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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.
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