twon council, as they were deemed to have been illegally built.  The commune originally had 66 Hare Krishna-owned homes, plus the 47.7-hectare (118 acre) farm. Amid an international outcry, the authorities bulldozed 13 of the 66 homes in November 2006 and have repeatedly threatened to resume demolitions, most recently in early May. The faithful protest that the temple and homes are not illegal, and the arbitrary treatment at the hands of the authorities who have cut off water and electricity supplies.

On 4 June, six Jehovah's Witnesses in the Caspian Sea port of Atyrau were given huge fines – between 50 and 100 times an average salary - to punish them for their community's unregistered religious activity.

In Kazakistan non registered religious groups are forbidden to meet or hold religious activities.  But the Jehovah’s witnesses requested to be registered in 2001 and have so far received no response, even if a January 30th law sets down that all request must be processed within 60 days.

The Osce does not allow limitations on religious freedom and Tughzhanov says his country wants to change the law but has neither said when or how.  Since 1992 religious legislation has been amended on various occasions, but always in a more restrictive sense.  In the interim there is a rising tide of intolerance towards religious minorities in Kazakhstan, comprising Protestants and Armadi Muslims, to which state media contributes with damaging propaganda.

http://www.jswami.info/washington_post_destruction_hare_krishna_homes_grows_international_issue_kazakhstan

Submitted by jswami on July 29, 2007 - 1:58pm.

A July 25 article in the Washington Post gives a good update on the campaign by officials in Kazakhstan to demolish the homes and temple and seize the land of the local Hare Krishna community outside the city of Almaty. The article doesn’t tell the worst of it, but does quite a fair job.

The article is called “Local Property Dispute Grows Into International Issue for Kazakhstan.”
 

Local Property Dispute Grows Into International Issue for Kazakhstan

By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 25, 2007; Page A09

SELEKSIA, Kazakhstan -- The house where Maya Salakhutdinova lived is now a shell of ruined walls with broken cinder blocks and splintered wood spilling in a heap onto a narrow lane. Last month, her house and 11 others in this village, a secluded enclave about an hour from Almaty, Kazakhstan's commercial capital, were bulldozed by court order.

All the destroyed homes belonged to members of a Hare Krishna community, which has a temple in a converted farmhouse here, as well as 116 acres of farmland. A bulldozing in November leveled 14 Hare Krishna homes.

Maya Salakhutdinova stands by a wall of her house, one of 12 Hare Krishna homes razed last month by the government in Seleksia. The issue threatens Kazakh ambitions at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (By Peter Finn -- The Washington Post)

"I was shocked," said Salakhutdinova, 43, a Kazakh who joined the Hare Krishna movement 12 years ago. "The day before, I got a notice that I had to leave, but with no date or time. I wasn't prepared."

What began as a property dispute between the Hare Krishna community and the local authorities has ballooned into an international controversy that threatens Kazakhstan's ambition to chair the 56-country Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009.

One of the fundamental principles of the organization, founded during the Cold War to foster East-West dialogue, is religious freedom. The standoff with the Hare Krishna movement threatens the image of a harmonious, multidenominational country that this Central Asian nation has been cultivating to press its goal at the organization's headquarters in Vienna.
 

A week before last month's action, the head of the Religious Affairs Committee at the Kazakh Justice Ministry told an OSCE gathering in Romania that his country had the "most liberal" religious laws in the "entire post-Soviet area."

But a statement by the OSCE's Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief after the first houses were demolished said, "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."

Privately, some Western diplomats say they are mystified why Kazakhstan would tarnish its reputation just as it is seeking support from OSCE member states for the prestige of chairing the organization. The energy-rich country, which is dominated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was already having difficulty convincing some OSCE members of its democratic credentials. In May, in a further blow to the country's standing, Kazakhstan issued an arrest warrant for its ambassador to the OSCE and Austria, Nazarbayev's former son-in-law, who was accused of kidnapping and assault.

Officials in the capital, Astana, say this is a legal matter that has nothing to do with religious persecution. By their account, the Hare Krishna devotees acquired the property illegally. The land, they say, was not legally registered and the homes were purchased from people who did not hold proper title. The Kazakh courts have ruled that the property belongs to the local administration.

"We understand that this is a small but very important issue, and if we had not understood that, we wouldn't have been running around trying to solve this," said Yeraly Tugzhanov, head of the Religious Affairs Committee.
 

"The most dangerous thing here -- and we should not let it happen -- is an attempt to turn this issue into a political one. If now every believer in Kazakhstan tries to solve his or her personal problems or property problems through religious organizations, by attaching a religious meaning to it, this will be ridiculous, it will be absurd."

Human rights advocates say the demolitions may be motivated both by religious bias and by hidden economic interests. Property values in the region have soared since the 1990s, and the area has become a choice location for Almaty residents seeking to buy country homes. The U.S. State Department noted in a report this year that a special commission convened to resolve the situation was still deliberating when the homes were destroyed in November.

"Many people in that village could be in the same situation as the Hare Krishna because their property deeds are not perfect, but they are not targeted. The target is the Hare Krishna," said Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, a human rights group. "Someone gave an order to get that community out."

Kazakhstan's ombudsman, Bolat Baikadamov, said the destruction of homes is commonplace across the Almaty region because of the illegal privatization of land and houses. "Hundreds or maybe even thousands of houses were demolished," he said.

Local officials, who Baikadamov said could provide lists of homes destroyed within the locality, declined to comment. In Seleksia, there appeared to be only one demolished house that was not currently owned by a Hare Krishna, and that house had recently been sold by a member of the religious community.

Fokina and the Hare Krishna community dispute that there has been any major leveling of homes outside Seleksia. "There is an unofficial policy to push out a non-mainstream, religious group," said Maxim Varfolomeev, a spokesman for the Hare Krishna community in Seleksia.

The group numbers about 30 in the village, down from about 100 because people who lost homes were forced to leave. "This is religious discrimination," Varfolomeev said.

On a recent morning, more than a dozen devotees chanted mantras in what had been the living room of the farmhouse. Kazakh officials said the early morning prayers disturb non-Krishna neighbors, but the service was not audible outside the farmhouse. Officials also said the Krishna devotees wash their cows in a nearby pond where local children swim, an accusation denied by members of the Krishna community.

"We have very good relations with our neighbors," Varfolomeev said.

In interviews in the village, no one expressed any objections to the presence of the Krishna community. "They're very quiet people," Chakin Tolubev said. "To be honest, the problem is that [the authorities] just want to get rid of them."

Tugzhanov, the Religious Affairs head, objects to such accusations. He said the central government has offered the Krishna community several sites where they could relocate. "All religious groups and organizations in Kazakhstan are equal before the law and that is why we continue to work with them," he said. "We have offered a number of alternatives, but they keep saying no."

He also said 16 Krishna homes in Seleksia have been legalized and will not be touched. "If it had not been for this, you could say that we are persecuting them for their religion," he said. "But this is a question of the law and everyone being equal before the law."

Varfolomeev, the Hare Krishna spokesman, said none of the proposed relocation sites compares to the pastoral setting where the community is currently located, and so people insist on staying.

The community, he said, now fears that the authorities will destroy the temple. That is a step that the government appears reluctant to take. It would likely sink whatever remaining chance Kazakhstan has of chairing the OSCE.

Kazakhstan Today
ALMATY. July, 10. Kazakhstan Today. Great Britain Hinduists came out to support Kazakhstani Krishna followers, reports the agency with reference to the information distributed by "Krishna Consciousness Community".

"On Tuesday, July 4, in London opposite to Kazakhstan embassy in the UK building gathered people who are indignant with continuing prosecution of Hinduists in Kazakhstan. The petition with 10 thousand of signatures to support Krishna Community was handed over to Kazakhstan attache on political questions", - stated in the information.

"Kazakhstani government does not want to hear anybody. This is a rude violation of human rights, and we will oppose any tries of the country to hold presidency in OSCE", - stated the president of Hinduists Forum in Europe Sudarshan Bhatia, whose words were quoted.

"This is direct violation of religious minority rights in Kazakhstan, non-stop prosecution of Hinduists in Kazakhstan causes a big anxiety of our community here, in the UK", - stated the president of Hinduists Forum in the UK Ishwer Taylor, also quoted "Krishna Consciousness Community".

As reported earlier, a piece of land in Karasai district in Almaty oblast was bought by "Krishna Consciousness Community" in 1999. In 2005 local administration brought a suit against Krishnaits blaming them in changing the end use of the bought land. In November 2006 local authorities destroyed 14 houses belong to the community, on June 15, 2007, - 12 houses more.

This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today

ALMATY: Police raids on Hare Krishna followers in Kazakhstan reflect a broader increase in religious intolerance in the Central Asian state, human rights groups said on Thursday.

“Over the past few years we have witnessed rising pressure on religious minorities in Kazakhstan,” Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, told a news conference. “There are religions in Kazakhstan that have de facto state approval, such as Islam, Russian Orthodoxy, Judaism, Catholicism... But many others are considered non-traditional and there have been efforts to squeeze them out of society.” A Hare Krishna village near the financial capital Almaty has been raided several times since last year and last week police knocked down 12 houses. The group, which follows a form of Hinduism, is accused of acquiring the land illegally. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has criticised Kazakhstan for destroying houses belonging to followers of Hare Krishna, who practice yoga and vegetarianism.

Hare Krishna says its problems started after it bought a 48-hectare piece of land for about $25,000 several years ago. It calculates its value now at $10 million reflecting a rise in land prices due to high oil revenues, and says authorities are using religion as an excuse to take over the asset. “This is barbarity,” said Yevgeny Zhovtis, head of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law. “It’s a big blow to Kazakhstan’s image.” Kazakhstan has said the dispute is purely commercial. “The whole dispute over the land issue ... has nothing to do with religious discrimination, as the Hare Krishna community (has) tried to portray it,” Kairat Abdrakhmanov, the Kazakh deputy foreign minister, told the International Helsinki Federation in a June 15 letter shown to reporters on Thursday. reuters

17th June 2007 - Devastating news from Kazakhstan. It is hard for me to express exactly how I am feeling, except to say that my head is reeling and I feel like I have just been kicked in the stomach. Suddenly, the reality of what has been going on there is hitting home. Hard.

Please pray for these innocent devotees, that they may manifest the strength to overcome this ordeal and that they may be blessed with justice and protection.

I will try to update and include some more personal stuff here in the future, but right now I have my hands pretty full. Here is the official letter to ISKCON I wrote on the situation:

Early today, the officials in Kazakhstan demolished more homes belonging to Hare Krishna devotees at the farm in Almaty.

This ten minute video gives an overview on the background of the situation in Kazakhstan.

[]Preliminary reports are placing the number of homes demolished today at twelve (added to the demolitions last November, that would bring the total to twenty-six homes destroyed). As before, the officials brought busloads of laborers and police officers with them, indiscriminately taking crowbars and sledgehammers to the homes. They threw personal possessions out into the street, even as the horrified devotees pleaded with them and begged for mercy. Mechanical diggers then moved in, literally "crushing the houses to dust."

[]We do not think that the (makeshift) temple or cow-barn have been demolished yet. However, local officials have included these buildings on their list of buildings to be demolished. This is especially troubling because the temple is the official site linked to ISKCON's registration as a religion in the country. Because of the way Kazakh law is structured, there is a possibility that if the temple structure is demolished, ISKCON will simply lose its right to exist legally in the country at all.

The latest report is available at http://www.Forum18.org, a religious freedom watchdog news agency.

Please keep checking the following sites for updates:
http://www.Forum18.org
http://www.KazakhKrishna.com
http://www.iskconcommunications.blogspot.com

His Holiness BB Govinda Maharaj is in the United States right now in order to raise awareness about (and funds for) the crisis in Kazakhstan. He is in Washington, D.C. right now with Anuttama Prabhu and they have had several successful meetings with high-ranking US officials and human rights advocates.

I will try my best to let you know more details as they emerge; right now, please inform everyone you know about the situation and request their prayers. Organized kirtan is always a nice idea in situations such as this.

Also, now it appears certain that the devotees will have to relocate very quickly and this requires substantial funds, so any financial help would be most welcome. You may help by contacting your local ISKCON temple about how to give donations, or by visiting http://www.palaceofthesoul.com and clicking on "Donate Online."

Please do NOT stage any protests or contact any officials without first coordinating it with our office.

on behalf of ISKCON Communications,
your servant,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa

PS: BB Govinda Swami's inspirational words to the devotees in Kazakhstan:

"Take shelter of Krishna. Everyone should remain very brave and remain fixed in chanting the holy name. Pull together and take care of the devotees whose homes have been destroyed. What is being done is cruel and certainly not fair but we still have our lives….so tthose lives should be focused on serving Krishna and our consciousness should certainly not become like that of the people who are doing this. We are witnessing a rude exhibition of material consciousness – never beecome like that. Pull together, even more than you did last November. Make sure the homeless devotees have shelter and try to gather together their belongings. And by this try to understand how special devotee association really is…"

By BB Govinda Swami

MEDIA RELEASE - ISKCON COMMUNICATIONS

KAZAKH GOVERNMENT DEMOLISHES HINDU HOMES Persecution of Hindu minority continues despite international outcry, condemnation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; Date: June 15, 2007

Almaty ­ The government of Kazakhstan demolished twelve homes belonging to members of the Hare Krishna religion early this morning, leaving several families homeless. Government officials and twenty police officers observed while two busloads of hired laborers used sledgehammers and crowbars to systematically dismantle the homes. Later, industrial mechanical diggers reduced what remained of the structures to rubble.

Today’s attack virtually mirrored the government’s bulldozing of fourteen homes belonging to members of the Hindu minority group last winter. Both demolitions are part of what human rights advocates have characterized as blatant religious persecution.

“The authorities are showing that they will do what they want, despite the international outrage at the earlier demolitions,” human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis told Forum 18. According to Zhovtis, none of the other home owners in the village ­ many of whom have identical legal status as the Hindus ­ have had their homes destroyed. “Clearly they are attacking only the Hare Krishnas,” he said.

Despite their claims to the contrary, Kazakh officials appear fueled by religious intolerance. When Forum 18 asked Serik Niyazbekov, a senior religious affairs official, the basis for the government’s conflict with the Hindus, he responded by asking “Why did they choose to move here? They’re from India.”

Witnesses to the demolition described a grisly scene, with laborers breaking windows and tearing down walls even while residents ­ including several women and children ­ cried and pleaded for them to stop. Officials present ordered workers to continue the attack and to throw the homeowners’ possessions into the street.

“The houses were literally crushed into dust,” said shaken community spokesperson Maxim Varfolomeyev, who witnessed the horrific demolition.

Incredulously, today’s attack came a few days after an open letter from Aaron Rhodes, executive director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, chided the Kazakh government for “discriminatory attitudes towards the religious minority” and beseeched the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan to “ensure that no demolition of their homes be carried out.”

“New demolitions would mean that dozens of members of the community are rendered homeless,” Mr. Rhodes warned in his prophetic letter, dated June 8. “This would make Kazakh authorities liable for violations of international human rights provisions that guarantee the right to housing and protection against forced evictions.”

Kazakhstan’s past persecution of Hindus also elicited condemnation from the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and even British Prime Minister Tony Blair. It was one reason Kazakhstan was refused in its bid to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009. The latest attack, however, seems to indicate that local Kazakh officials are unfazed by a tarnished image. Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis told Forum 18 that the local Hakim
(governor) “doesn’t care about the political damage to Kazakhstan’s reputation ­ or to its desire to chair the OSCE.”

In an ironic twist, a few hours before the demolition took place in Kazakhstan, at a Washington D.C. reception last night, representatives of the OSCE and human rights groups directly appealed to the Kazakh ambassador to protect the Hindu religious minority. Those appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

For Hindu leader Govinda Swami, currently meeting with U.S. government agencies and human rights groups in Washington D.C., the need of the hour was to remind the Krishna devotees back in Kazakhstan to hold steadfast to their faith and take the moral highroad.

“What is being done is cruel and certainly not fair but we still have our lives,” he counseled them over the phone, “and our consciousness should certainly not become like that of the people who are doing this. We are witnessing a rude exhibition of material consciousness ­ never become like that. Pull together, even more than you did last November. Make sure the homeless devotees have shelter and try to gather together their belongings. And by this try to understand how special the power of community really is.”

For more information about the persecution of Hindus in Kazakhstan visit: http://www.KazakhKrishna.com

Hindu's Problems in Kazakhstan

Pictures of the destruction of Hindu homes and temple in
http://kazakhkrishna.com/en-fotoarchive/

News links:
http://kazakhkrishna.com/en-main/

The Karasai district Hakimat demands that the Krishna temple and other buildings in the Hare Krishna  community be demolished in 10 days. In the morning of June 6 the local police officer handed a notification to the  chairman of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. The document said that the land of the farm community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness had been transferred to the district land reserve according to court rulings. Based on that, the Karasai district Hakimat demanded that all the "illegally constructed buildings" situated on this land including the temple of the Society for Krishna Consciousness and the cowshed be demolished in 10 days.

This Karasai district Hakim's order is itself illegal because

-         the Hakim does not have the right to demand demolition of buildings;

-         the court rulings only say about confiscating plots of land, there is no mention of demolishing buildings on the farm community's land;

-         the Hakim calls the buildings situated on the community's land "illegally constructed." However both the building currently used as a temple and the cowshed had existed even before the land was acquired by the Hare Krishnas.

The Hare Krishnas are going to appeal against the lawless actions of the Karasai district Hakimat to the prosecutor's office and the Almaty provincial Hakimat.

At the present time officials in Astana and Almaty province make declarations that the conflict around the Hare Krishnas will be resolved by giving the community an alternative piece of land. However no piece of land has been given so far. Until it happens the Krishna temple with 50 faithful and 30 cows just have no place to go. Besides, the temple building is the place where the Society for Krishna Consciousness is legally registered, and its demolition will lead to the liquidation of the Society.

The chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee, E. Tugzhanov, promised to the representatives of the Society during their last meeting that the community would get a plot of land before May 26. It is quite possible that Astana makes show that the Krishna's problem is being carefully attended to, while in reality nobody is going to do anything with it. The actions of the local Hakimat confirm this assumption.

The conflict around the Krishna community has been going on since 2004. The RK President's Administration has defined this situation as a result of bad governance on the part of the local authorities. As a result of this conflict 14 houses of the faithful were demolished in the community in November of 2006.

Head of Hare Krishna community tells of unjust proceedings by the Kazakhstan Supreme Court
http://www.jswami.info/head_of_hare_krishna_community_tells_of_unjust_proceedings_by_the_kazakhstan_supreme_court
Submitted by jswami on May 18, 2007 - 6:58am.

The head of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan, His Holiness B.B. Govinda Swami, has issued this statement:

With the judgment passed by the Republic of Kazakhstan Supreme Court on May 8, 2007, the land of the Hare Krishna community in Almaty province may be confiscated in favor of the government at any moment.

The Supreme Court reversed its own judgment made on June 30, 2005, which had enabled the community to use 116 acres of land and receive the right of ownership after processing of relevant documents by the registering bodies of the Karasai district. These bodies have never registered the plots in favor of the RO [religious organization] Society for Krishna Consciousness because the land was arrested by the Karasai District Court at the request of the local Hakim.

The chairman of the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness explained to the Panel of the Supreme Court that the religious organization had never been informed of the proceedings. Furthermore, the courts of the first and second instance did not even take the trouble to send their decisions to the defendant, i.e. the religious organization.

The chairman of the RO requested the court to postpone the hearing, as she needed time to study the case and invite lawyers. However, the court decided to conduct the hearing immediately and only gave the RO chairman a few hours to study the rulings of the courts of the first and second instances. Thus the defendant was left without legal protection, unable to retain an attorney.

During the hearing the RO chairman again demanded that the court session should be postponed for her to have time to retain an attorney and properly study the case. However, the Civil Panel of the Supreme Court dismissed this motion and decided to reverse its own judgment of June 30, 2005, which had given the right of land use to the Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The judgment of the Supreme Court came into force from the moment it was read. This means that at any moment the land of the main center of the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness can be confiscated and transferred to the Karasai district land reserve.

The conflict around the community has been going on since 2004. At that time the administration of the Karasai district started a series of trials against the members of the Hare Krishna community. As a result of these trials, 13 homes of the faithful were demolished last November.

In March of 2007 the government of Kazakhstan showed an intention to resolve the conflict by way of negotiation with the community and declared the situation to be the result of bad governance by the local authorities. However, till the present moment no practical steps have been taken by the government to resolve the situation.

Thirteen more houses of the faithful may be demolished at any moment. With this court judgment, any day the faithful may be forced to vacate the land wherein the Society is registered. Fifty faithful and thirty cows will be left roofless. Their temple will cease to exist. And the loss of the legal address actually means that the Society for Krishna Consciousness will be liquidated in Almaty province.

Visit www.kazakhkrishna.com to learn more about the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

See a video on YouTube about the tragedy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysMEGhuSzDE

This article published today by the Forum 18 News Service reports that local authorities in Kazakhstan have ordered the members of the Hare Krishna community near Almaty to destroy their temple and other buildings within the next ten days.

KAZAKHSTAN: “Tolerance” in Bucharest,
Krishna temple ordered demolished in Almaty

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

As senior Kazakh officials arrive in Romania for an OSCE conference on combating discrimination, the local administration chief ordered members of the embattled Hare Krishna near Almaty to demolish their own temple and other buildings within ten days. “If we don’t do it, the authorities will,” Hare Krishna spokesperson Maksim Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 News Service. Another 14 Hare Krishna-owned homes are already under threat of demolition in the latest moves in the authorities’ three-year campaign to destroy the commune. The government’s religious affairs chief Yeraly Tugzhanov ­ on his way to the OSCE conference ­ refused to answer any of Forum 18’s questions about the threatened destruction of the temple. He likewise refused to discuss the heavy fines imposed in Atyrau on 4 June on six Jehovah’s Witnesses for meeting for worship without state registration.

As senior officials from Kazakhstan arrive in the Romanian capital Bucharest for the opening tomorrow (7 June) of the Conference on Combating Discrimination and Promoting Mutual Respect and Understanding organised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the authorities back at home are preparing to demolish a Hare Krishna temple and have heavily fined six Jehovah’s Witnesses for meeting for worship without state registration, Forum 18 News Service has learned.

The local authorities of the Karasai district near Kazakhstan’s commercial capital Almaty have told the embattled Hare Krishna commune to destroy their temple and other buildings located on their farm within ten days. “We received the document from the Karasai district Hakimat (administration) today ordering us to demolish these buildings ourselves,” the spokesperson for the devotees, Maksim Varfolomeyev, told Forum 18 on 6 June. “If we don’t do it, the authorities will.”

The order to destroy the Hare Krishna owned property coincided with massive fines imposed on six Jehovah’s Witnesses on 4 June for meeting without official registration in the Caspian Sea port of Atyrau in western Kazakhstan (see forthcoming F18News article). Atyrau’s Jehovah’s Witness community, which has been seeking legal status in vain for six years, was raided by prosecutor’s office officials in early May (see F18News 24 May 2007
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=962).

Members of Baptist churches which refuse on principle to seek official registration are also routinely given heavy fines and even several days’ imprisonment (see F18News 11 May 2007 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=954).

The timing of the order to destroy the Hare Krishna temple and the heavy fines on Jehovah’s Witnesses is embarrassing for the authorities. Yeraly Tugzhanov, the head of the Justice Ministry’s Religious Affairs Committee, and Bolat Baikadamov, the Human Rights Ombudsperson, are among Kazakhstan’s delegation to the OSCE conference.

Forum 18 reached Tugzhanov in Istanbul on 6 June while he was on his way to Bucharest. However, he declined to answer Forum 18’s questions about the planned demolition of the Hare Krishna-owned property and the big fines on the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Forum 18 reached his deputy, Amanbek Mukhashev, who was visiting Almaty, but when Forum 18 asked why the order has been issued to destroy the Hare Krishna temple and other buildings the line was cut. Mukhashev’s mobile phone was then switched off. No other Religious Affairs Committee official would comment on the latest threat to the Hare Krishna commune.

Over the past three years, the authorities have been determined to destroy the Sri Vrindavan Dham commune, located in the village of Seleksia in Zhetisu rural area of Karasai district and named after the “beautiful forest of Vrindavan” in India where Krishna spent his youth. The commune originally had 66 Hare Krishna-owned homes, plus the 47.7-hectare (118 acre) farm. Amid an international outcry, the authorities bulldozed 13 of the 66 homes in November 2006 and have repeatedly threatened to resume demolitions, most recently in early May (see F18News 4 May 2007 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=952).

The letter dated 5 June announcing the imminent demolition of the temple and other farm buildings (of which Forum 18 has seen a copy) was signed by the Hakim (head of administration), Bolat-bi Kutpanov. Although it does not specifically mention the temple, it calls on the devotees to demolish within ten days “all illegally erected buildings” on the farm site, “including a residential house, a cowshed etc.” The Hare Krishna commune’s temple is located in the farmhouse.

Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community vigorously rejects Kutpanov’s assertion that any buildings on the farm were put up illegally. “When we bought the farm from the previous owner in 1999 the buildings were already there,” he told Forum 18. “All we have built since then is an extension to the kitchen of the farmhouse ­ and we had permission for that.”

The Hare Krishna devotees insist the order is also illegal because the Hakim does not have the right to order the demolition of buildings, and the court decisions he cites refer only to the land, not to the demolition of the buildings on them. They told Forum 18 they intend to appeal against the order to the district prosecutor’s office and the Almaty regional Hakimat.

As the temple is the legal address for the Hare Krishna community, the devotees also fear that if the building is destroyed the religious community itself will automatically have its legal status liquidated. Under Kazakhstan’s restrictive religious laws ­ which contradict international human rights norms ­ unregistered religious activity is banned and routinely punished with heavy fines.

Kutpanov, the Hakim, was unavailable on 6 June. His office told Forum 18 he was travelling in the district. Likewise his deputy, Tusupov, was also out of the office. Curiously ­ given the local Hakimat’s repeated insistence that the moves against the Hare Krishna commune are unrelated to its members’ religious affiliation ­ Tusupov’s office referred Forum 18 to Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, senior officer of the department of internal affairs who supervises religious affairs. However, her telephone went unanswered on 6 June. Her boss, Gulnara Sultanova, told Forum 18 that she knew nothing about the issue and referred Forum 18 back to Zhunisbayeva.

Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 that 14 more Hare Krishna-owned homes are due for demolition “at any time”. On 29 May, the senior bailiff of Karasai District, Baichapanov, ordered the electricity to be disconnected from the 14 homes for one day “because of house demolition scheduled for 29 May”.

However, electricity was cut off not to the 14 threatened homes, but to the farm instead, Varfolomeyev told Forum 18. The supply was cut off at 6.15 am without any warning and in the absence of the community’s members, leaving some fifty devotees and the entire farm without electricity or water. “The lights just went off and the water pumps stopped,” he complained. “The faithful were put into a state of anxiety, the activities of the community were interrupted as everybody gravely waited for house destruction to begin. Fortunately, no houses were demolished on that day. However the electricity was not connected either.”

The Hare Krishna devotees accused the Karasai district power station’s director, Mirzagali Taukebayev, of “arbitrary behaviour” in cutting off the farm’s electricity. It was not restored until the afternoon of 5 June. “Our people were left with no power or water for eight days,” Varfolomeyev complained.

The latest moves follow a decision by Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court on 8 May which overturned a July 2005 ruling in favour of the Hare Krishna devotees which had backed their right to use the farm and register their ownership with the district authorities.

The Hare Krishna community had taken its case to the Supreme Court after a decision of the Almaty regional court in November 2006 annulling the sales and purchase agreement between the Society for Krishna Consciousness and the previous owner. “The Society for Krishna Consciousness was invited neither to the district nor to the regional court hearings,” the devotees complained. “Thus the decisions of the courts of first and second instances were taken without representatives of the Society.”

The Hare Krishna community has been talking to national and local officials about the authorities’ suggestion to move the commune to another location in Almaty Region. However, the devotees remain sceptical about the authorities’ sincerity. They point out that at a meeting with Tugzhanov of the Religious Affairs Committee on 18 May, Tugzhanov promised Hare Krishna representatives that an alternative site would be provided by 26 May. No site has been provided.

Devotees maintain that it is possible the authorities are merely “creating the image” of actively resolving the issue, “whereas in reality no-one is planning to resolve anything”. They say the Hakim’s latest order is evidence of this.

“At the moment there is no alternative location,” Hare Krishna devotees told Forum 18. “And as long as no alternative site is provided there will simply be nowhere for the Krishna temple, as well as 50 devotees and 30 cows to go.” (END)
For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan,
see F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=564.
For more background, see Forum 18’s Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=701.
A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php ?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.
A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh

The Krishna Consciousness Community Faces Evictions and Destruction of Homes as a Result of Discriminatory and Unfair Proceedings . Vienna/Brussels,10 May 2007; The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRFW, IHF  cooperating organization) are concerned by the Tuesday (8 May) judgment by the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan against the Society for Krishna Consciousness regarding ownership of 116 acres of land in the Karasai district, near Almaty, which is home to this Hare Krishna community.

We fear that the judgment may lead to further human rights abuses against the community. Since November 2006, at least fourteen of the 60 houses in the community have been demolished on court orders and at the request of the local authorities, leaving dozens of people homeless and causing anguish among the community members about their future.

"The orders to destroy homes of Hare Krishna members have followed unfair trials and other practices by authorities that strongly suggest discrimination on religious grounds," said Aaron Rhodes, the IHF's executive director.

The latest developments are the culmination of harassment against the Hare Krishna community that started in 2004. Since November 2004, the community has tried on three occasions to submit applications and documentation to local authorities for the privatization of the land they cultivate and the homes of their members. At least twice the local authorities have reacted by filing cases in court against community members and serving them with orders for the confiscation of property, evictions and for the demolition of their houses and by deploying bulldozers on the spot. Last time, eviction notices were served only hours before the bulldozers' arrival, or not at all. The affected families have had limited access to legal remedies to challenge the orders, and they have not been allocated alternate housing.

These events give rise to serious suspicions that the Hare Krishna community has been excluded from the privatization process on grounds of religious affiliation. Even though religious motives have been officially denied, they have reportedly been cited in private discussions with community members, and local authorities have resorted to spreading defamatory misinformation about the community.

Twenty-seven community members have faced various charges arising from ownership issues and legalization of their property as a consequence of their attempts to become part of the standard privatization process.
Judicial proceedings against them have been characterized by violations of the principle of equality before law; lack of independence of courts; proceedings in the absence of the defendant; the failure to inform defendants of court decisions; and the limited right of appeal.

The dispute also involves accusations that the Hare Krishna community has forged documents with the aim of proving their ownership of the land and that the community no longer exists legally  claims that authorities have been unable to document properly. Accusations that community members have conducted religious rites illegally suggest non-respect of international standards for freedom of religion.  Moreover, the government recently published false information alleging that an agreement on the dispute had been reached with a representative of the Hare Krishna community during a meeting in Vienna in March.

In addition, forced evictions of families violates internationally guaranteed human rights, including the right to housing  and the right to non-interference with privacy, family and home.  Furthermore, General Comment No. 7 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires that states explore "all feasible alternatives"
prior to carrying out any forced evictions. According to the Comment, eviction is always the last resort, and if it needs to be used, those affected must be consulted and given adequate and reasonable notice prior to the scheduled date of eviction. Evictions should never result in rendering individuals homeless or vulnerable to other human rights violations.  None of these standards were followed in the case of the Hare Krishna community.

A commission was set up in late 2006 in the Ministry of Justice to resolve the dispute, but it failed to adequately deal with the issue, especially with its legal components.

At the time of writing, another thirteen community houses are under the threat of being demolished and the Supreme Court ruling makes it possible for the authorities to confiscate the 116 acres of land at any moment.

The IHF and HRWF urge the Kazakh authorities to strictly abide by the international human rights standards the country has committed itself to and to take all available measures to solve the case of the Hare Krishna community in a peaceful, fair and unbiased manner. This includes retrials that respect all due process standards in all cases against Hare Krishna members that deal with property, eviction and privatization issues.

In addition, the Kazakh authorities should halt any further demolitions of houses in the Hare Krishna community, and refrain from confiscations, pending retrials, as well as of any acts of harassment against its members, and allow them to freely practice their religion. The government should also ensure that responsible authorities deal with privatization issues in an unbiased and non-discriminatory manner, applying the same regulations to all applicants, as provided by law.
---

For more information:

Aaron Rhodes, IHF executive director, tel. +43-1-408 8822 or +43-676-635
6612 (mobile)

Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, tel. +32-2-34 56 145.

Henriette Schroeder, IHF press officer, +43-1-408 88 22 41 or +43-676- 725
48 29

See original statement:
http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=3&d_id=4399

See also:

http://www.kazakhkrishna.com/en-news/260.html

Press-service

Tel. +7 3272 969719
+7 701 7407943, +7 701 7303393,
Tel/fax +7 32771 34287

E-mail: info@kazakhkrishna.com

Visit www.kazakhkrishna.com to see the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

Visit YouTube to see the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysMEGhuSzDE

The head of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan, His Holiness B.B. Govinda Swami, has issued this statement:

With the judgment passed by the Republic of Kazakhstan Supreme Court on May 8, 2007, the land of the Hare Krishna community in Almaty province may be confiscated in favor of the government at any moment.

The Supreme Court reversed its own judgment made on June 30, 2005, which had enabled the community to use 116 acres of land and receive the right of ownership after processing of relevant documents by the registering bodies of the Karasai district. These bodies have never registered the plots in favor of the RO [religious organization] Society for Krishna Consciousness because the land was arrested by the Karasai District Court at the request of the local Hakim.

The chairman of the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness explained to the Panel of the Supreme Court that the religious organization had never been informed of the proceedings. Furthermore, the courts of the first and second instance did not even take the trouble to send their decisions to the defendant, i.e. the religious organization.

The chairman of the RO requested the court to postpone the hearing, as she needed time to study the case and invite lawyers. However, the court decided to conduct the hearing immediately and only gave the RO chairman a few hours to study the rulings of the courts of the first and second instances. Thus the defendant was left without legal protection, unable to retain an attorney.

During the hearing the RO chairman again demanded that the court session should be postponed for her to have time to retain an attorney and properly study the case. However, the Civil Panel of the Supreme Court dismissed this motion and decided to reverse its own judgment of June 30, 2005, which had given the right of land use to the Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The judgment of the Supreme Court came into force from the moment it was read. This means that at any moment the land of the main center of the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness can be confiscated and transferred to the Karasai district land reserve.

The conflict around the community has been going on since 2004. At that time the administration of the Karasai district started a series of trials against the members of the Hare Krishna community. As a result of these trials, 13 homes of the faithful were demolished last November.

In March of 2007 the government of Kazakhstan showed an intention to resolve the conflict by way of negotiation with the community and declared the situation to be the result of bad governance by the local authorities. However, till the present moment no practical steps have been taken by the government to resolve the situation.

Thirteen more houses of the faithful may be demolished at any moment. With this court judgment, any day the faithful may be forced to vacate the land wherein the Society is registered. Fifty faithful and thirty cows will be left roofless. Their temple will cease to exist. And the loss of the legal address actually means that the Society for Krishna Consciousness will be liquidated in Almaty province.

Visit http://www.kazakhkrishna.com to learn more about the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

See a video on YouTube about the tragedy.

By BB Govinda Swami

Dear All,

Hare Krishna !! Pranam.

Here are the links to the Hare Krishna Kazakhstan demolition Video.

With affectionate regards,

BB Govinda Swami

Visit http://www.kazakhkrishna.com to see the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

…………………………………………………
Please try this link. This is a smart system. It automatically created 2 smaller videos based on full size I uploaded. Due to it links were changed.

You can visit this page and download from there:

http://www.archive.org/details/KazakhHinduAbuse

Full size 640×480 82Mb download:

http://www.archive.org/download/KazakhHinduAbuse/KazakhHinduVideo_WM.wmv

Smaller 32Mb size video download:

http://www.archive.org/download/KazakhHinduAbuse/KazakhHinduVideo_WM_256kb.mp4

Tiny 14Mb size video for Dial-Up connection download:

http://www.archive.org/download/KazakhHinduAbuse/KazakhHinduVideo_WM_64kb.mp4

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service , and
John Kinahan, Forum 18 News Service

04th May 2007

Even though a Hare Krishna commune was told by phone today (4 May) that court executors were on their way to re-start demolitions of Hare Krishna-owned homes, none had arrived by late afternoon today, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The latest demolition threat repeated an official warning given yesterday. The morning, the electricity supply to the commune’s homes was cut off ­ but was then restored after 30 minutes. The only official who spoke to Forum 18, in the Justice Ministry’s Religious Affairs Committee, refused to give his name and insisted that the dispute is economic and not religious discrimination. Asked why a range of religious minority communities in Kazakhstan face official intolerance - including raids, official bans on their activity, fines, detentions, arbitrary denial of legal status and denigration in official publications - the unnamed official responded: “This is disinformation. We have no information about such occurrences. Accusations of discrimination are challengeable in law.” The unnamed official insisted to Forum 18 that “no violations of international standards” take place in Kazakhstan.

Although the Hare Krishna commune was told by phone today (4 May) that Karasai District Court executors were on their way to re-start demolitions of Hare Krishna-owned homes, none had arrived by late afternoon on 4 May, Maxim Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 News Service from the village near Almaty. “Earlier this morning, after we were told that court executors were on their way to resume demolishing the 13 homes, the electricity supply was cut off.” The electricity was later restored, but Varfolomeyev said the community does not know when the threatened demolitions will begin again.

The Sri Vrindavan Dham commune - located in the village of Seleksia in Zhetisu rural area of Karasai district and named after the “beautiful forest of Vrindavan” in India where Krishna spent his youth - originally had 66 Hare Krishna-owned homes, plus a 47.7-hectare (118 acre) farm.

Following telephone threats on 3 May to re-start demolition of the devotees’ homes (see F18News 3 May 2007 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=951), representatives from the local media, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Centre in Almaty, and the US Embassy visited the community today.

The Hare Krishna community this morning rang the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Presidential Administration and the state Religious Affairs Committee to protest about the demolitions. But they were given “the usual story that no senior officials could speak to us,” Varfolomeyev told Forum 18. The General Prosecutors Office claimed that, legally, they could not intervene in local court proceedings, so there was nothing that they could do.

But 30 minutes after the electricity supply was cut off, the power supply to the commune was restored.

Later, the deputy chair of the state Religious Affairs Committee, Ludmila Danilenko, told the Hare Krishna community that she had spoken to the Almaty Regional Hakimat (administration), and they had stated that they had no involvement in sending Karasai District Court executors to the commune. The Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 that they think that the decision to send the court executors was made within the Karasai Hakimat, and that Anatoli Portnyagin, who has represented the Hakimat in court cases against the commune, may have made ordered the latest demolition threats.

On 4 May, Forum 18 tried to reach Gulnara Sultonova, head of the Internal Policy Department at the Karasai Hakimat, and her subordinate, Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, who heads the Department’s section dealing with religious organisations. However, both telephones went unanswered.

Officials at the office in Astana of the Human Rights Ombudsperson Bolat Baikadamov told Forum 18 on 4 May that he is abroad until the end of May, currently in the United States. They refused to say where he is and the purpose of the visit. Baikadamov’s subordinate, Vyacheslav Kalyuzhny, refused absolutely to comment to Forum 18 on the latest moves against the Hare Krishna commune. He also refused to comment on Baikadamov’s contradictions of his own statements to the Hare Krishna community (see F18News 3 May 2007 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=951).

The official who answered the phone on 4 May of Eraly Tugzhanov, head of the Justice Ministry’s Religious Affairs Committee, refused to give his name. However, he insisted to Forum 18 that the dispute over the Hare Krishna commune is economic and is not based on religious discrimination. Asked why only Hare Krishna devotees have had their houses confiscated, bulldozed and threatened he retorted: “Do you think other people apart from the Krishnaites have broken the law?” He insisted that the dispute will be resolved “according to the law”.

Asked why a range of religious minority communities in Kazakhstan face official intolerance - including raids, official bans on their activity, fines, detentions, arbitrary denial of legal status and denigration in official publications - the unnamed official responded: “This is disinformation. We have no information about such occurrences. Accusations of discrimination are challengeable in law.” The unnamed official insisted to Forum 18 that “no violations of international standards” take place in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan Update (26th April 2007)
http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3311

By BB Govinda Swami

Here is an update regarding our situation with the Kazakh government:

There have been a total of seventeen hearings in court.

There are twenty seven homeowners who have had cases brought against them.

Fourteen homes have already been demolished.

At the moment seven homes are meant to be demolished as the cases were lost in Provincial Court.

Four cases regarding six houses are still to be heard in the Provincial Court.

The case regarding our major one hundred and sixteen (116) acre property was lost in Provincial Court. This case has been appealed to Supervisory Panel of Provincial Court.

The case regarding the consortium of the Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness and the Almaty Society for Krishna Consciousness, which is the rightful owner of the one hundred and sixteen (116) acre property, will be heard on May 8, 2007 in the Supreme Court.

The case regarding the agricultural society Priozyerye, which is the rightful administrative body of the housing area in which the Krishna devotees live was lost in Provincial Court and was appealed to Supervisory Panel of Provincial Court.

We cannot win court cases as the judiciary is simply a puppet in the hands of influential persons.

A demolition crew came to the farm, just days prior to the OSCE meeting in Vienna, with the purpose of destroying five (5) homes. These cases had been heard in the absence of the home owners or their advocates. The cases had not been appealed to the provincial court. Still the government was violating its own laws ordering the demolition.

At the last second before the demolition began a person drove up in a black BMW and told the demolition crew to disperse.

The cases started against the Krishna believers are selective discrimination. No cases have been started against any of the other citizens of the area who are in the same legal situation.

When in Vienna at the OSCE meeting I met with Bolat Baikadamov. He was the head of the Kazakh delegation. Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Commission participated in our meeting.

Baikadamov emphatically stressed that he had been instructed by the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan to deliver a message to OSCE, foreign government delegations, and to myself that the Kazakh government saw the issue of the Krishna Society as an obstacle to their aspirations to attain OSCE chairmanship.

Thus he expressed the government’s desire to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

He said that the president’s administration viewed the issue as “bad governance” of the Karasai district authorities, the government land committee, and the state controlled religious committee.

He very much stressed that the issue is directly under the guidance of the president’s administration and would no longer be dealt with by the above mentioned bodies.

I specifically asked him if the religious committee would govern our issue as I have been speaking to them for years that discrimination was taking place. Baikadamov clearly answered, no, the issue would be settled by the president’s administration.

He returned to Kazakhstan and went into the media to announce a solution to the issue had been reached with me while he was in Vienna. He said that I had agreed to accept one half (1/2) acre of land in the vicinity of Almaty city, that the government may consider land for our herd of cows, and that the government may consider compensation for the homes destroyed.

Our advisors in Kazakhstan have opined that this media blitz was conducted due to the arrival in Kazakhstan of the OSCE Chairman in Office Miguel Angelo Moratinos.

Our society sent a letter to the president’s administration and to the OSCE advisory committee requesting OSCE to participate as observers in the course of negotiations with the Kazakh Government on our issue.

As we heard no reply from the president’s administration my secretary spoke to Baikadamov on Friday April 20, 2007.

In the course of the conversation Baikadamov stated that our issue is not under the President’s administration, that it was never under the president’s administration, and that it will not be under the president’s administration. He said that the issue remains under the state religion committee under the guidance of Yeraly Tugzhanov.

His statement came as a total “about face.” When we informed Ninel Fokina of his statements she was dismayed as she had participated in the conversation.

Yeraly Tugzhanov has done nothing on our issue over the last month. He told us that he had liaised with the Almaty city administration and instructed us to apply for land in Almaty city to establish a temple. When we did so the Almaty city administration appeared to know nothing of the situation. Even today, the chairman of the religion committee in Almaty city told us that Tugzhanov has not given him any instruction from the capital.

Thus it appears that the Kazakh government is again playing the game of dragging out time, doing nothing, but sending signals to the world that the issue is being dealt with in order to secure its OSCE bid. In reality, nothing has been done.

Regarding freedom of assembly:

In March, in Tekeli city, Almaty Province, fourteen Krishna believers gathered in a person’s residence for a religious observance. Their meeting was disrupted by the police who accused them of conducting an illegal assembly. The police had a bus waiting, took all of the participants of the program, took their identification documents, and detained them at the police station for some hours. They were verbally abused for being Hindu followers and were pressurized to reveal the names of other Krishna believers in the Tekeli area. Only after some hours were they released by the police.

My humble request and prayer is that all of you will continue to pray for the devotees in Kazakhstan.

Please continue to contact officials in your respective foreign ministries that they would continue to bring the issue to the attention of their counterparts in Kazakhstan.

We may be pushed from our homes and property very soon. We will need to relocate around 45 devotees, 30 cows, and a wonderful pujari department.

For relocation we will require financial assistance from our well wishers around the world. We are humbly requesting everyone to help with this effort, even if a contribution of one cent, it will assist in the effort.

I hope that all of you are well, happy, and advancing in Krishna Consciousness.

With affectionate regards,

BB Govinda Swami

Visit www.kazakhkrishna.com to see the tragedy of the Krishna community in Kazakhstan.

On March 27, 2007, at around 5 p.m. in Tekeli city, Almaty province, officers of the local Hakimat and policemen interrupted a religious meeting of the followers of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. 14 members of the Society were arrested and taken to the Tekeli migration police office.

On March 27 the faithful gathered at a private apartment of one of the followers of the Society for Krishna Consciousness to celebrate a religious festival. At around 5 p.m. their celebration was suddenly interrupted by the chief of the local Hakimat’s department of domestic policy and two policemen who came and said that the meeting was illegal. They asked the assembled for documents and then put everyone in a reserved bus and took them to the local migration police office.

The faithful were told that their meeting was illegal because the Society for Krishna Consciousness is not registered in Tekeli, therefore they had no right to hold meetings. Then the officers demanded information of the other members of the Society who were not present at the meeting.

The faithful spent about two hours in the police office. The policemen treated them with rude words and threats, and then, having recorded their personal information, returned their documents and let them go.

It was not the first time that the local administration demanded a membership list from the leaders of the Tekeli community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. Having violated the constitutional rights of the faithful, section 12 of the Law of Religious Freedom and Religious Associations in RK (wherein it is stated that worship, religious ceremonies and rites may be performed unobstructedly in private houses and apartments), and section 21 (on freedom of assembly) of the International Pact of Civil and Political Rights which was ratified by Kazakhstan, the local authorities interrupted the religious meeting and, using their official position, recorded the information of the Society followers.

The Society for Krishna Consciousness in Tekeli city applied for registration as far back as February of 2006. However the registration has not been given as yet. There is a verbal instruction not to give registration to the second largest Hare Krishna community in Almaty province until the litigation against the Society for Krishna Consciousness in the Karasai district is finished.

"KAZAKHSTAN: Do-it-yourself demolition for embattled Hare Krishna commune?"

by Igor Rotar ("Forum 18," January 30, 2007)

Almaty, Kazakhstan - The Kazakh authorities are increasing pressure on the embattled Hare Krishna community near the commercial capital Almaty in their long-running bid to demolish the only Hare Krishna commune in Central Asia. On 29 January Viktor Golous, Chair of the Hare Krishna Commune, was summonsed to a court hearing to take place on 30 January to continue the case on the ownership of the commune's farm, Maksim Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 from Almaty on 31 January. At the same time, demolition notices were served on a further three Hare Krishna home owners, who were told that they must demolish their own homes within 5 days – or the authorities will carry out compulsory demolition and charge the Hare Krishna devotees the cost of this. The 5 days' notice given to the cottages' owners will expire on Friday 2 February.

No previous notice had been given to any of the three latest Hare Krishna targets of any claims filed against them, court hearings or court rulings. So they were not able to file an appeal and defend their property.

Golous appeared in court on 30 January and requested that – due to the short notice given – the hearing be adjourned until lawyers were able to appear. Judge Jurhan Zhailybayev accepted the application for an adjournment and told Golous that he could leave as notice of the new date of the hearing would be sent to him. However, after Golous left the court, Judge Zhailybayev ruled – with only one of the three defendants present – that the Hare Krishna-owned farm should be confiscated.

Members of the Sri Vrindavan Dham commune in Karasai district question who will benefit from the confiscation of their property (see forthcoming F18News article).

On 21 November, the authorities demolished 13 of the 66 houses belonging to Hare Krishna devotees at the commune. The demolitions preceded the final report of a special Commission, appointed by the authorities to – allegedly – resolve the dispute between the state and the Hare Krishna community. Hare Krishna devotees, and Kazakh human rights activists Yevgeny Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Law Observance and Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, who were observers of the Commission, denounced it as having "shown no real desire to look into the essence of the conflict and find a mutually beneficial, intelligent and just solution" for the Krishna community.

"Furthermore," Zhovtis and Fokina continued, "the authorities constantly tried to avoid discussing the legal aspects of the issue, although the justice of the court decisions against the Krishna devotees is very doubtful". Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) officials who attended the Commission – and were denied access to the November 2006 demolitions as they were taking place – declined to comment to Forum 18 on the Commission's work or findings.

Kazakhstan routinely and unconvincingly denies that its bid to crush the Hare Krishna community is a religious freedom issue. The state strenuously insists that its attacks on the Hare Krishna community are "a purely economic dispute having no religious hidden agenda," as Amanbek Mukhashev, head of Kazakhstan's state Religious Affairs Committee, claimed to Forum 18 on 24 January.

However, Mukhashev chaired the Commission and this had both Muslim and Russian Orthodox representatives. As Varfolomeyev put it to Forum 18 on 24 January, "it's not clear what relationship representatives of these religions have to our conflict." Mukhashev – despite his insistence on this being a "purely economic" dispute – told Forum 18 that "the inclusion of Muslim and Orthodox clergy representatives in the commission was entirely logical." He continued, apparently without noticing his contradiction of his earlier claim of "no hidden religious agenda": "The population of Karasai district is basically Orthodox and Muslim and it follows that we should have regard for the views of the representatives of these faiths."

The OSCE's Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief examined the dispute last year and concluded 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," and that "this raises serious issues regarding the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and belief." The Advisory Council stated its "willingness to meet with the Kazakh authorities in order to discuss the situation and to extend its good offices to assist in the resolution of that dispute". The Kazakh authorities have so far given no answer to the Advisory Council's 27 November 2006 offer.

However, the Foreign Ministry did send a representative to the 22 December final meeting of the Commission to read to it an 11 December letter from Deputy Foreign Minister Rapil Zhoshybayev to the Justice Ministry, of which the state Religious Affairs Committee is part. In the letter, Deputy Foreign Minister Zhoshybayev made the demonstrably untrue claim, referring to the OSCE Advisory Council's assessment and offer of assistance, that the "OSCE issued a press-release about its intention to take measures to frustrate Kazakhstan's bid for the OSCE chair in 2009."

After complaining about the worldwide protests against the demolitions, Zhoshybayev stated that Kazakh embassies had been ordered to use the following "basic arguments while performing explanatory work." They were: that "legal actions" were brought against people who "violated Kazakh law, regardless of their religious and political affiliation"; that the Hare Krishna community "is not registered in the Land Cadastre as a land owner, therefore it cannot be considered a defendant"; and finally that 10 Hare Krishna associations are "registered and function unobstructed" in the country "which excludes any possibility of religious motivation of the conflict".

However, Zhoshybayev bemoaned the fact that the information he had from embassies was that "after the demolition they find the above mentioned arguments insufficiently convincing." Gauhar Beyeseyeva, of the Cultural and Humanitarian Co-operation with International Organisations Department of the Foreign Ministry, who read out Zhoshybayev's letter, then claimed to Golous of the Hare Krishna commune: "We were denied the OSCE chairmanship specifically because of you people."

Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community commented to Forum 18 that "The authorities are very dissatisfied that we brought the quarrel out into the open and did not allow them to repress us without a fuss. Now we are being accused of harming the international image of Kazakhstan. We fear that in this situation the repression against us can only get worse."

On 3 January 2007, Karasai District Prosecutors opened a criminal case against commune members, accusing them of forging documents proving their ownership of the farm. No form of investigation of this allegation – which the Hare Krishna community vehemently denies - was made by the authorities before they opened criminal proceedings. Bozhan Kokolbaev, Deputy Prosecutor of Karasai district, refused to answer any questions from Forum 18 on 30 January. The chief religious affairs specialist of the Karasai district administration, Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, on 30 January repeated the authorities' latest allegation to Forum 18. Without producing any proof of her claim, she alleged that "in 1999 three members of the Hare Krishna community registered their ownership of the land as private individuals through the use of forgery."

This allegation takes up an accusation – made without any proof – by the Commission that "the functional purpose of the plot was changed in the contract of sale-purchase which was certified by a state notary: it was changed from 'peasant farming' to 'part-time farming', which constitutes a forgery, a serious violation of law."

The Hare Krishna community observed on 16 January that the allegation is based "on copies of documents of unknown origin. The seller has the original of the contract with unchanged text," but the Hakimat (district administration) has produced an "allegedly changed document. The original of the changed document has never been presented."

The community also pointed out that that, under Kazakh law, if a court finds that forgery has been committed, the sale contract should be declared null and void and the land should be returned to the first owner – Abdykalykov. However the authorities are – in contravention of Kazakh law - seeking to give the land to the local Hakim, or administrator.

Rati Manjari of the Hare Krishna community observed to Forum 18 on 20 January that "by this new claim the authorities are preparing to cancel a 2005 Supreme Court decision that the Hare Krishna community are the bona fide purchaser and user of the land." She suggested that the authorities plan - "after they win this case" – to appeal to the Supreme Court to annul the Hare Krishna community's purchase of the land.

In a further twist, on 12 January the local Legalisation Commission produced a decision of the Karasai district court, dated 25 December 2006, that the Priozerye horticultural association (HA) that owns the land, to which Hare Krishna devotees belong, does not exist – and had not existed since 1998. "You don't exist, go away," the devotees were told.

In February 2006, home owners of the HA, including Hare Krishna devotees, voted the former head of the Ptitsevod HA, Irina Zakharchuk, out of office and renamed it Priozeriye. Varfolomeyev stated that Hare Krishna devotees had participated in the vote because Zakharchuk had "tormented" the devotees. However, the former head did not accept the vote and took her case to the court – which on 25 December invalidated the vote.

On 19 January, Hare Krishna sources reported that the Tax Police – claiming that this was a "regular scheduled inspection" - have begun a full check-up of all the community's accounting records for 2005-6. It was notable that the Tax Police paid particular attention to any documents relating to the community's land and property.

Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.

WASHINGTON D.C. (May 11, 2006) – An ashram belonging to members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan was recently targeted for demolition by government authorities. According to reports, on April 25, 2006, court executors, with prior legal approval, arrived with police officials to bulldoze five of the members’ homes located on the outskirts of the city of Almaty. Though authorities were deterred from completing the demolition by the presence of many local journalists, they have expressed their commitment to return when media scrutiny subsides.

The ashram is located on a 118 acre commune which is owned by a Kazakhstani horticulture association. According to officials, the ISKCON homes were being demolished because the members of group did not privately own the land. However, ISKCON spokespersons stated that previous attempts to purchase the land were unsuccessful after their proposals were repeatedly rejected by the local hakim (governor). Though only about twelve out of the 120 members of the horticulture association owned their own land, government authorities exclusively targeted the property of the ISKCON devotees for seizure and demolition. In addition, the ISKCON members were only given a one day notice prior to the demolition of their homes in spite of a law that requires an advance warning of at least five days.

"The state is trying to reduce the whole action to an economic dispute. However, it is obvious that the rights of dozens of Kazakh citizens belonging to a religious minority are being violated," argued ISKCON spokeswoman Yekaterina Levitskaya. She went on to stress that it was “specifically members of the Krishna community who are having their dachas [country homes] confiscated."

Kazakhstan, the largest republic in Central Asia with a population of over 15 million, is comprised of over 130 ethnic groups who practice 40 religions. Ethnic Russians, who typically are traditionally members of the Russian Orthodox Church, constitute around a third of the population while ethnic Kazakhs, who are Sunni Muslims, make up half. There is also a small Jewish religious minority. Though not demographically significant, followers of ISKCON, a Hindu Vaishnavite sect, have been registered in the Karasai district since May 2002.

According to the U.S. State Department’s 2005 International Religious Freedom report, the Kazakhstani Government maintained a list of 73 minority religious groups which are protected under the Constitution. According to the same report, several of these groups, including ISKCON, reported being vilified as a threat to society and national security by media agencies including government-controlled outlets. In the past, several Members of Parliament have made inflammatory official statements expressing suspicion of minority religions. Last year, under the pretext of national security, several amendments were passed allowing the government to target minority religious groups and severely restrict religious freedom.

“The government actions against the ISKCON community amount to religious persecution and violates the civil rights guaranteed by Kazakhstani law,” asserted Pawan Deshpande, Member of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) Executive Council. “Hindus around the world should stand together to condemn this state-sponsored assault.”

The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3), non-partisan organization, promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 9th, 2007

Contact: Vineet Chander - (201) 925-4973; vineet@iskcon.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.”
MORE…
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.
“[S]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 Kazakhstan… and further calls upon the President to order the Karasai District Hakimat to have all cases against the Kazakh Hindus withdrawn… and to stop harassment of Hindus in Kazakhstan.”
(The United Kingdom Parliament, Early Day Motion No. 140)

Respected Maharajas, Prabhus and Matajis , Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Devotees from around the world are aware that a dispute between ISKCON, Vrindavan and the Goswamis of Radha Damodar Temple, in respect of  Srila Prabhupada's rooms in Radha Damodar Temple, Vrindavan,   is presently being heard in the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad, India. The local court at Mathura has passed an interim order in favour of ISKCON, against which the Goswamis have preferred an appeal in the Hon'ble High Court. The final hearing on this appeal is going to be held on 12th February at Allahabad.

Our legal team is doing its best to produce all the legal evidences before the Hon'ble High Court.However, we would like to humbly beg and make an appeal to all the communities of devotees from around the world to offer your sincere and intense prayers to Their Lordships Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai and Srila Prabhupada that They may inspire the Judicial board to pass an order granting justice to ISKCON, against the atrocities of the Goswamis

Offering prayers is an important medium through which we can attract Lord's mercy upon us. At this crucial juncture,  a sincere and intense prayer from each one of you will be of immense value for us. You may offer your prayers to The Presiding Lordships in your respective Temples.

We express our deepest heartfelt gratitude to all of you, in advance, for your sincere prayers.

On behalf of the Legal team fighting this battle,

Your Servant,

Shyam Krishna Das

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 9th, 2007

Contact: Vineet Chander - (201) 925-4973; vineet@iskcon.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.”
MORE…
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.
“[S]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 Kazakhstan… and further calls upon the President to order the Karasai District Hakimat to have all cases against the Kazakh Hindus withdrawn… and to stop harassment of Hindus in Kazakhstan.”
(The United Kingdom Parliament, Early Day Motion No. 140)

Kazakhstan Update
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?p=871

February 1st, 2007 Editor

From HH BB Govinda Maharaja:

Summary of the Issue

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness came to Kazakhstan during the Soviet era and existed underground until it’s legal registration as the Society for Krishna Consciousness ( SKC ) by the Ministry of Justice in 1994.

As the society grew in Almaty the members desired to have an Indian style farming community to satisfy the cultural and spiritual needs of the faithful, propagate a healthy lifestyle, cow protection, and bio-farming. To develop this project, members of SKC leased 47.7 hectares of land in 1999 in the Karasai district of Almaty, 40 km from the city. In 2002 SKC registered its provincial unit as a religious organization on the property. In the spring of 2004 SKC was able to purchase the land. Members of SKC grew vegetables, wheat, barley, alfalfa, cultivated a large apple orchard and took care of a herd of 32 cows.

According to article 12, of the religious laws of Kazakhstan, religious organizations are allowed to conduct their worship and ceremonies at the place of their registration. Thus the members of SKC also engaged in spiritual practices on the property.

There was an attempt to construct a temple on the property in 2004. Following the advice of local government authorities the SKC members began the work of laying a foundation. They were told that permission would be issued in the course of the construction.

However, as soon as construction began the same government authorities brought an administrative case against the community for having started illegal construction. SKC members were shocked by the change, but fully complied with local authorities and demolished the foundation.

Since the original purpose of the land was peasant farming, it did not allow for housing development, so in 1999 members of the SKC started purchasing cottages in an adjoining residential area.

Aside from the attempt to build a temple structure on the land no other construction took place. All existing buildings were present before SKC acquired the property.

Problems began in the summer of 2004 when the local government initiated non-stop investigations of the community, following a plan of the executive authorities of Almaty province to liquidate the Almaty provincial SKC and confiscate the land from both the Society and the private members of the Society.

There is a document from the Director of the Almaty Provincial Department of Justice, T. Onalbayev, providing an answer to the protocol instruction No. 5 of the Hakim of Almaty province S. Kulmakhanov dated February 14, 2005, with the detailed plan of liquidation of the Society.

Soon smear campaigns began in the media. The district government made 14 cases to confiscate the property of SKC, as well as the individual houses of its members in the adjoining residential area.

In April of 2006, SKC lost the litigation, but before a legal appeal was heard in higher court, the government attempted to destroy the homes of the members of SKC with bulldozers. The members resisted and the attempt was not successful. Local executives assured SKC members that they would return later with riot police and demolish the houses.

On the morning of November 22, 2006, electricity to the community was disconnected and later that day heavy equipment was brought back to the community. It included bulldozers, trucks, ambulances, and 200 riot police. The police cordoned off the entire area of the settlement and blocked the entrance ways of the community. Journalists, human right observers and members of the congregation who were not present on the land at the time, were not allowed in. It was a winter day, snowing, and with subzero temperatures.

The houses of the SKC members were destroyed one after the other. Mothers with infants and children were thrown, crying and appealing for mercy, out of their homes. Family belongings were loaded on the trucks and driven away. Members who tried to resist were roughed-up and arrested. All cameras and video recorders were confiscated.

Suddenly, without warning, the homes and belongings of 12 families were destroyed.

On November 26, 2006, the local governor presented SKC with 5 more cases regarding evacuation and demolition of homes.

As no homes of other local residents have been targeted, members of SKC have concluded that the harassment they are experiencing is based on religious discrimination and a desire by the government to take the choice piece of land which the SKC acquired by legal means.

Recent developments

11th December 2006
MFA of RK sent a letter to Ministry of Justice of RK to immediately convene the Inter-Agency Commission followed by a press conference in order to develop consistent position and find concrete proposals for resolving the conflict.

16th December 2006
MFA of RK distributed the Decision of the Commission through its diplomatic channels before official meeting of the Commission.

22nd December 2006
- Astana, Meeting of the Inter-Agency Commission for investigating the land issue of the religious organization “Society for Krishna Consciousness” in Karasai District.
- The Chairman of the Commission requested deputy Hakim Baibaktynov to accept the applications for privatization of SKC members and review them.
- Deputy Hakim of Almaty Province informed the Commission that a criminal case was initiated against members of the SKC regarding forgery.
- Chief expert of the Land Committee of Almaty Province informed the Commission that there is a list of 54 summer plots, which will be given privatization. He stressed that Priozyerye members, which SKC followers are the members of, would not be given privatization.
- The Chairman of the Commission responded that privatization should be given to everyone.

25th December 2006
Karasai District court has issued a decision to consider the registration of a summer cottages cooperative Priozyerye to be null and void.

29th December 2006
20 summer cottages owners, members of Priozyerye approached Hakimat for privatization. Their applications were refused. In a phone call the Chairman of the Commission advised to file the documents to Legalization Committee and approach deputy Hakim Baibaktynov for resolving the issue.

5th January 2007
Kazakh Government conducts Press Conference in Astana.

5th January 2007
20 summer cottages owners approached Legalization Committee for legalization. Without any reason people were refused in legalization. No written answer was given.

9th January 2007
The official statement of the Almaty Helsinki Committee and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law “On the Situation over the Krishna’s Consciousness Community in Kazakhstan” is issued.

10th January 2007
Press-Conference of SKC in Almaty about “Situation over SKC in Kazakhstan: another angle”.

12th January 2007
20 summer cottages owners approached Legalization Committee for legalization again. The documents were not accepted on the basis of the decision of the Karasai District court, which considered registration of Priozyerye summer cottages society null and void.

16th January 2007
A new court case regarding the 116 acre plot was opened.
- The government intends to prove sales and purchase agreement of 116 acre between Zhaksybekov and Consortium of Kazakhstan and Hungarian Societies for Krishna Consciousness null and void.
- By the new claim the government is preparing a ground to cancel the Supreme Court decision of 30th June 2005 in the case between Consortium and Zhaksybekov, where the civil panel of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan studied all the documents on the land and considered SKC a bona fide purchaser of the land and granted the right of a land use to SKC.

21st January 2007
The chairman of the summer cottages association PK “ST Ptitsevod”, Irina Zaharchuk on a general meeting of the summer cottages owners of her cooperative sold land plots of the destroyed houses of SKC members. She compiled a new list of the members of her cooperative, where she included new owners of the summer plots.

27th January 2007
In the framework of a criminal case being opened, a worker of financial police of Karasai district brought a prepared report to be signed by a SKC member.

The report described the way she purchased her apartment but her words were completely perverted, and, in the report she was presented as a victim of some foreign preacher. SKC member refused to sign it.

28th January 2007
Sunday January 28, 2007, Anatoli Portnyagin, the chief officer of the provincial land committee, policemen, workers of the Karasai District Hakimat, the former chairman of the horticultural association I. Zakharchuk and Polyakov, her advocate, were at the site of the destruction of the homes of Hare Krishna community surveyed the summer plots and distributed them among the would-be owners. All these people have been actively participating in all the cases against SKC.

The officials were seen screaming among themselves as to which plots would be given to whom.

Despite the fact that the plots of SKC members belong to a different legal entity, the government officials of Karasai District are selling the land plots using legal documents of a different legal entity, summer cottages society PK “ST Ptitsevod” instead of Priozyerye.

29th January 2007
The notifications for demolition of 3 summer cottages of members of SKC. The receivers were never officially invited to court, they have never received invitations to participate in the court hearings and they have never received the decisions of the court.

30th January 2007
The Karasai district court disputed the purchase of 116 acre of land by the religious organization Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The notice to appear in court was given to the chairman of the Society the day before, January 29, 2007. The chairman appeared in the court at the appointed time and put in an application requesting the court to adjourn the hearing because he had not managed to find an advocate in such a short time. His application was accepted. Judge Zhailybayev who conducted the case told the chairman of the Society that he could go and wait for another notice to appear in court which would inform him of the next hearing. The chairman left the court being confident that the hearing was adjourned.

Nonetheless the hearing took place the same day in the absence of the defendant who was personally sent home by judge Zhailybayev. Out of the three defendants only one was present. Zhailybayev took a decision to confiscate the lawfully acquired land from the RO Society for Krishna Consciousness. It should be noted that all the decisions on the cases against the Krishnaites conducted by judge Zhailybayev have been unfavorable for them.

1. We request that you urgently address this issue to the President of Kazakhstan, with the aim to stop the systematic demoralization and denigration of the members of SKC in Kazakhstan.
2. We demand that the government to compensate the losses it has inflicted upon the members of SKC.
3. Allow all Hindu applicants to privatize their cottages, in accordance with a legally sound and non-discriminatory procedure, and allow them to enjoy the full use of these properties without any further threat of government action.

February 2nd, 2007 Editor

Letter from International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF):

Open letter to all OSCE delegations on the judgment against the Krishna’s Consciousness Community in Kazakhstan

Vienna, 1 February 2007

Dear Heads of OSCE Delegations,

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) wishes to inform you about the latest developments in the case against the Krishna’s Consciousness Community in Karasai, near Almaty.

As you know (see also statement by the OSCE Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief , 27 November 2006), Karasai authorities in November demolished at least 13 houses of the Krishna’s Consciousness Community citing unresolved property ownership rights, leaving dozens of people homeless and offering no alternate housing to them, in violation of international regulations.

In the latest development, yesterday, on 31 January 2007, a court in Karasai ruled against the Krishna’s Consciousness Community in a process that resembled more a farce than a fair trial: The chairman of the community had been informed about the court session only one day in advance. He submitted to the court a letter asking that the session be postponed in order to allow the community to arrange an attorney to represent it, which the judge had appeared to accept. Yet, after the community chairman had left the court, the judge ruled against the community.

The troubles faced by the Krishna’s Consciousness Community date back to 2006. According to information available to the IHF, the officials’ demolition list of the community’s houses for 2006 included 47 houses, of which at least 13 were demolished in November. Evictions, confiscations and demolitions ? sometimes only with a few hours’ notification ? went on throughout 2006 on the official grounds that the owners had not officially privatized their plots of land and were unable to produce the necessary property documentation for their homes. In fact members of the Krishna community has repeatedly approached the local government with the aim of regulating their ownersip, but their applications have been rejected.

Yet, it seems clear to the IHF that 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. This has been demonstrated inter alia by discriminatory statements by local authorities against the community, illegal acts, and the judicial proceedings that have failed to meet international standards for fair trials. Since the dispute started, Kazakh authorities have been reluctant to deal with the issue in a fair and unbiased manner.

Attached please find a statement by the Almaty Helsinki Committee and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law on the case.

We urge you to voice your serious concern about the case of the Krishna’s Consciousness Community to the government of Kazakhstan and demand it to ensure that freedom of religion is respected in the whole country ­ and to show it in practice in the case of the Krishna’s Consciousness Community.

Sincerely,
(signed)
Aaron Rhodes
Executive Director
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)

CC: National Helsinki Committees
Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law

Court Orders Confiscation

February 2nd, 2007 Editor

ALMATY, Kazakhstan: A court has ordered the confiscation of land used by Kazakhstan’s Hare Krishna community, ruling in favor of local authorities in a legal dispute that Krishnas have called religious persecution, the community’s spokesman said Wednesday.

The Karasai district court decision, announced Tuesday in the absence of the Krishnas’ representatives, means that district authorities are now one legal step away from expelling the community after an almost three-year long battle, spokesman Maxim Varfolomeyev said.

District authorities are now expected to ask the Supreme Court to overturn its 2005 decision that allowed Krishnas to continue to use the 48-hectare (118-acre) plot near the commercial capital Almaty despite the ongoing dispute.

Varfolomeyev said the community would appeal the Karasai court decision, but added that “this appears to be an end.”

A government commission earlier dismissed the Krishnas’ claims of religious persecution, saying the dispute was the result of “gross” violations of land and religion laws. The Hare Krishna community denies breaking property laws.

The community members have also been battling individual legal actions against them over alleged illegal privatization of their cottages.

Under court orders, laborers with crowbars and bulldozers destroyed the community’s 13 country houses on Nov. 21, while police prevented community members from interfering.

The dispute has attracted the attention of foreign diplomats. The U.S. Embassy expressed concern about the legality of razing the houses and urged Kazakh authorities to end what it called an “aggressive” campaign against Hare Krishna followers. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said after the houses were destroyed that it appeared the Krishnas were targeted because of their religious beliefs.

Varfolomeyev said Wednesday that on Monday, three more community members received notifications that their cottages would be destroyed within five days.

Krishnas have said that another reason why local authorities sought their expulsion could be that the land they are using is prime real estate.

Land and property prices in and around the oil-rich Central Asian nation’s biggest city have soared in recent years amid a construction boom fueled by a rapid economic growth.

The mostly Muslim nation has long been tolerant to other religions, but in recent years the government has tightened laws on religious organizations, citing concerns about religious extremism.

Recently some devotees have expressed a desire to be better informed about the facts underlying the campaign to protect Hare Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan. In my capacity as North America communications director and a member of the campaign team, I authored a report on the situation in Kazakhstan and ISKCON’s position. I studied the facts of the case available from primary and secondary sources, and used my background in law to analyze the situation to the best of my ability. I’d like to draw on that analysis to address specific concerns that some devotees have recently raised.

Did devotees in Kazakhstan violate laws?
There is no evidence that the devotees in Kazakhstan ­ either individually or as a community ­ violated any laws. To put it simply: these devotees played by the rules, utilized the proper channels, and behaved as model citizens. The issues at the heart of this situation are unique to former Communist countries: privatization and land registration.

Actually, there are two separate but related claims. The first involves a plot of land which the local ISKCON chapter purchased for use as a farm community. A Supreme Court ruling confirmed that ISKCON was the proper owner of the land, but ISKCON representatives were barred from registering. The local governments ignored the Supreme Court ruling and argued that the devotees’ ownership should be void because of a mistake made by the former owners (not the devotees) in filling out paperwork.

A second claim involves the individual homes (“dachas” or cottages) devotees own in a nearby horticultural association. A change in Kazakh law required all home owners to “privatize” their land. When the devotees attempted to do that, they were not allowed to. The local government started to require all applicants to sign a document swearing that they were not members of the Krishna community! To privatize, devotees would either have to lie or publicly denounce their faith. Devotees still kept applying to privatize but were refused or ignored. Finally, the local government ordered bulldozers to demolish 13 homes belonging to Hare Krishna devotees. According to Kazakh law, such demolition without compensation is only allowed in criminal cases; since these were civil cases, the government violated its own law.

In relation to both the plot of land and the individual homes, devotees did not break Kazakh law.

Why is ISKCON presenting the situation as religious intolerance or persecution?
Several factors make it clear that this is a case of religious intolerance and persecution. The devotees were told that they could only privatize their homes if they declared in writing that they were not members of the Hare Krishna community. The only homes that were targeted belonged to the devotees; other homeowners with identical legal and procedural status, but different religions, did not have their ownership questioned. Kazakh officials ­ while acting in their capacities as representative of the state ­ made statements slandering Krishna consciousness as a faith, and have compared the devotees to terrorists who are trying to destroy Kazakhstan.

Significantly, impartial third parties have raised concerns that Kazakhstan is targeting the devotees on the basis of religion, and see this conflict as part of a pattern of religious intolerance towards minority faiths in Kazakhstan. These organizations and leaders are respected and trusted figures, and would not make such statements without conducting independent research and investigations. We can rest assured that bodies like the United States Embassy, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), or the Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law looked deeply into all sides of the conflict and considered many factors before making public statements on this issue.

Were women and children purposely put into harm’s way to garner leverage or video footage?
This is an unfounded allegation that minimizes concern for the genuine threat that these devotees faced. No devotees knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly endangered the women and children of the community.

Video footage captures part of the actual demolition of 13 homes in November. The residents who were home when the bulldozers arrived were horrified and attempted to stop this gross violation of their rights. They screamed, they cried, they chanted, they called out to Lord Nrsimhadeva, they tried to hold the fort and finally had to be forcibly removed. They reacted the way any one of us would have reacted under similar circumstances. Because the surprise attack was executed (perhaps intentionally) at a time when most of the devotee men were away at their jobs, mainly housewives and infants remained at home. Thus there are mostly women and children present on the video.

Why is ISKCON aligning itself with the Hindu community?
In using the term “Hindu,” we offer an important historical and sociological context from which others can appreciate ISKCON’s roots and authenticity. Kazakhstan government officials routinely attack ISKCON’s credibility by accusing it of being a “sect” (this is the European equivalent of the cult accusations devotees faced in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States) and not a bona fide religion that is worthy of recognition or protection. By identifying ISKCON as following Vaisnavism ­ a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic, or using modern parlance Hindu, culture ­ we give others the proper context to understand who we are.

Offering such a context, especially in cases where Vaisnavas face peril from an outside force, is consistent with the examples set by Srila Prabhupada. As much as Srila Prabhupada spoke out boldly against sectarian conceptions of religion (including Hinduism), he also recognized situations where it is not only legitimate but crucial to identify ourselves as part of the Hindu community. Two pertinent examples: when British government officials refused to grant Ratha Yatra permits, and when American court cases charged ISKCON as being a “cult” that “brainwashed” its members, Srila Prabhupada unequivocally advised his disciples to argue that we are Hindu. Perhaps the most appropriate analogy: when the unscrupulous Mr. Nair attempted to have Radha-Rasabihari’s first temple in Mumbai destroyed, Srila Prabhupada rallied the support of the Hindu community (and generated interest in the press) by calling it the demolition of a Hindu temple.

Thus, aligning with the broader Hindu community is entirely consistent with Srila Prabhupada’s example and teaching.

Why should we share publicity with others?
Our goal in trying to generate media attention is to raise awareness of the plight of the devotees there and to put pressure on the government to act justly. In the course of doing that, we help other organizations (e.g. ­ Hindu groups, Interfaith organizations, government agencies, etc.) receive accolades for the good work that they do. Srila Prabhupada expected his followers to act as perfect ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen appreciate the heartfelt assistance they receive from others and give credit where credit is due.

Does the strategy threaten ISKCON’s integrity?
As a second-generation member of ISKCON ­ and as a professional with experience in law, public policy, and communications ­ I am acutely aware of the costly mistakes made in the past when trying to make short-term gains for ISKCON. I firmly believe that devotees must never compromise ISKCON’s integrity or use Krishna consciousness to justify illegality or improper behavior ­ no matter how admirable their intentions, or how attractive the short-term gains may seem to be.

The devotees in Kazakhstan have been painstakingly following the proper procedures and have been careful to act with integrity and honesty. Likewise, members of the campaign team ­ under the direction of His Holiness B.B. Govinda Swami ­ have been diligent and conscientious in their approach, maintaining dignity, accuracy, balance, and fairness in all that we do. The strategy that we are employing is a result of a detailed investigation into the facts of the case, a great deal of deliberation and reflection, and constant consultation with those who are most knowledgeable about the situation (both within and outside of ISKCON).

On behalf of ISKCON Communications,
Your servant,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa
Communications Director, North America

"KAZAKHSTAN: 'This has nothing to do with religion'" Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, Kazakhstan Internal Affairs Dept. Religious Issues Section Chief

  "Is this case against the Hare Krishna community, or against Kazakh citizens? If the case is not against the Hare Krishna community, what is the role of the head of the section dealing with religious organisations in this case?"  Immediately, Zhunisbayeva of the section dealing with religious organisations started screaming, Forum 18 was told, that "this has nothing to do with Krishnaites and nothing to do with religion."

by John Kinahan and Felix Corley ("Forum 18," December 01, 2006)

Almaty, Kazakhstan - As well as demolishing part of a Hare Krishna commune before the conclusions of a state Commission supposedly appointed to resolve the state's dispute with Hare Krishna devotees were announced, Kazakhstan has reopened five legal cases it had previously withdrawn against devotees, Forum 18 News Service has learnt.

The Commission increasingly appears to have been a device to deflect criticism of Kazakhstan's state religious intolerance. Despite earlier official assurances, demolition of the commune started before the Commission issued any report.

On the afternoon of Sunday 26 November, devotees were told that the legal cases had been reopened by the Hakimat (District Administration), Maksim Varfolomeyev, the Hare Krishna spokesperson, told Forum 18 from Almaty. Devotees were also told that the cases would be heard in court at 3 pm the following day, Monday 27 November. However, when they arrived for the hearing, devotees were told the cases had been postponed until 30 November.

"The five cases are identical to the previous ones," Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 on 1 December. "The five home-owners are accused of not having proper documents of ownership of the land, and that they are using the land contrary to its designated purpose." He said the suits call for the devotees to be evicted and for their homes to be demolished.

Varfolomeyev expressed concern that the devotees will not be able to defend themselves properly in court. "We have no lawyer," he explained. "The lawyers who had been defending us for the past two years suddenly told us at about the time of the demolition that they could no longer do so. 'You don't understand us ­ you have no family,' they told us. Probably they're scared."

When the Hare Krishna devotees came to the Karasai District Court on 30 November, Judge T. Tutkushbayev postponed the hearing once again, Varfolomeyev told Forum 18. The latest reason for the postponement of the case was that the community currently has no lawyers willing to represent it.

Curiously, the state parties in the case have now changed. Previously, the plaintiffs were the District Administration and the Provincial Land Committee. Without explanation being given, there is now only the District Administration as plaintiff.

Two people represented the District Administration: the staff lawyer and Ryskul Zhunisbayeva, who is head of the section dealing with religious organisations in the Internal Affairs Department of the District Administration. One of the five Hare Krishna defendants, Galina Golous, put two questions to the District Administration's representatives: "Is this case against the Hare Krishna community, or against Kazakh citizens? If the case is not against the Hare Krishna community, what is the role of the head of the section dealing with religious organisations in this case?"

Immediately, Zhunisbayeva of the section dealing with religious organisations started screaming, Forum 18 was told, that "this has nothing to do with Krishnaites and nothing to do with religion. I'm just representing the District Administration."

While 13 of the 66 Hare Krishna-owned homes have already been demolished and five more are threatened with demolition, Varfolomeyev fears the rest could be seized. "These will be next," he warns. He says the community is also afraid their 47 hectare (116 acre) farm next to the homes will also be seized. "Our temple is located in the farm house. This is where the religious community is registered, so if this is seized and demolished we will lose our legal address and therefore our legal status as a religious community."

On Monday 27 November, the head of the Hare Krishna community, Viktor Golous, arrived for a previously arranged meeting with Bolat-bi Kutpanov, the Hakim (Head) of the Karasai District Administration, where the commune is based to be told that Kutpanov was supposedly "just left for vacation." Golous then arranged a meeting for the following day with the Deputy Hakim, Nasredin Tusupov.

Also that day, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief stated that it is "deeply concerned" by Kazakhstan's actions (see http://www.osce.org/odihr/item_1_22228.html). The Advisory Council called Kazakhstan to "halt any further demolitions and to extend immediate humanitarian assistance to those whose homes have been destroyed," pending a resolution of the dispute.

The OSCE Advisory Council statement observed 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," and that "this raises serious issues regarding the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and belief by members of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan."

The Advisory Council's statement expressed its "willingness to meet with the Kazakh authorities in order to discuss the situation and to extend its good offices to assist in the resolution of that dispute."

When Golous of the community arrived on 28 November for the meeting with Deputy Hakim Nasredin Tusupov, he was told that the meeting could only happen with the Deputy Hakim responsible for Ideology, Kairat Baibaktinov, who would only be available on Wednesday. Golous then handed the OSCE statement to Baibaktinov's secretary. As soon as he saw the statement, Baibaktinov immediately appeared and took Golous to Tusupov's office. Deputy Hakim Tusupov, Ideology Deputy Hakim Baibaktinov and the head of the Internal Policy Department, Gulnara Sultanova, were in the office.

Golous gave Tusupov the OSCE Statement, described the situation, and asked ­ in similar terms to the statement ­ that further demolitions and violence be stopped and compensation be paid to those whose property had been destroyed. He also asked that the Hakimat court claims be withdrawn ­ ass they were at the point at which the state Commission was appointed.

Deputy Hakim Tusupov "began screaming," devotees reported, that they "have no rights to request anything". He then repeatedly screamed: "Who are you, you people are nobody!" Tusupov then abruptly ended the meeting by screaming "Have you informed these people about the new court cases? Do they know?" before adding: "Then we will see you in the court."

In comments echoed by other Kazakh officials inside and outside the country, Talgat Unaibayev, first secretary at the Kazakh mission to the OSCE in Vienna, told Forum 18 on 1 December that the moves against the Hare Krishna devotees "are not a violation of religious freedom. The action is not against the Krishna community because they are Krishnaites." He said that at Forum 18's request, he had asked the Foreign Ministry in Astana what response it had given to the OSCE Advisory Council's offer to help resolve the dispute, "but we have had no response from our capital". Like other officials, Unaibayev was unable to explain why only Hare Krishna-owned properties have been attacked.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) http://www.uscirf.gov has condemned the attack on the Hare Krishna community and "Kazakhstan's deteriorating record of respect for human rights and religious freedom." It has called for the country's bid to become the OSCE Chair in 2009 to be opposed. "Such a bid should only be considered at next week's OSCE Ministerial in Brussels if Kazakhstan takes immediate verifiable steps to implement its OSCE human rights pledges, including on freedom of religion or belief," USCIRF states.

Kazakhstan's attacks on the Hare Krishna devotees have also been raised in both the Parliament of India and the British House of Commons.

A decision on whether Kazakhstan's current bid to chair the OSCE in 2009 will be accepted ­ despite its open failure to honour OSCE commitments on religious freedom and other human rights ­ is due to be made by OSCE governments in Brussels on 4 and 5 December.

President Nazarbayev's government often boasts of its claimed religious tolerance, but religious minorities who experience the state's policies are sceptical of these boasts.

The authorities have long wanted to take over the Hare Krishna commune and made an earlier attempt this year to bulldoze it. Kazakh authorities have also worked with local television stations to encourage intolerance against religious minorities, such as Baptists and Hare Krishna devotees. Sources, who preferred to be unnamed, have told Forum 18 of "persistent rumours" that President Nazarbayev's brother, Bulat Nazarbayev, wants to take over the Hare Krishna devotees' farm.

Meanwhile, two Baptists in Zyryanovsk in the East Kazakhstan Region, who were given large fines on 27 June for religious activity without registration, have failed in their appeals to have the fines overturned. Pastor Yegor Prokopenko was given the massive fine of 103,000 Tenge (5,425 Norwegian Kroner, 686 Euros or 870 US Dollars) by Zyryanovsk District Specialised Administrative Court, while congregation member P. Shevel was fined half that amount.

Average monthly salaries have been estimated to be roughly equivalent to 31,500 Tenge (1,600 Norwegian Kroner, 200 Euros, or 260 US Dollars). The fine on Prokopenko equalled the record fine for unregistered religious activity imposed in May on another Baptist pastor, Yaroslav Senyushkevich, who leads a congregation in the capital Astana.

Prokopenko and Shevel appealed to the regional court on 11 July, but the court rejected their appeal, local Baptists told Forum 18 on 24 November. On 18 August the two appealed to the Prosecutor's Office of the East Kazakhstan region, but acting prosecutor Tursun Veliev replied: "In such circumstances, reasons do not exist for an administrative review of the existing court decisions." The two Baptists then lodged an appeal with Kazakhstan's General Prosecutor's office on 2 October. Nearly two months later, they have still received no response.

Despite this, on 31 October local court bailiff D. Ksebaeva warned Prokopenko that if he fails to pay his fine within ten days the money will be taken from his pension.

On 9 November another local court bailiff G. Kasenova visited Shevel's home and designated a fridge and a corner unit for confiscation. She estimated their value at 60,000 Tenge (2,900 Norwegian Kroner, 350 Euros or 470 US Dollars) to meet his unpaid fine.

Forum 18 was unable to reach either Veliev at the regional prosecutor's office or Zhanat Alenchikov at the Zyryanovsk Prosecutor's Office to find out why the Baptists were being punished for practising their right to freedom of worship.

The Baptists ­ who belong to the Council of Churches, whose congregations reject registration in all the former Soviet republics where they operate ­ call for the fines to be cancelled, the property not to be seized and for them to be allowed to practice their faith freely in accordance with Kazakhstan's Constitution.

Legal restrictions on religious freedom have been increased by the authorities, through "extremism" and "national security" legal amendments.

Baptists and other Protestant Christians have so far been the main victims of the legal changes, being fined for unregistered religious activity. Foreign missionaries belonging to both the Presbyterian church and Tabligh Jama'at international Islamic missionary organisation have been fined and deported.

Some fear that changes being planned by the KNB secret police to the Religion Law will ban sharing beliefs and all missionary activity
  http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=23571&sec=28&cont=all

Outside the shell of what was once a neat Kazakh village house, Radek Gaynanov gestures at a pile of rubble. "That used to be our bedroom," he says. Debris from the demolished ground floor spills onto the snowy lawn.

Gaynanov is a member of Kazakhstan’s small Hare Krishna community. His house was among 13 dwellings that were bulldozed in late 2006 in the village of Bereke outside Almaty. The government’s action has raised questions about Kazakhstan’s commitment to religious freedom.

Local authorities maintain the demolition was ordered because the homeowners were improperly squatting on farmland. Kazakhstan’s Society for Krishna Consciousness (SKC) says it is being targeted because of its religious beliefs. "The conflict has two aspects," SKC spokesman Maksim Varfolomeyev told EurasiaNet. "The local authorities say it is purely economic… They tell us to resolve it in court. But there is a religious subtext, and there is religious intolerance."

Bereke’s 60-strong Krishna community revolves around a communal farm set up in 1999. Since 2004, when local authorities filed a case seeking the return of the farm, known as the Sri Vrindavan Dham commune, the Krishna believers have faced considerable legal pressure. The SKC ultimately lost the case over the farmland, but has the right to appeal. The bulldozed houses, meanwhile, were part of a separate legal action. An April attempt to demolish them was halted by a peaceful SKC protest, but the authorities cautioned at that time that they would return.

On November 20, 13 homeowners were served writs telling them to dismantle their dwellings voluntarily, or face sanctions. The next day, riot police accompanied bulldozers to Bereke and the houses were demolished, leaving 35 people homeless. Local authorities declined to comment for this article.

"It was all so unexpected," Gaynanov’s wife, Khema, told EurasiaNet. "It was a shock." Marina Cheyshvili was at home when the bulldozers arrived. "They didn’t even explain why they were demolishing us," she said. "I was crying. I said: What are you doing? I’ve got four children; we’ll be left on the street."

In its 2006 International Religious Freedom Report, published before the demolitions, the US State Department pointed to the rocketing price of land around Almaty as a trigger for the dispute. "Independent religious observers… believed that the cases are motivated primarily by a financial interest in the land, the value of which has appreciated significantly since 1999," the report said.

"There is a monetary motive," Varfolomeyev agreed. "There is also a motive of religious intolerance."

A government commission set up to investigate the long-running land dispute reiterated on December 22 that a settlement must follow Kazakhstani legislation. A representative of the Justice Ministry’s Religious Affairs Committee, which oversees the commission’s work, told EurasiaNet that the government agency was awaiting clarification from local authorities on the demolition incident.

The demolitions have had international ramifications, not least because Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was visiting the United Kingdom at the time of the incident. The British Foreign Office expressed concern to Kazakhstan’s ambassador. A British government spokesman added that London hoped that "an amicable resolution can be found with the Krishna community in Almaty which allows it to continue to practice its faith, in line with the Kazakh Government’s commitment to encourage inter-faith harmony."

Back in Kazakhstan, the US Embassy and the OSCE expressed concern over the episode. "The forceful eviction of homeowners in freezing temperatures and the destruction of their possessions contradicted principles of due process and fairness," said a US Embassy statement issued December 5. It urged local authorities "to refrain from any further aggressive actions."

The OSCE’s statement said the incident raised "serious issues regarding the enjoyment of the freedom of religion and belief by members of the Hare Krishna community in Kazakhstan." The demolitions coincided with the run-up to a decision on Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE in 2009, which was postponed until next year amid concerns about its commitment to democracy. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Given the political context, Almaty Helsinki Committee chairwoman Ninel Fokina said she believes that high-ranking Kazakhstani officials approved the decision to bulldoze the dwellings. "Knowing the question of our chairmanship of the OSCE was being decided -- the president had gone to England for a visit -- they carried out this blitzkrieg operation. What sort of normal, sensible official would risk doing that without approval from the top - if they did not know for sure that it would be done with impunity?" she asked rhetorically.

While Kazakhstan has often been in the spotlight over political practices, the country’s record on religious freedom has rarely caused trouble for the government. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Kazakhstan ­ home to 130 ethnic groups and 40 religions ­ has cast itself as a bastion of religious and ethnic tolerance. In a December 16 speech to mark Independence Day, Nazarbayev hailed Kazakhstan’s policy of "unity in diversity" ­ the very doctrine that attracted the Krishnas.

Sivarama Swami, a representative of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, characterized the pressure on Kazakhstan’s Krishna community as a byproduct of intolerance and greed. "[It’s a] land grab," says Sivarama Swami. "Almaty’s expanding like anything. … This is prime land."

The Krishna representative went on to assert that it was in the Kazakhstani government’s best interest to ease the pressure on the Bereke community. "Because President Nazarbayev is really making such a strong bid internationally to promote Kazakhstan as being tolerant from a humanitarian and from a religious point of view, we are hoping that if he comes to know of this at least he can exert his influence," Sivarama Swami said.

Kazakhstan views with suspicion religions described as "non-traditional." The SKC says it has been smeared in the press and accused of turning Kazakhs away from Islam. Since the demolitions, officials have requested information from the community about its financing ­ which members say comes from donations ­ and the national, ethnic and social status of their members, who include foreign and Kazakh citizens.

"I think… actions are being prepared to deprive the community of its legal status," Fokina says. "My assessment is pessimistic."

Sivarama Swami is more circumspect about the outlook for Kazakhstan’s Krishna community. "Should I be optimistic or realistic?" he asks. "I’m worried that it’s bleak. … You hope for the best and plan for the worst. So I’m hoping for the best but I’m going to recommend we plan for the worst."

Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Religious Affairs Department,
A.M. Mukhashov
copies:

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
USA Embassy in RK,
United Kingdoms Embassy in RK,
Netherlands Embassy in RK
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Law Observance,
Almaty Helsinki Committee

Dear Mr. Mukhashov:
I am in due receipt of your invitation to the meeting of the Commission for considering the land issue of the Religious Organization Society for Krishna Consciousness in the Karasai district, Almaty province, scheduled for December 22, 2006 (invitation letter No. 6-1-2/i-903 dated December 15, 2006).
However, on December 16, 2006, I received the decision of the Commission with your signature, which has been distributed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (see the attached copy).
I wish to call your attention to the fact that although I am a member of the named Commission, I have not been invited to take part in rendering this decision and never received an official decision of the Commission. As far as I understand, the independent observers who officially participated in the meetings of the Commission, namely representatives of OSCE, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Law Observance, Almaty Helsinki Committee, have also not received an official copy.
Neither I, nor any other members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness, nor the observers, took part in meetings of the Commission to discuss the results of its investigation, to hear reports of its members, or to draw conclusions and pronounce a decision.
As you know, no decision was announced during the previous meetings of the Commission attended by the members of the Commission and the observers and held on September 7 and 28, 2006, October 1 and 2, 2006. Nonetheless, the attached document seems to indicate that a decision was made without my participation as a member of the Commission.
I would thus ask you to clarify the following questions before the meeting of December 22, 2006:
1.What is this decision?
2.Who made it and when?
3.Why were BB Govinda Swami (a member of the Commission) and the observers not invited to discuss and pronounce the decision?
4.Who discussed the results of the Commission’s investigation and when?
5.What are the documents studied by the Commission? Who studied them and when? What was the result of this study?
6.What are the conclusions of the Commission with respect to the ambulatory meeting and the activities of the Commission in general?
7.Considering the fact that the decision appears to already be made, what is the agenda of the meeting scheduled for December 22, 2006?
The fact that a decision was made in my absence and that governmental bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan distributed the decision of the Commission without having a meeting, raises questions as to the objectivity and fairness of the Commission. As a supposed member of the Commission, I am doubtful about the practical use of holding a meeting to discuss our issue, when you, the Commission’s chairman, have already prepared, signed and distributed the decision.
In light of this ambiguity, I respectfully call on you as the chairman of the Commission to clarify the situation and answer my questions, before the meeting scheduled for December 22, 2006.

Respectfully,
BB Govinda Swami

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org>

After the fining and forcing out from Kazakhstan of a Baptist for taking part in an "illegal" bible study, the Hare Krishna community is preparing to face another court hearing ­ due on 25 December ­ Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Asked whether he expects the next five Hare Krishna homes to be bulldozed after 25 December, a senior state religious affairs official told Forum 18 that "we don't know what the court will decide, but I don't expect so." Previous state assurances given to the Hare Krishna community have been broken. Maksim Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 that the court hearing is "unlikely to be over all in one day, but it's just a matter of time. Our previous experience shows that the decision will not be in our favour," he commented. A state-appointed Commission today (22 December) presented what Krishna devotees describe as a "totally false" version of events, for use as a press release. Human rights activists, who observed the Commission's work, were devastating in their criticism of the way it operated.

The embattled Hare Krishna commune near Almaty, in southern Kazakhstan, is preparing for its next court case, due to be held on 25 December, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. After this court case, five more Hare Krishna-owned homes could be seized and bulldozed. Meanwhile, the conclusion of a government-appointed Commission has shunted responsibility for resolving the dispute back to the local authorities, who remain determined to close down the commune and seize the property.

Asked whether he expects bulldozers to destroy the next five Hare Krishna homes in the wake of the 25 December court case, Serik Niyazbekov, a senior religious affairs official of the Almaty regional Justice Department, responded: "We don't know what the court will decide, but I don't expect so, that's my view," he told Forum 18 from Taldy-Kurgan on 22 December. Previous official assurances of no action, given to the Hare Krishna community, have been broken (see F18News 21 November 2006 < http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=873).

The 25 December hearing will probably be a preliminary hearing, Maksim Varfolomeyev of the Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 from Almaty on 22 December. "It's unlikely to be over all in one day, but it's just a matter of time," he said. "Our previous experience shows that the decision will not be in our favour."

Kazakhstan's religious minorities continue to have their religious freedom violated by the government. In another recent example known to Forum 18, a foreign Baptist was fined the equivalent of three months average salary and forced to leave the country, after taking part in an "illegal" bible discussion ­ despite, as Kazakh law professor Roman Podoprigora noted, no law having been broken by the Baptist or his church (see F18News 12 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=886).

The Sri Vrindavan Dham commune (named after the "beautiful forest of Vrindavan" in India where Krishna spent his youth) in Karasai District is the only Hare Krishna commune in the region. Thirteen homes out of 66 were bulldozed in November, which provoked protests around the world. Lawyers working to defend the commune were intimidated into dropping the case (see F18News 1 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=881).

Niyazbekov of the regional Justice Department said that, under the terms of the earlier court ruling that saw the thirteen Hare Krishna-owned homes bulldozed and confiscated, the property is to be handed back to the Ptitsevod collective from which the devotees bought them. "Something was not right with the way the people bought these houses," Niyazbekov insisted. "But I don't know all the details." He was unable to explain why only Hare Krishna-owned homes have been affected.

A further threat to the partially-demolished commune is state attempts to try to de-register the Hare Krishna community (see F18News 8 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=885).

Gauhar Halil at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in Astana told Forum 18 on 13 December that the offer to help resolve the situation from the Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) is with the Religion Committee at the Justice Ministry and that "unfortunately" it has not yet responded (see F18News 8 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=885).

Halil added that the representatives of the OSCE office in Almaty were due to meet the Hakim (administration head) of Karasai district, Bolat-bi Kutpanov, on 15 December. However, Hare Krishna sources told Forum 18 on 22 December that this meeting has still not taken place as Kutpanov will not schedule the meeting.

Hare Krishna devotees have suspected for some time that a state-appointed Commission on the issue was designed to divert criticism, not to resolve the problem of the state's attacks on the commune's religious freedom (see F18News 17 November 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=872).

Today (22 December) the Commission held a meeting for what Mukhashov described as "discussion of the results of the Commission's work". In addition to state representatives, those present were Hare Krishna representatives, a member of the OSCE office in Almaty, and Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee.

Hare Krishna sources told Forum 18 that the meeting was presented with the Commission's previously circulated Conclusions. In addition, the meeting was also given what the Hare Krishna community describes as a "totally false" version of events, which the authorities announced that they would use as a press release.

Gaukhar Beyeseyeva, an official of the Cultural and Humanitarian Co-operation with International Organisations Department of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, addressed the meeting. She read a letter from the Foreign Ministry to the Justice Ministry which claimed that the Society for Krishna Consciousness had tried to prevent Kazakhstan from becoming OSCE Chairman-in-Office in 2009 and conducted a "campaign" involving "political, media and social organisations" against Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's attacks on the Hare Krishna community have been strongly criticised by the OSCE Advisory Panel on religious freedom (see F18News 1 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=881). Other breaches of the country's international human rights obligations have been strongly criticised by a variety of international organisations (see F18News 29 June 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806).

The Hare Krishna community told Forum 18 that the Foreign Ministry presented the Commission's conclusions to diplomats from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. "One interesting point," the Hare Krishna community noted, "is that when the document was presented to representatives of different government it was an undated and unsigned document. And the Kazakh government alleges that the document was prepared prior to the demolition. This contradicts the statements of the Commission who told us immediately prior to the demolition that the work was still in progress."

None of the Commission's Conclusions addressed the key question of why the local authorities have moved only against Hare Krishna-owned homes, while other neighbouring homes which were apparently privatised in exactly the same way have not been touched. "From one angle it looks as if an earthquake has hit the village. From another, it is obvious that whatever the disaster, it picked its victims carefully," Natalia Anteleva of the BBC, who visited the site on 11 December, reported. "In pristine snow by a shimmering lake, the ruins of 13 houses lie scattered amid the untouched cottages of their neighbours."

Two human rights activists who were formal observers in the Commission's work were devastating in their criticism of the way it operated. Yevgeny Zhovtis of the Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights and Law Observance and Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee complained on 14 December that "the authorities have shown no real desire to look into the essence of the conflict and find a mutually beneficial, intelligent and just solution" for the Krishna community. "Furthermore," they continued, "the authorities constantly tried to avoid discussing the legal aspects of the issue, although the justice of the court decisions against the Krishna devotees is very doubtful" (see eg. F18News 24 November 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=876).

Zhovtis and Fokina noted that their impression was that the authorities are trying "to defend all their decisions, and that the main goal of the Commission was not to find the truth." The main goal of the Commission, from the observations of meetings by these two respected human rights activists, was "to prove by any means, even by "organising" public opinion, that the Society for Krishna Consciousness is not right and that there is no direct or indirect religious discrimination."

Forum 18 has seen a copy of the Commission's Conclusions ­ undated but signed by Amanbek Mukhashov, the head of the Religious Affairs Committee at the Justice Ministry in the capital Astana. The Conclusions call on the head of the local administration to observe the law, not to allow mistakes in privatising land and to verify the way previous sites were privatised. They call on the Hare Krishna community to ask the local authorities for land to build a temple, to conduct religious ceremonies in accordance with the law.

They also call for the Hare Krishna to maintain what the document calls an "objective presentation of the existing problems" when talking to local authorities, the media and international organisations - without stating what lies behind the accusation it implies. No call is made for the Kazakh authorities to stop claiming that the demolition and attack on the Hare Krishna community's religious freedom is not a religious freedom violation (see eg. F18News 1 December 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=881).

The community ­ but not the authorities ­ are also told by the Commission to resolve the dispute with the cooperative that had owned the land "in accordance with the law". It urges the Justice Department and the Religious Affairs Committee of Almaty Region to exercise "constant control" over the way local authorities, religious communities and individuals observe the Religion Law.

Legal restrictions on religious freedom have been increased by the authorities, through "extremism" and "national security" legal amendments (see the F18News Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701). (END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=564

For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh

DECISION of the Commission for investigation of the land issue of the Religious Organization “Society for Krishna Consciousness” in the Karasai district of Almaty province

Having studied the current situation connected with land disputes of the Religious Organization (hereinafter - RO) “Society for Krishna Consciousness” in the Karasai district of the Almaty province and having listened to members of the producers’ cooperative (hereinafter - PC) “Horticultural Association Ptitsevod,” PC “Horticultural Association Priozerye,” members of RO “Society for Krishna Consciousness” as well as representatives of the Karasai District Hakimat, territorial bodies of land resources management of Almaty province and Mr. B.B. Govinda Swami, the coordinator of RO “Society for Krishna Consciousness” in Central Asia, the Commission decided:

1. To recommend the Hakim of the Karasai district:
1) To solve disputable points on the usage of land plots and
summer cottages on the territory of the Eltai rural district in accordance with the procedures established by the legislation of RK;
2) To take measures to exclude defects in the future work for the privatization of land plots in the Eltai rural district and the control over abidance by the requirements of land legislation and architectural and town-planning legislation of RK;
3) To continue the previously suspended privatization of cottages and horticultural plots of land taking into account the requirements of land legislation and architectural and town-planning legislation of RK;

2. To recommend the management of RO “Society of Krishna Consciousness”:
1) To appeal to the local executive authorities of the Karasai district in accordance with the procedures established by legislation for allotment of a land plot to construct a place of worship;
2) To carry out public worship, religious rites and ceremonies according to the requirements of the Law of RK “On the Freedom of Faith and Religious Associations.”
3) To present the problems of cooperation with the local authorities objectively while appealing to governmental bodies, international organizations and mass media.
3. To recommend the members of RO “Society for Krishna Consciousness” and PC “Horticultural Association Priozerye” that any disputable issues on the usage of land plots and cottages on the territory of the Eltai rural district of the Karasai district should be resolved in the order established by the legislation of RK.

4. To recommend that the Department of Justice of Almaty province and the Committee for Connections with Religious Organizations of the Almaty Provincial Hakimat should take into consideration the current situation and continuously control the observance of the law on the freedom of faith and religious associations by local bodies, religious associations, and other legal and physical entities in the Karasai district.

Chairman of the Commission (signed) A. Mukhashov

CONTRA-ARGUMENTS TO STATEMENTS OF KAZAKH GOVERNMENT REGARDING LEGAL GROUNDS FOR BULLDOZING KRISHNA COMMUNITY AT KARASAI DISTRICT

Kazakhstan Government states: “As a matter of fact, ISKCON as a religious association doesn’t own the land.”

ISKCON: Originaly the land of 47.7 hectares was purchased by members of ISKCON in 1999 in the Karasai district of Almaty, 40 km from the Almaty city. As laws changed members of ISKCON were able to privatize the land in the spring of 2004. ISKCON as organization purchased the land later in 2004. According to the Supreme Court of Republic of Kazakhstan, ruling No.3a-61/2-05 June 30, 2005, ISKCON has a right of land use. It is confirmed by the ruling of the RK Supreme Court that ISKCON is a bona fide land user and purchaser of the land plots at issue. This ruling has never been cancelled. According to the law of Kazakhstan it is still in force and cannot be overruled by lower courts’ decisions. Significantly, the Supreme Court ruled that the land in question “is given to the Religious Organization Society for Krishna Consciousness” with the right of full private ownership arising upon registration of the land. However, the local government froze all transactions on the property such that proper registration could not take place.

Kazakhstan Government states: ”The right for land use was acquired by members of ISKCON illegally in 1999 by arbitrarily changing its functional purpose in violation of the Farming Law of Kazakhstan.”

ISKCON: First, there is no Farming Law in the legislative system of Kazakhstan. In the court practice of the RK questions regulating violations of the legislation in the sphere of land use are considered by the court exclusively on the basis of the Land Code of RK dated June 20, 2003, and the Code of Administrative Infractions of January 20, 2001.

Second, members of ISKCON were conducting all the transactions with the land strictly according to the Legislation of Kazakhstan, with full approval of the government authorities.

Third, the issue of a forgery committed at the time of entering into the contract of sale-puchase in 1999 was not confirmed by the legal bodies of the RK. There was no ruling of the criminal court in regard to the persons that made this contract (because such actions are subject to criminal prosecution and punishment). Not only the fact of forgery was not established, but it had never been proved that these were the members of the community who commited it, let alone the community. In this case according to presumption of innocence no one can accuse ISKCON in breaking the Law.

Forth, the government’s attempts to find discrepancies, forgeries, or improper filing in the actions of the previous owners of the land are irrelevant here; the Krishna followers were bona fide purchasers of the land, who bought and privatized the land in good faith.

Kazakhstan Government states: “ISKCON utilized it (land) purely for religious functions”.

ISKCON: The land is used for agricultural purposes. Members of ISKCON grow vegetables, wheat, barley, and alfalfa, cultivate a large apple orchard, and take care of a herd of 32 cows. ISKCON members practice their religious functions at the office of the Society, where ISKCON is legally registered and has maintained a legal address since 2002. According to Religious Law, Article 12, religious organizations are allowed to conduct their religious worship and ceremonies at their offices.

Kazakhstan Government states: “Without due process and permission of the Department of Architecture and Construction Control and without any approval of fire, sanitary, ecological safety government authorities, ISKCON members made structural changes on the land.”

ISKCON: Architectural, fire, sanitary, ecological, and safety violations cannot be grounds for confiscation of property and liquidation of a religious organization. The Land Code of RK stipulates that plots of land may be confiscated if they are used contrary to their functional purpose, however claims to confiscate land may only be run after the measures of administrative punishment were taken according to section 253 of the Code of Administrative Infractions (a fine or a warning), and the owner was notified in writing about the necessity of the elimination of the RK legislation’s violations. Such notification should be made at least three months before filing a claim. The claim may (only) be filed if the owner does not correct the infractions during the three month period.

There was not one administrative prescription or case brought against ISKCON and its members. Rather the government started filing civil cases on confiscation of the property of ISKCON and individual plots of ISKCON members.
Kazakhstan Government states: ”In 2005 yet again without necessary authorization, they started laying the foundation of a temple which has not been built. The ISKCON members have not obeyed requirements of the land and Town Development authorities and have not responded to the latter’s numerous demands to follow the legal procedure and rectify the violations.”

ISKCON: There was an attempt to construct a temple on the property in 2004. Following the advice of local government authorities to begin construction immediately while applying for permission (so as not to waste time), members began laying a foundation for the temple. However, as soon as construction began the same government authorities brought an administrative case against the community for having started illegal construction. ISKCON members were shocked by the change, but complied with local authorities and demolished the foundation. That was done as an act of goodwill by ISKCON without numerous demands, as officials have claimed.

Officials dissemble that the court ruling on the land of 47.7 hectares is not based on the law of Kazakhstan. The decision to consider the transaction of 1999 null and void without any legal ground confiscates land plot from previous owner to government ownership. It makes us think that officials have already made a scheme to sell the land again to affiliated new buyer.

Kazakhstan Government states that there is also a court dispute regarding 63 houses, which belong to members of ISKCON and which are located close to ISKCON land.

ISKCON: Kazakh officials dissemble that there are title documents issued for the whole compound by Soviet regime authorities, which are accepted by current authorities as successors of Soviet regime. (The State Act for the plot of land with the total area of 12.2 ha [State Act AL No.696] and the decision of the Executive Committee of the Kaskelen District Soviet of People’s Deputies of the Almaty region No.17-687 dated September 7, 1988, and the decision of the Kaskelen District Administration No.4-1033 of April 26, 1993).

Kazakhstan Government states: “Giving a long list of flagrant violations and failture to rectify them, the local authorities refused to process the ISKCON’s request for privatization of horticultural plots”

ISKCON: Kazakh officials dissemble that local authorities selectively stopped privatization of houses and land plots to members of ISKCON and requested written confirmation about their confession. The “long list of fragrant violations” has never existed. Officials have never admit the fact that they have never officially rejected applications for privatization of ISKCON members; moreover they filed claims to court instead of officially reviewing the privatization requests.

Kazakhstan Government states: “Kazakh citizens again use these lands and cottages not for assigned purpose of horticulture, but for religious rituals and congregations”.

ISKCON: It seems that Kazakh officials have forgotten about the right to pray and worship in private places: such rights are not restricted by the Constitution of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan Government states: “…while fencing the area, ISKCON members illegally occupied more than 10.0-hectare land”.

ISKCON: This accusation has no grounds and proves that local government provides highly posted officials with completely wrong information.

The only accusation which could be considered to be true concerns repairing (and in two cases reconstruction) of the houses, but the penalty for that is only a fine for reconstruction or maximum demolition but never confiscation of the land.

According to Sec. 238 of the Code of Administrative Infractions, alteration or refit of dwellings only incurs a fine.

According to Sec. 237 of the Code of Administrative Infractions, unauthorized construction without a license received in the established order incurs a fine, either with demolition or without. The land plot isn’t confiscated.

Kazakhstan Government states: “Local residents are disturbed by mass congregations, loud religious music, and singing throughout the night. According to the laws of the country, it is strictly prohibited to disturb residential areas after 23:00”

ISKCON: All accusations regarding mass congregations, loud religious music, and singing throughout the night are false; there were no police records to support this. The same with the accusation of an “aggressive missionary campaign to join the Society which is not to the liking of inhabitants of the area.” Members of ISKCON live a simple life: they go to bed early and wake up early for morning meditation; they don’t drink alcohol, they don’t smoke, and they don’t take drugs. In reality local residents are very happy to have Hare Krishnas as their neighbors because of the peace and cleanliness they brought to the area.

Local authorities are spreading rumors in the area and say openly that their purpose is banishment of ISKCON members and cancellation of registration of Almaty region Society for Krishna Consciousness as a legal entity.

Kazakhstan Government states: “The Inter-Agency Commission considers this dispute to be a civil case and not a religious one”

ISKCON:
07/09/ 2006: The commission was established in the capital by Religious Committee of Ministry of Justice to deal with the “land issues” of ISKCON in Kazakhstan.
Commission originated from Department of Ministry; the Commission had no power to change court rulings and the conflict in general.
Muslim and Russian Orthodox Church were invited by government to be members of the Commission despite the objections of Human Rights observers and ISKCON.
The chairman of the Commission refused ISKCON’s lawyers permission to participate in the work of the Commission. Only after long and heated discussions were the lawyers allowed to participate.
01/10/2006: The Commission arrived at the ISKCON Community.
Among appointed members only the Chairman and General Prosecutor’s officer were present.
The local Hakimat brought 4 Kazakh television channels and bussed in unrelated villagers to scream in front of the cameras. The area of the entire farm was surrounded by a police division. The chairman of the Commission said this was done with his approval.
02/10/2006: A concluding meeting of the Commission took place in Karasai District Hakimat. The final statement of the chairman of the Commission read: “There has been an investigation and there is no sign of religious discrimination.”
There has never been a dialogue established between members of the Commission and ISKCON.
Members of the Commission appointed in Astana were not present at the sessions in Karasai District.
Consequently the final decision was made without members of the Commission developing their case. It was done singlehandedly by the chairman of the Commission and the plaintiffs, which was not fair at all.
The Commission didn’t take into consideration the opinion of the Human Rights observers, who considered the case to be one of religious discrimination.
Observing the work of the Commission from the time it was established, the Human Rights observers considered the Commission itself to be an obvious demonstration of the religious discrimination.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
http://www.forum18.org/

The right to believe, to worship and witness,
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

8 December 2006
KAZAKHSTAN: NEW THREAT TO DE-REGISTER PARTIALLY DEMOLISHED HARE KRISHNA COMMUNITY
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=885
In a new threat from Kazakhstan to the Hare Krishna commune it has partially demolished, moves appear to be underway to de-register the community Forum 18 News Service has learnt. During an “unofficial” visit to the commune by four regional religious affairs officials following orders from the capital Astana, highly intrusive questions were asked in an attempt to persuade the community to seek re-registration - even though there is no legal basis for this official demand. The leader of the visit was unable to explain to Forum 18 why he asked questions that are irrelevant to merely gaining legal status, and refused to explain who had organised the visit and for what purpose. Kazakhstan has made no reply to the OSCE’s Advisory Council on religious freedom’s 27 November statement that it is “deeply concerned” by the state’s actions and has not responded to the Council’s offer of help. The commune’s demolition has caused worldwide protests, even sparking a video montage of footage of the demolition and apparent remarks of the fictional character Borat.

December 7th, 2006

Another day in Delhi visiting Ministers and Parliamentary representatives — this time we couldn’t help but notice the extremes in Indian government and in the personalities who represent it….but that’s possibly a whole other story (and one that Indradyumna Swami is very keen to tell in his Diary of a Travelling Preacher). For the time being, I can only say that visiting one MP who was surrounded by so much firepower was a unique experience. Even the seating arrangements in his lounge were such that to my right was an armed guard on the chair next to me, and to the left, next to Dhruva prabhu, another armed guard who was only too keen to show Dhruva his “toy.” I’ve said often that the person we met with on any particular day was “powerful” or “influential,” but this one beat them hands down in his own unique (and very Indian) style.

(picture on page)
Ramkanth Yadav, MP

His name was Ramakanth Yadav, from Somajwadi Party. He was very definitely in the “personality” league. He took a personal interest in all of us, asking many questions about where we were each from, about temples in different countries, what our religious backgrounds were, etc. He loved it when Dhruva started speaking Hindi, and seemed to really like the fact that we’d come to visit him and ask his assistance.

(picture on page)
Indradyumna Swami meets a new friend…

He was voted by the team our favorite so far; Indradyumna Maharaja was particularly inspired by the amount of weaponry on display, and commented that we should have perhaps considered such a style ourselves and saved a lot of time :) On the way home, Maharaja said, “Did you get a photo of the weapons, Braja?” Sorry to say I didn’t…but trust me, they were big. And there were plenty of them. This country might be under the sway of Western materialism, but in so many respects India maintains it’s particular style of doing things, and when it comes to situations like this, one can only appreciate that style when it’s utilized for the right reasons. Mr. Yadav is indeed a person who invokes fear and respect from so many, and has the ability to sway things to our favor in Parliament. He said he would bring the topic for discussion in Parliament tomorrow. That’s a guaranteed statement.

Prior to that we met with Mr. Brajesh Patack, another MP who committed to raising the topic for discussion tomorrow, and we also met with Dr Sharma, who was on his way to a meeting with the Speaker of the House, Sonia Gandhi, our friend Mr. Advani (Leader of the Opposition), and several others. It was too good an opportunity to pass up: so Mahamantra prabhu rang Mr. Advani and asked if he could talk to the Speaker, Mr. Chatterjee. We then quickly faxed him for an appointment tomorrow, and are still awaiting an answer, but it looks good. And tomorrow we’re meeting Sonia Gandhi.

So one might ask what the upshot of all these meetings is: the answer is to get as much support across the board as possible, from all sections of Parliament — government, ministers, opposition, other parties — so that they support it in discussion when it’s raised. If we have powerful people all moving to act on this issue on the grounds of human rights abuse and religious intolerance, it puts the issue in a different category than the one being pushed by the Kaz govt, which is some “little Hare Krishna land problem.” This intense week of meeting after meeting culminates tomorrow with these two last, very important appointments. After that, we can really do no more: Parliament will vote to make an international statement on the issue. This is important, as India is a huge democratic nation represented by so many varied religions, but all will speak in favor of the Hare Krishna situation. It’s a wonderful opportunity, and we’re asking for the prayers of everyone worldwide that the result is a good one.

Good news today, though: a representative from the British Embassy in Kazakhstan visited the property and surveyed the destruction, and spoke at length with devotees. They offered their assistance, and said our lawyers could approach their lawyers for direction and guidance. It’s a bold and welcome move by the British Government, after the US Embassy statement yesterday.

Two great news stories today; one from the UK Times, go to the link or read it below; the other from Kazakhstan Online…..go to the link or read it below the Times report:

BORAT’S NATION SEEKS LEADING ROLE IN EUROPE

from David Charter in Brussels

- Kazakhstan in Bid to Chair OSCE

- Backing in EU for Supplier of Energy

BRUSSELS: An audacious attempt by Borat’s home country to win the chairmanship of an international body that champions free elections and human rights has left Britain and America in a real-life dispute with much of Europe.

Kazakhstan, the Central Asian republic lampooned in Sacha Baron Cohen’s film, is seeking support for its bid to chair the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009.

The bid is backed by many European states, including France, which highlights Kazakhstan’s strategic importance as an alternative to Russia as a supplier of energy to the EU. Kazakhstan holds, potentially, a quarter of the future energy needs of the EU in largely undeveloped reserves.

However, at a two-day OSCE summit in Brussels yesterday, Britain and the US made it clear that they believe the country is not yet ready to lead the organisation of European and Central Asian states.

The OSCE criticised last year’s elections in Kazakhstan — in which Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President since the country won independence from Russia in 1991, won 91 per cent of the vote.

Yesterday in Brussels Mr Nazarbayev told foreign ministers, including Geoff Hoon, teyh British Europe Minister, that his country deserved to become the first from its troubled region to chair the 56-member OSCE.

He said that his country had made progress in modernising its economy and liberalising society. “We have been a fully fledged member of this organisation since 1997 and we have achieved impressive results in economic success and the liberalisation of society which have been recognised in the world,” he said. “In a world full of war and bloodshed based on religious reasons, Kazakhstan enjoys peace and co-existence between a population of 130 nationalities and

46 religions. I think it is a very valuable experience that might be shared by the OSCE.”

British officials, however, pointed to the harassment of journalists and opposition politicians as well as a recent police raid on a Hare Krishna community as reasons why Kazakhstan was not yet ready. The Hare Krishna raid was criticised by the OSCE. Only last month a spokesman said: “The advisory council expresses deep concern about the news of demolition of the houses belonging to the Hare Krishna community and calls on the Kazakh authorities to stop further demolition work and provide humanitarian aid to those citizens whose houses have been destroyed.”

One British source said: “In future we are in favour of a Central Asian chair of the OSCE but obviously any chair of the organisation has got to exemplify the principles and commitments of the OSCE.”

The decision requires unanimous consent and under a compromise put forward by the US Kazakhstan would be given the chairmanship for 2011 with a series of benchmarks for further internal reforms. But this is meeting stiff resistance from Mr Nazarbayev. Standing next to José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, Mr Nazarbayev yesterday even claimed the support of the whole EU for his case, saying: “We appreciate the support of the EU to the bid by Kazakhstan to become chairman of the OSCE in 2009.”

This forced Mr Barroso to make a rather awkward clarification.

“The European Commission has no position in that matter,” he said, trying to laugh off the correction.

BORAT MAKES VIDEO ON DEMOLITION OF KRISHNA COMMUNITY NEAR ALMATY

Kazakhstan today, ALMATY.

A video on the demolition of Krishna community near Almaty and comments by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev appeared on the Internet, Kazakhstan Today reports.ALMATY. A video on the demolition of Krishna community near Almaty and comments by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev appeared on the Internet, Kazakhstan Today reports.The authors of the video “Borat: Kazakhstan - Is it just a funny movie?” compiled documentary cadres of the Kazakhstan Today reports and a speech by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev to TV reporters.ALMATY. A video on the demolition of Krishna community near Almaty and comments by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev appeared on the Internet, Kazakhstan Today reports.The authors of the video “Borat: Kazakhstan - Is it just a funny movie?” compiled documentary cadres of the Kazakhstan Today reports and a speech by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev to TV reporters.The speech on religious tolerance in Kazakhstan by Borat is accompanied by chronicles of the demolition showing people in civilian clothes driving the community members out of their houses together with police and having their houses demolished. “Shame on you, - the authors comment: - It is not funny anymore”. ALMATY. A video on the demolition of Krishna community near Almaty and comments by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev appeared on the Internet, Kazakhstan Today reports.The authors of the video “Borat: Kazakhstan - Is it just a funny movie?” compiled documentary cadres of the Kazakhstan Today reports and a speech by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev to TV reporters.The speech on religious tolerance in Kazakhstan by Borat is accompanied by chronicles of the demolition showing people in civilian clothes driving the community members out of their houses together with police and having their houses demolished. “Shame on you, - the authors comment: - It is not funny anymore”.Another video - “Borat Hare Krishna” - shows the British comedian playing a Sitar and running around night city streets singing “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”. ALMATY. A video on the demolition of Krishna community near Almaty and comments by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev appeared on the Internet, Kazakhstan Today reports.The authors of the video “Borat: Kazakhstan - Is it just a funny movie?” compiled documentary cadres of the Kazakhstan Today reports and a speech by the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev to TV reporters.The speech on religious tolerance in Kazakhstan by Borat is accompanied by chronicles of the demolition showing people in civilian clothes driving the community members out of their houses together with police and having their houses demolished. “Shame on you, - the authors comment: - It is not funny anymore”.Another video - “Borat Hare Krishna” - shows the British comedian playing a Sitar and running around night city streets singing “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”.Sonya Chopra, representative of the Hinduist Jainist Temple Association in Washington, called the demolition “an evil deed”. “The demolition of houses of innocent Hinduists - is an evil deed. The falsity of the Kazakh government has become obvious: nobody valuing the freedom of conscience should respect it,” - Sonya Chopra said in a statement circulated by the US office of the international “Krishna Conscience Society”.

The Krishna Conscience Community acquired a land plot in Karasai District, Almaty region, in 1999. The local authorities filed a lawsuit against the community in 2005 for a change in the purpose of use of the acquired land plot. Recently the authorities demolished 14 houses belonging to the religious community.

Here is the footage of Sivarama Swami’s interview with the BBC in Kazakhstan. Thanks Ravi for sending in this link…download here, and watch on Real player if possible; apparently Windows Media viewer doesn’t work for it.

The call is contained in a statement released today by the U.S. Embassy in Astana.

The statement questions the legal basis of a Kazakh court ruling ordering the destruction of the Sri Vrindavan Dham, a sprawling farming commune near Almaty.

Sri Vrindavan Dham is the only Hare Krishna commune in the CIS.

Kazakh police on November 21 began to bulldoze the residential buildings and other property of Hare Krishna followers.

Judicial authorities say the land on which the commune is built was acquired illegally. They reject suggestions that Hare Krishna followers are being persecuted on religious grounds.

Experts advising the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on religion issues on November 27 expressed concern at the demolition work and offered to mediate between Kazakh authorities and commune members.

(Kazakhstan Today, AP)

US EMBASSY URGES KAZAKH AUTHORITIES TO END HARASSMENT OF HARE KRISHNAS
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?p=484
The Associated Press

Published: December 7, 2006

ALMATY, Kazakhstan: The United States on Thursday urged Kazakhstan’s authorities to end what it called an “aggressive” campaign against the country’s tiny Hare Krishna community.

The U.S. Embassy said it had “several concerns” regarding the legal basis for the demolition last month of Hare Krishna’s 13 summer houses outside the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty.

In April, Kazakh courts found the Hare Krishna members guilty of illegally acquiring land and ordered that the houses be destroyed and the land confiscated.

“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 said in a statement.

Laborers with crowbars and bulldozers destroyed the community’s 13 country houses at their farm on Nov. 21, while police prevented community members from interfering.

The Hare Krishna community denies breaking property laws and says it is a victim of religious intolerance.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement after the demolitions that the move “suggests they have been targeted on the basis of their religious affiliation.”

The U.S. Embassy urged the Karasai district authorities who were behind the legal action against the Hare Krishna community “to refrain from any further aggressive actions … and to work toward a fair, lawful, and peaceful resolution of the ongoing legal dispute.”

Kazakh authorities have long been seen as being more tolerant of other religions than other governments in mostly Muslim ex-Soviet Central Asia, but in recent years they have tightened laws governing religious organizations, citing concerns about Islamic extremism.

December 2nd, 2006

By Braja Sevaki Devi Dasi

We met late Saturday afternoon with Mr. K. Padmanabhais, advisor to the Prime Minister and former Chief Minister of Home Affairs. He helped Indradyumna Swami years back with Poland, and he remembered Maharaja from that time. He asked immediately about the legal situation of the property in Kaz. Naturally this is something that comes up first with everyone we meet with, and the responses from both Govinda Maharaja and Rati Manjari are really sharp, to the point, and leave our hosts in no doubt that the Kaz government is out of order.

Govinda Maharaja gave Mr. Padmanabhais a brief history of the Kaz situation, and he was sympathetic and said he would speak with the Prime Minister, and also the Foreign Affairs Minister. He said he would also speak with Mr. Advani, whom we met this morning, and see “what is on his mind.”

Govinda Maharaja told Mr. Padmanabhais, “The US Panel of Human Rights issued a condemnation of the Kaz government’s actions; Britain is also objecting. Now we want our motherland, India, to help.” Mr. Padmanabhais accepted this and seemed to appreciate very much Govinda Maharaja’s delivery. As Mr.Padmanabhais finished watching the video, Maharaja said to him, “You can strip away the name of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or whatever else you want to say, but when you’re bulldozing houses and leaving women and children in the snow, that is a gross violation of the most basic human rights.”

Kazakhstan: USCIRF Denounces Demolition of Hare Krishna Property and Moves Against Religious Freedom
http://www.uscirf.gov/mediaroom/press/2006/november/20061130Kazakhstan.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Angela Stephens, Assistant November 30, 2006 Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 114

Commission meets with President Georde W. Bush
Kazakhstan: USCIRF Denounces Demolition of Hare Krishna Property and Moves Against Religious Freedom; Calls on the U.S. Government to Reject Kazakhstan’s Bid to Become OSCE Chair in 2009

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent federal agency, is concerned about actions taken by authorities in Kazakhstan that fail to live up to international standards of religious freedom. “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,” said Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the Commission.

“In view of Kazakhstan’s deteriorating record of respect for human rights and religious freedom, the Commission calls on the U.S. government to oppose the current bid by Kazakhstan to become the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chair in 2009, and to protest the various actions undertaken by the government of Kazakhstan which fall short of its international obligations to respect freedom of religion or belief.” Commission Chair Gaer continued. “Such a bid should only be considered at next week’s OSCE Ministerial in Brussels if Kazakhstan takes immediate verifiable steps to implement its OSCE human rights pledges, including on freedom of religion or belief.”

On November 21, 2006, Kazakh riot police reportedly demolished 13 of the 66 homes owned and occupied by members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness in their agricultural community outside the city of Almaty. A spokesman for the Hare Krishna community expressed concern that their temple may also be slated for destruction. Although Kazakh officials claim that the dispute is purely economic in nature, only homes owned by Hare Krishna members were destroyed.

During the raid, two buses of riot police closed off all access to the site. Police also launched a news blockade about the action; a camera was confiscated and officials from the OSCE Center in Almaty were prevented from reaching the farm. This was not the first time Kazakh authorities have tried to confiscate this religious community’s land. In April 2006, Kazakh authorities had tried to bulldoze the homes belonging to the Hare Krishnas, but retreated in the presence of journalists.

This time, the houses were demolished, although the Hare Krishna community had been told that no action would be taken before the report of a state Commission set up to resolve the dispute was made public.

The demolition of the Hare Krishna-owned houses occurred on the same day that President Nursultan Nazarbayev was in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair seeking his support for Kazakhstan’s bid to be the OSCE chairman-in-office in 2009. In London, some 10,000 members of Britain’s Hindu community protested the demolition of the Hare Krishna property in Kazakhstan.

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. These developments include:

– In July 2005, President Nazarbayev amended the “national security” law requiring all religious groups to register with the government. Activity by unregistered religious organizations is banned. Although most groups do not report difficulties in obtaining registration, the pre-2005 Kazakhstan Law on Religious Associations did not require a religious community to register with the state. Only 10 signatures were needed to register a religious association.

– In February 2005, President Nazarbayev signed new legislation on extremist activity by granting increased oversight authority to a state agency. According to the OSCE, these anti-extremism measures lack a clear definition of “extremism” and could be arbitrarily applied to religious and other groups.

– Beginning in late 2004, Kazakh authorities took measures to increase control over mosques and imams in south Kazakhstan who want to remain independent of the state.

– Baptists, Pentecostals and other Protestant Christians have been subjected to heavy fines for unregistered religious activity in the past year. State institutions, including schools, actively discourage children from attending religious services, particularly in the case of Protestants.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of
freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international
instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the
President, Secretary of State, and Congress.
Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov

Felice D. Gaer, Chair Michael Cromartie, Vice Chair Elizabeth H.
Prodromou, Vice Chair Nina Shea, Vice Chair
Preeta D. Bansal Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Khaled Abou El Fadl
Richard D. Land
Bishop Ricardo Ramirez Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio
Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

800 NORTH CAPITOL STREET, NW SUITE 790 WASHINGTON, DC 20002 202-523-3240
202-523-5020 (FAX)

Subject: Kazakhstan: USCIRF Denounces Demolition of Hare Krishna Property and Moves Against Religious Freedom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Angela Stephens, Assistant

November 30, 2006

Communications Director,

(202) 523-3240, ext. 114

Kazakhstan: USCIRF Denounces Demolition of Hare Krishna Property and Moves Against Religious Freedom; Calls on the U.S. Government to Reject

Kazakhstan’s Bid to Become OSCE Chair in 2009

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan, independent federal agency, is concerned about actions taken by authorities in Kazakhstan that fail to live up to international standards of religious freedom. “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,” said Felice D. Gaer, Chair of the Commission.

“In view of Kazakhstan’s deteriorating record of respect for human rights and religious freedom, the Commission calls on the U.S. government to oppose the current bid by Kazakhstan to become the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chair in 2009, and to protest the various actions undertaken by the government of Kazakhstan which fall short of its international obligations to respect freedom of religion or belief.” Commission Chair Gaer continued. “Such a bid should only be considered at next week’s OSCE Ministerial in Brussels if Kazakhstan takes immediate verifiable steps to implement its OSCE human rights pledges, including on freedom of religion or belief.”

On November 21, 2006, Kazakh riot police reportedly demolished 13 of the 66 homes owned and occupied by members of the Society for Krishna Consciousness in their agricultural community outside the city of Almaty. A spokesman for the Hare Krishna community expressed concern that their temple may also be slated for destruction. Although Kazakh officials claim that the dispute is purely economic in nature, only homes owned by Hare Krishna members were destroyed.

During the raid, two buses of riot police closed off all access to the site. Police also launched a news blockade about the action; a camera was confiscated and officials from the OSCE Center in Almaty were prevented from reaching the farm. This was not the first time Kazakh authorities have tried to confiscate this religious community’s land. In April 2006, Kazakh authorities had tried to bulldoze the homes belonging to the Hare Krishnas, but retreated in the presence of journalists.

This time, the houses were demolished, although the Hare Krishna community had been told that no action would be taken before the report of a state Commission set up to resolve the dispute was made public.

The demolition of the Hare Krishna-owned houses occurred on the same day that President Nursultan Nazarbayev was in London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair seeking his support for Kazakhstan’s bid to be the OSCE chairman-in-office in 2009. In London, some 10,000 members of Britain’s Hindu community protested the demolition of the Hare Krishna property in Kazakhstan.

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. These developments include:

– In July 2005, President Nazarbayev amended the “national security” law requiring all religious groups to register with the government. Activity by unregistered religious organizations is banned. Although most groups do not report difficulties in obtaining registration, the pre-2005 Kazakhstan Law on Religious Associations did not require a religious community to register with the state. Only 10 signatures were needed to register a religious association.

– In February 2005, President Nazarbayev signed new legislation on extremist activity by granting increased oversight authority to a state agency. According to the OSCE, these anti-extremism measures lack a clear definition of “extremism” and could be arbitrarily applied to religious and other groups.

– Beginning in late 2004, Kazakh authorities took measures to increase control over mosques and imams in south Kazakhstan who want to remain independent of the state.

– Baptists, Pentecostals and other Protestant Christians have been subjected to heavy fines for unregistered religious activity in the past year. State institutions, including schools, actively discourage children from attending religious services, particularly in the case of Protestants.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

Visit our Web site at http://www.uscirf.gov

Felice D. Gaer, Chair Michael Cromartie, Vice Chair Elizabeth H.

Prodromou, Vice Chair Nina Shea, Vice Chair

Preeta D. Bansal Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Khaled Abou El Fadl

Richard D. Land

Bishop Ricardo Ramirez Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio

Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

800 NORTH CAPITOL STREET, NW SUITE 790 WASHINGTON, DC 20002 202-523-3240

202-523-5020 (FAX)

11:25am Kaz time: BBC and RADIO FREE PRESS are there just now filming and interviewing.

29th Update on Kaz
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?p=377
November 29th, 2006 Magyar editor

From Mumbai Rati Manjari writes:

“We resolved to hold an urgent press conference tomorrow in the presence of all RGB members. Suradas expects a large turnout. We created an action committee of Basu Gosh, Gopal Krsna, Suradas and Brajendranath. A resolution was passed agreeing to concentrated effort to help in numerous ways. And after a pitch IDS made for financial help we got almost 40,000 USD in pledges  ”

A 6000-strong contingent of protesters is taking to the streets today in a protest organized by Mayapur management. Bengalis are great and seasoned protesters! Management yesterday arranged a bus to transport devotees from Mayapur who wanted to participate, and arranged accommodation in the guesthouse.

Those who couldn’t take advantage of the bus and stay o/nite had taxis transport them this morning. Mayapur management is holding nothing back; they’re simply “doing the needful” and doing it with style. They have already offered several thousand dollars to Govinda Maharaja, and more is coming. They have also offered to fly in any Kaz devotees who wish to take shelter here, and house them. Actions befitting ISKCON’s World Headquarters management…

Written by Radha Mohan das

Anticipating the arrival of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan at the London Stock Exchange, 200 devotees gathered at 7am this morning. The crowd included ISKCON devotees and well-wishers, including Sudarshan Bhatia of the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK) and Mr CB Patel- - the Editor of the Asian Voice newspaper. Devotees carried banners and placards whilst sombre but lively kirtans ensued. Then, a convoy of chauffeur-driven cars appeared, one of which carried the President of Kazakhstan.

Spotting the convoy, the crowd of devotees surged forward into the courtyard of the main Stock Exchange and the kirtan grew louder as a few devotees shouted the odd slogan. A line of police, taken by surprise, quickly appeared to allow the cars to drive near the main building- - it was very clear that the President was aware of what was happening.

After he was quickly escorted inside the Stock Exchange building, the kirtan continued and then divided into two groups- - one remaining in the courtyard and the other standing by the main road at the other side of the building where most of the office windows were. With the sound of the mrdangas, karatels and singing, it is likely he could hear the protest inside. Meanwhile, several media photographers showed up to take photos of the devotees standing behind their banners. Gauri das thanked all the devotees who has attended the protest, reminding everyone that it is a peaceful demonstration, and also thanked the police. The police were pleased the devotees' behaviour.

KAZ UPDATE: Govinda Maharaja was in Prague yesterday as the guest of the United Nations on the 25th anniversary of their Religious Freedom Office.

The main representative of the UN was very receptive and guaranteed the UN would wirte to the Kaz government next week.

The in charge of the US Jewish Forum for religious freedom would follow the lead of the UN representative.

Today Govinda Maharaja was meeting with other OSCE members to present the case, and he will contact the Cekoslovakian devotees to have a protest tomorrow.

He also has a meeting scheduled Tuesday with the Asian chargé d’affaires of the EU Parliament in Brussels, as well as other Belgian representatives.

We should all pray that Krishna gives Maharaja the strength to respond to the present danger since we have heard that the Kaz government has filed an additional 5 cases against the remaining devotee homes at the farm. Forecast: expect more bulldozers…

WORLD NEWS NETWORK: Photo report on Prime Minister Tony Blair’s objection to Kaz President’s racial actions against Hare Krishna community. http://article.wn.com/view/2006/11/22/UK_protests_against_Kazakh_Hindus_harassment/

FROM INDIA: A news report covering yesterday’s protests in Kolkata. http://www.dailyindia.com/show/85836.php/ISKCON-protests-against-demolition-of-temples-in-Kazakhstan

FROM QATAR: News story from the Arabic state of Qatar on the Kaz situation. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Rest+of+the+World&month=November2006&file=World_News20061123387.xml

View the Video about the community and its struggle HERE http://www.prabhupada.org/rama/?p=3483  (or at http://www.atmayogi.com/?q=node/61)

Entry Filed under: Announcements http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?cat=7

FROM BB GOVINDA MAHARAJA IN DELHI: I have just spoken to BBC World who does a TV programme called Asia Today, which is beamed to 200 countries around the world. They are very interested in interviewing me about Kazakhstan.

BJP President Rajnath Singh told reporters in Delhi that he had sought immediate reaction from the Indian government and suggested that it take up this matter with the government of Kazakhstan to ensure reconstruction of the temple properties.

HH Indradyumna Swami arrives in Delhi on Sunday, and so there will be much kirtan news to share then. Later today devotees once more protest in front of the Kaz Embassy. As Govinda Maharaja reported on yesterday’s podcast, yesterday’s protest was organized by Hindu organizations, and today’s is the devotees….sankirtan yajna ki jai!!!!

PRESS RELEASE FROM BORAT: “Today, we make much benefit for glorious nation of Kazakhastan, by destroy houses in village by use of bull-dozer. Everyone know that ISKCON cult is full of the jews, gypsies and animal haters, and so we clean our nation today. We receive much thanks from all nations for our good works, and many people coming on holidays to make pictures of demolition. They taking turns to operate bull-dozer, as they happy to help make benefit for nation.”

(Full version will be posted as soon as we can find it  )

*  Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev is the creation of British entertainer Sacha Baron Cohen, a comedian with an enthusiastic audience in Britain and America. With his blunt and uncultured representation of all things Kazakh, he has angered Kaz authorities with what they claim is a false portrayal of their country. We all know better…http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=borat&search=Search

http://www.prabhupada.org/rama/?p=3478

November 21, 2006 — A Norwegian-based religious-freedom group reported that authorities in southern Kazakhstan today began the demolition of the only Hare Krishna commune in the former Soviet Union.

Forum 18 quoted a Hare Krishna spokesman, Maksim Varfolomeev, as saying riot police sealed off the 48-hectare farming commune before the bulldozing began.

Eyewitnesses said three homes of Hare Krishna devotees had been destroyed by mid-afternoon and that the windows of all other homes had been smashed.

Forum 18 said an OSCE human rights officer was monitoring developments at the site, which is in the region of Almaty.

The group added that it was snowing in Almaty and that overnight temperatures were expected to drop below freezing.

Forum 18 said the order to demolish the homes was issued by the Karasai District Court, where the commune is based, delivered on November 20, and is being carried out by court executors.

The religious-freedoms group also claimed the demolition “contradicts earlier Kazakh official assurances” that the authorities’ long-running bid to seize the site was on hold, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.

The complex includes 13 residential buildings.

Forum 18 said officials would not respond to questions about why the structures were being demolished.

It quoted a representative of the Hare Krishna community saying that officials had pledged no action would be taken until the results of an official probe into the dispute.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/11/1BC2B4F5-C8D3-4F04-BD3F-D6DA1B012C36.html

KAZAKHSTAN: "The situation could turn out badly for the Krishna followers" By Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service <http://www.forum18.org> Hare Krishna devotees are increasingly sceptical that a state Commission, with the proclaimed aim of resolving a long-running dispute caused by the state's attempts to take over a Hare Krishna commune, will solve the issue, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Ludmila Danilenko, of the state Religious Affairs Committee, told Forum 18 that "the decision that the Commission has reached will be made public shortly." Some suggest that the Commission's real aim was to deflect criticism at the contrast between the state's attacks on religious freedom and its often repeated boasts that it supports religious tolerance. Sources, which preferred to be unnamed, have told Forum 18 of "persistent rumours" that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's brother, Bulat Nazarbayev, wants to acquire the Krishna farm. Amanbek Mukhashev of the Religious Affairs Committee told Forum 18 that if the commune continues, "the situation could turn out badly for the Krishna followers."

Members of the Hare Krishna community are becoming increasingly sceptical that a state Commission will help them save their property from confiscation. The Commission was established in early September, with the proclaimed aim of resolving a long-standing dispute caused by state attempts to take over the commune, near the south-eastern city of Almaty. "It is more than two months since the state Religious Affairs Committee set up the special commission to settle the conflict between the Krishna devotees and the legal authorities," Hare Krishna spokesperson Maxim Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 News Service from Almaty on 15 November. "We have not received a written decision from the Commission. We are very worried at the Commission dragging out the decision." Officials have been unable to tell Forum 18 when the Commission's conclusions will be published.

At the time of the Commission's first meeting, on 8 September, some Kazakh sources suggested that its real aim was to be merely be a "show" to fend off any possible criticism at the government's "Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions." This was designed to bolster the government's often repeated boasts that it supports religious tolerance. Religious minorities who experience the state's policies are sceptical of these boasts (see F18News 8 September 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=839).

The 47.7 hectare (118 acre) farm is the only Hare Krishna commune in the former Soviet Union, and local officials have long tried to close it down (see F18News 19 April 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=764). In April 2006, the authorities made an attempt to bulldoze the commune, but backed off because of the presence of many journalists. However, the authorities vowed to return when the "fuss" had died down (see F18News 26 April 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=769). Some local television stations work with the authorities to encourage intolerance against religious minorities, such as Baptists and Hare Krishna devotees (see F18News 2 June 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=793).

Forum 18 was unable to reach the chairman of the Commission to resolve the conflict with the Krishna devotees Amanbek Mukhashev, who is the deputy chairman of the Justice Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee, as he was on holiday on 15 November. "The Commission to resolve the conflict with the Krishna devotees has done a great deal of work. The decision that the Commission has reached will be made public shortly," Ludmila Danilenko, deputy chair of the Religious Affairs Committee, told Forum 18 from the capital Astana on 15 November. However, Danilenko was unable to name a specific date when the conclusions of the Commission would be published.

Hare Krishna spokesperson Varfolomeyev is concerned at the way the Commission went about its work. "The Commission members visited us at the commune and looked into the conflict on the spot. It is significant that when they spoke to us the Commission members said that it was a purely economic dispute and that religion was not the underlying cause."

Varfolomeyev insists that the conflict does have a clear religious undercurrent. "The people who have dachas who are not Krishna devotees have also not managed to privatise their dachas but nobody is trying to confiscate the dachas from them," he told Forum 18. "It is also significant that when they come to the district authorities to privatise their dachas the first question they are asked is whether they are members of the Krishna commune."

Convincing evidence that the authorities are trying to repress the Krishna devotees' commune, according to Varfolomeyev, is that on the day the Commission was there (1 October) the authorities brought about 20 people by bus from surrounding villages. These people were claimed by the authorities to be dissatisfied with the existence of the Krishna commune. "We had never seen these people before around our farm," he told Forum 18. "According to our information these 'demonstrators' were brought by buses hired by the administration of Keskelen district. The authorities also invited four television channels in order to give the 'protest meeting' credibility."

The chairman of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Yevgeni Zhovtis, has a similar view of events. He confirmed to Forum 18 that the Keskelen district authorities brought so-called "demonstrators" by bus to hold a protest meeting. "It is obvious that the conflict has a religious origin," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 15 November. "When the Krishna devotees appeared in Keskelen district the district authorities were very concerned. I do not deny that the conflict also has a purely economic subtext, but it seems to me that if the land did not belong to the Krishna devotees the problem would probably never have arisen."

Sources that prefer to remain anonymous suggested to Forum 18 that the Krishna devotees' problems could be explained by the fact that Bulat Nazarbayev, the president's brother, wants to buy their land. They point out that the village of Chemulgan, where President Nursultan Nazarbayev was born, is in Keskelen district. "Persistent rumours are going round the district that the president's brother Bulat Nazarbayev wants to get hold of the Krishna farm," one source told Forum 18. "However, it is practically impossible to prove it. Even if Bulat Nazarbayev were to privatise the Krishna farm he would do it through other people."

Mukhashev of the Religious Affairs Committee told Forum 18 on 23 October that the Commission had concluded the conflict surrounding the Hare Krishna farming commune was "a purely economic dispute and that religion was not the underlying cause." However, Mukhashev contradicted himself by adding that "if the Krishna followers carry out agricultural activity as formulated in the land purchase agreement with the local authorities, they will not have any problems. If they go on putting the land to a use that was not intended [by turning the farm into a commune], then the situation could turn out badly for the Krishna followers."

It is the Kazakh authorities' usual practice to attack some religious believers and communities just because of their religious beliefs. In February 2005, Kazakhstan's President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed "extremism" legal amendments, which restricted religious freedom. In July 2005, President Nazarbayev signed "national security" legal amendments, which placed further substantial limitations on religious freedom. Under the "national security" amendments, unregistered religious organisations are banned in Kazakhstan and missionaries have to register with the local authorities (see the F18News Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701).

Baptists and other Protestant Christians are so far bearing the main brunt of fines for unregistered religious activity (see eg. F18News 2 October 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=848).

Similarly, members of the Tabligh Jama'at international Islamic missionary organisation face increased fines across Kazakhstan for trying to give lectures in mosques without state registration (see F18News 14 November 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=868).

This week, South Korean Pastor Kim U Sob, who had been resident in the country and leading a Presbyterian church for 8 years, was expelled on 14 November for "missionary activity without registration." Ironically, the expulsion took place shortly after Pastor Kim was an invited official speaker at a state "Day of Spiritual Unity and Conciliation" ceremony, marking the official claim that "religious people and communities" have "full rights" (see F18News 15 November 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=871).

Some fear that additions being planned by the KNB secret police to the Religion Law will go further and will ban sharing beliefs, as well as all missionary activity (see F18News 24 October 2006 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=859). (END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages national security in Kazakhstan, see eg. F18News http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=564

For more background, see Forum 18's Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=701

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806 and a survey of religious intolerance in Central Asia is at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815.
(Text PAMHO:12585947) --------------------------------------

------- End of Forwarded Message ------

Dehradun, Nov. 23 (PTI): The BJP today condemned the demolition of a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and expressed surprise over government's silence over the issue.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has condemned the demolition of a Krishna temple in Kazakhstan but the Prime Minister of India failed to comment on it, BJP President Rajnath Singh told reporters here.

He sought immediate reaction from the Indian government and suggested that it take up his matter with the government of Kazakhstan to ensure reconstruction of the temple.

On Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit, the BJP President said although Hu had not chosen November 20 as the date of his arrival to India, the date in itself was "humiliating" as on this date in 1962 China had declared unilateral ceasefire.

However, he hoped the government will sort out contentious issues with the Chinese government.

To a question, the BJP president ruled out any alliance in Uttaranchal, asserting that his party was in a very comfortable position in the hill state. Referring to Uttar Pradesh, the former UP Chief Minister said his party will go to the polls with other NDA partners.

Why is Indian Government quiet? The BJP today condemned the demolition of a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan
Media Release
Nov. 23, 2006
                      The BJP today condemned the demolition of a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and expressed surprise over government's silence over the issue.   British Prime Minister Tony Blair has condemned the demolition of a Krishna temple in Kazakhstan but the Prime Minister of India failed to comment on it, BJP President Rajnath Singh told reporters here.   He sought immediate reaction from the Indian government and suggested that it take up his matter with the government of Kazakhstan to ensure reconstruction of the temple.   On Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit, the BJP President said although Hu had not chosen November 20 as the date of his arrival to India, the date in itself was "humiliating" as on this date in 1962 China had declared unilateral ceasefire.   However, he hoped the government will sort out contentious issues with the Chinese government.   To a question, the BJP president ruled out any alliance in Uttaranchal, asserting that his party was in a very comfortable position in the hill state. Referring to Uttar Pradesh, the former UP Chief Minister said his party will go to the polls with other NDA partners.

London/New York, Nov 22 (IANS) British Prime Minister Tony Blair raised the subject of reported harassment of Kazakh Hindus, including demolition of Hindu homes, with the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev during a meeting here.

According to Hindu groups based in Britain, 60 riot police and bull dozers assembled inside a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and demolished five Hindu houses on Tuesday. The Kazakh government was also allegedly planning to bulldoze a Hindu temple on Wednesday in the Karasai district.

British parliamentarians led by Ashok Kumar MP have launched a campaign to prevent attacks on Kazakh Hindus and have tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons.

The motion said: "This House, prior to the visit of the President of Kazakhstan, condemns the harassment of and discrimination against Hindu minorities in Kazakhstan; notes that Hindus in the Karasai district have had land, barns and cows confiscated, have been threatened with demolition of their houses, and denied the right to own land; further notes that Kazakh Hindus who applied for ownership of their houses were asked to declare that they were not Hindus, while non-Hindus who made similar applications were immediately granted ownership rights; acknowledges that the Supreme Court reviewed two cases regarding Hindu cottages and ruled against the Hindus without inviting the plaintiffs to the hearings."

"The human rights violation against Kazakh Hindus has caused worldwide condemnation," said Sudarshan Bhatia, president of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK, who is leading the Defend Kazakh Hindus Campaign.

Ishwer Tailor, president, Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "We call upon the president to intervene to stop action to demolish houses belonging to the followers of Hinduism, facilitate legal registration of properties owned by Hindus, allow Hindus to occupy their homes and worship freely."

In a surprise move, 11 homes owned by members of ISCKON, a religious minority group in Kazakhstan, were demolished by local police, leaving the families homeless in freezing temperatures and winter snow, the organisation alleged.

Incidentally, the bulldozing began even while a state special commission - appointed to investigate allegations of religious harassment against Hindus in Kazakhstan - had promised that no government action would be taken until the commission made its findings public.

The dispute began a few months ago when ISCKON members stared developing a cultural center on a piece of land owned by them on the outskirts of the capital Almaty.

The governor of the region however, wanted the court to evict the members from the site, according to reports appearing in the ISCKON website.

At a recent meeting held in Almaty and chaired by A.M. Muhkashov, the deputy director of the Kazakh government Religion Committee, the ISKCON delegation was clearly told that Hindus do not have a place in Kazakhstan.

The demolition Tuesday has been labelled as land grabbing by the local government by many human rights organizations. The incident has already evoked outrage from the Hindu community across the world, according to an ISCKON press release.

"National Hindu organizations from the UK, United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries condemn this injustice, and call upon the Kazakhstan government to immediately stop the persecution of Hindus," said Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain.

"I have no words to describe what I have seen," said Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, an international human rights organization, monitoring the police action. They have no right to put people out of their homes in winter."

Kazakhstan, the largest republic in Central Asia with a population of over 15 million, comprises over 130 ethnic groups who practice 40 religions. Ethnic Russians, who typically are traditionally members of the Russian Orthodox Church, constitute around a third of the population while ethnic Kazakhs, who are Sunni Muslims, make up half.

ISKCON became a legally registered organization under the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1992, according to ISCKON's website.

According to the US State Department's 2005 International Religious Freedom report, the Kazakhstan government maintained a list of 73 minority religious groups, which are protected under the constitution.

According to the same report, several of these groups, including ISKCON, reported being vilified as a threat to society and national security by media agencies including government-controlled agencies in Kazakhstan.

"Today the homes of innocent people of faith have been destroyed, and women and children put out into the snow, at the hands of a government that claims to value religious freedom," said Anuttama Dasa, spokesperson for ISKCON, North America.

"Such aggression against innocent people, coupled with blatant governmental hypocrisy, should not be tolerated by the international community," he added.

--By Prasun Sonwalkar

Following is the eyewitness report by Human Rights officials in Kazakhstan:
This was witnessed and written by Ninel Fokina, President of the Almaty Helsinki Committee and Andrei Grishin, official member of the International Bureau of Human Rights and Law Observance.

On November 21, 2006 at 1 pm the information was received that according to the court decision to evict the members of religion organization Society for Krishna Consciousness from the occupied land near Sri Vrindavan Dham farm, and the demolition of 13 country houses will begin immediately.

Heavy equipment was brought to the suburban community: trucks, demolition machines, three busses with riot policemen, a bus with demolition squad and the local authorities including the Hakim. Electricity was disconnected in the morning of the same day.

There were only women and children in the village. All men went to work in town.

The president of the Almaty Helsinki Committee Ninel Fokina tried to contact different officials in Astana (the capital): B. Baikadamov, the envoy of human rights, B. Muhamedjanov, the minister for internal affairs
I. Bakhtibayev, the assistant General Prosecutor; R. Aliev, the deputy minister for foreign affairs.

She had a conversation with B. Baikadamov, the only person she could reach at that time, who promised to communicate to the Committee of Religious Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Court Administration Committee which includes the department of court decision execution.

At 3 pm representatives of human rights organizations: Ninel Fokina, Andrei Grishin, and Maxim Varfolomeev, press-secretary of the Society for Krishna Consciousness, plus, a journalist and representative of Astana TV channel left for the village which is located 40 km from Almaty.

All the roads to village were closed and patrolled by police. They would not let anyone go through. The human rights representatives and the journalist took detour through the fields. It was snowing, but they were able to reach the border of the village because of the four-wheel-drive jeep they were traveling in. But even that road was closed by patrol.

The jeep was not allowed to drive into the village. The patrol explained it was instruction of authorities. When Grishin and the jeep driver tried to pass by walk they were stopped and threatened to be put in handcuffs. And the patrol promised to send for additional force.

Lieutenant colonel, who came with another patrol car, explained that they are not allowed to the village for their own safety. He said that at that time the electric line was being dismounted in the area.

The driver of the jeep had his wife and two months old daughter in the village. He was begging to let him go through, but his request was denied. He was told that safety is guaranteed to his family. This group could still enter the village. They approached it from the other detour road, and leaving the car on the sidewalk, one by one they entered the village.

As they approached the village they met two small groups of young people who were not drunk but unnaturally exited.They held hammers, big dumb-bells, metal crow-bars and sticks. Two of them politely greeted the group, and one said gaily, “Your houses are finished.

Four big busses with toned windows and two cars of ambulance were parked at the entrance of the village in the grove. 30-40 policemen stood by the houses, and 20-30 people in civil clothes including the leaders of the district with the Hakim, the head of local executive authority stood on the street, watching the demolition.

It was snowing. Residents’ household stuff such as mattresses, blankets, utensils cookware, and furniture were laying outside on the lawns by their houses. People in construction outfits (labor people) got inside the houses and started crushing windows and doors, destroying walls. The bulldozer was demolishing the buildings and the big stone fencing with cast iron openwork lattice which separated the houses from the driving area.

A small group of inhabitants (20-30 people, mostly women) did not offer physical resistance. One of the women felt dizzy, fell down and was picked up by the ambulance. Police was bringing down those few (basically women) who tried to interfere with the destruction of their property. Two men tried to prevent the entrance of destroyers into a house, but were brought down by 15 policemen who twisted their hands and took them away to the police car.

During all these events none of the representatives from the Office of Public Prosecutor were present at the place of the event, even though both Krishna people and legal service people demanded meeting with representatives of the Office of Public Prosecutor who are obligated to be present during this type of actions.

The Hakim of the Yetisu district who was personally responsible for this action noticed A. Grishin photographing the destruction of the houses using a digital camera and commanded the policemen to detain him. A. Grishin is an officer of the Human Rights Bureau and a journalist.

To avoid confiscation of the camera A. Grishin tried to escape. He ran away by 200 meters and was caught by the police. Police officers confiscated his digital camera and took away his journalist certificate.

Then he was let free, but police refused to return the camera, saying that they would give it to the Hakim. The camera was indeed found in the car of the Hakim, but the flash card and the batteries were confiscated. When Grishin approached the Hakim to find out for what reason his camera and his journalist ID were confiscated, the Hakim told in front of the witnesses, “If I see you here again, I will personally crash Your eyes, even though I am the Hakim.�

No one of the policemen, who took part in the camera and ID confiscation, wanted to reveal their names.

Ms. Fokina was able to talk with the assistant of the General prosecutor I. Bakhtibayev, who did confirm that he would contact the prosecutor of the province and he would work out this situation.

The envoy of human rights E. Baikadamov, who was also contacted, said that the president of the Court Administration Committee Z. Makashev confirmed that he would contact immediately the provincial department and would give the appropriate instructions.

All the attempts of the representatives of the human rights organizations to find the people in charge of the operation and give them any information were unsuccessful.

All the present officials refused to speak and declared that they were not responsible for the action. The Police colonels would point at bailiffs. The bailiffs did not confirm their being bailiffs.

The OSCE representatives in Almaty Eugenia Benigni and Lisa Zhumakhmetova did not make it to the village. Their car just was stoped by police.

When the darkness fell, at around 6 pm, everything was finished: 13 houses destroyed, people thrown to the snowbound street, the village left without electricity, without heat and water.

The condition of the witnesses can be described as shock. The condition of the people who were thrown from their destroyed houses to the dirt and snow cannot be described.

When all the 13 buildings were destroyed as was planned … while the adjacent houses of other people who do not belong to the Society for Krishna Consciousness were left untouched even though their title deeds have the same status … the bailiffs decided to give an interview to the TV channel “to avoid one-sided opinion.â€? However no one of them introduced himself. The only thing they could say, “we are executing the court decision.â€?

Neither the Hakim, nor the police chiefs, nor the bailiffs would listen to the arguments that the governmental commission established to solve the issue around the Society for Krishna Consciousness has not yet come to final decision.

Notice: the notifications of eviction and demolition of the 13 houses owned by members of the cottage cooperative, who are the members of the religious organization Society for Krishna Consciousness, were delivered to the watchman of Sri Vrindavan Dham in the evening of November 20. The date of execution and the period for evacuating the buildings were not stated. It should be noted that the acting Kazakh law does not stipulate such a kind of eviction as the demolition of houses, and the eviction should be accompanied by the inventory of property removed from the evacuated building, while the storage of this property should be provided is necessary.

24 hours after 200 riot police appeared at the their farm community, the devotees are sifting through the ruins of their homes trying to salvage clothes and belongings.

The Omon riot police threw the personal belongings of the Hindus into the mud and snow, while loading the furniture on the back of trucks. The officials said the furniture and household belongings would be destroyed.

Many of the devotees were left without clothes. The officers cut the power to the area so there was no light or possibility to run heating systems.

When the members of the community tried contacting Amanbek Mukhashov, the chairman of the government commitee to investigate the issue of the Krishna devotees, he angrily screamed on the phone that he was on vacation and it was not his concern.

Two different officers in the State Religious Commitee politely suggested that we call the Karasai Rayon Administration to complain on their behaviour.

Recently a member of the Krishna Community met an Ambassador of the Kazakh Government who begged to remain left unnamed. He clearly stated that the issues were instigated by the government to steal the lucrative investment that the devotees made in Kazakhstan.

The execution of the order violated the laws of Kazakhstan by giving only 24 hours notice prior to demolition. It also violated the law by evicting citizens from thier homes in the frozen winter weather.

Prime Minister Tony Blair raised the issue with President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a meeting yesterday in London.

Different informed individuals in Kazakhstan state that the brother of the President is the organsier of the initiative to destroy the Hindu community and steal thier property.

UPDATE: 7:50 pm Tuesday

As of now 11 houses have been demolished at the farm, and the power mains to all the other houses pulled down. That means that in sub-zero, snowy weather, devotees are having to leave in order to protect themselves from the elements.

The police are promising to return and tear down the remaining houses and possibly the temple. At present we have no pictures of the event as the police are destroying all cameras and videos they see.

Meanwhile in England devotees arranged to get the entire file to PM Tony Blair before his meeting with President Nazarbayev, and the PM passed on the file and his concern to the President.

Tomorrow there will be a protest of hundreds of devotees from all the UK temples at the London Stock Exchange, which the President is opening. Media will be there as well.

WHAT CAN YOU DO: Make an appointment with other devotees to see your local Kazakh Ambassador and don’t accept their answer that this is just an issue of illegal housing, but pound your fist on their table and demand that they immediately stop this persecution and compensate devotees for damage done.

HH BB Govinda Maharaja:

On November 20, 2006 at 6 AM an unidentified person delivered a stack of orders from the Executors of the Karasai District Court. The orders stated that the owners of cottages must destroy their homes, or they will be destroyed by the government at the expense of the owners.

On November 20, 2006 at 6 AM an unidentified person delivered a stack of orders from the Executors of the Karasai District Court. The orders stated that the owners of cottages must destroy their homes, or they will be destroyed by the government at the expense of the owners.

24 hours later 3 buses full of riot police, 2 ambulances, 2 empty lorries, and executors of Karasai district arrived at the Hindus farm to destroy their homes and personal temples.

They have strictly cordoned off the area to prevent journalists, human rights observers, and congregation from entering the area.

As of 16:25 (4:25 PM) they have destroyed three homes and broken out the window of all of the Hindus home. At the present it is snowing and is subzero weather.

When I last ‘communicated with Kazakhstan the officials were destroying the home of one mother and her newly born infant daughter. Her husband was not present as he was in Almaty.

The Chairman of the Commission that was established to work on the issue, Amanbek Mukhashov, was phoned from India. When he was question he simply closed the telephone call. Mr. Yerlan and Mr. Tulesov, of the Religion committee, have both recently made statements that the work of the commission is still in progress. They both said they had no idea what was happening.

In India the Kazakhstan Ambassador, Mr. Umarov, could only repeat the incorrect information which he has received from the Kazakhstan central government.

The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is at the present moment in England seeking economic investment for his country.

This attack is a follow up to foiled attempt to destroy homes in April 2006. The result of that action was international outcry regarding the disregard of human rights of the Kazakh government.

The acts constitute religious discrimination against a minority religion in Kazakhstan, as well as a collusion of the local government with the land mafia of Kazakhstan. The issue is under observation by OSCE and International Human rights organisations.

We are requesting concerned persons around the world to appeal to your foreign ministry to take up this issue with the Kazakh Ministry of foreign affairs, human rights organisations, OSCE, Helsinki Comittee on Human Rights.

http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

LONDON, November 22, 2006: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has raised the issue of alleged harassment of Kazakh Hindus with the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev at a meeting in London.

The Hindu Forum of Britain alleged on Wednesday that 60 riot police and bulldozers assembled inside a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and demolished five Hindu houses. According to the forum, the Kazakh government is allegedly planning to bulldoze a Hindu temple in the Karasai District in Kazakhstan.

In an effort to highlight the plight of Hindus in Kazakhstan, Ashok Kumar, Member of Parliament, has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons.

The motion said: "This House, prior to the visit of the President of Kazakhstan, condemns the harassment of and discrimination against Hindu minorities in Kazakhstan; notes that Hindus in the Karasai district have had land, barns and cows confiscated, have been threatened with demolition of their houses, and denied the right to own land. "

It further notes that Kazakh Hindus who applied for ownership of their houses were asked to declare that they were not Hindus, while non-Hindus who made similar applications were immediately granted ownership rights. The motion also acknowledges that the Supreme Court reviewed two cases regarding Hindu cottages and ruled against Hindus, without inviting the plaintiffs to the hearings.

"We ask for a complete review of decisions made against Hindus in the court, call upon the President to order the Karasai District Hakimat to have all cases against the Kazakh Hindus withdrawn and basic human rights values restored," said Ishwer Tailor, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

Full Story HERE:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/UK_slams_Kazakh_Hindus_harassment/articleshow/520439.cms