Kazakhstan Hindus Fear Further Attacks

For Immediate Release
Date: November 27, 2006
Contact: Anuttama Dasa, 301 299-9707, ad@pamho.net
Office: ISKCON Communications, 10310 Oaklyn Drive, Potomac, MD,
20854

Almaty, Kazakhstan—After government officials destroyed thirteen homes of
Hindu families and sent men, women and children homeless into sub-freezing
temperatures in this Central Asian republic last week, members of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON, a Vaishnava Hindu
movement, are fearing further attacks against their temple, and the
remaining homes of believers.

On November 21, busloads of riot police accompanied by bulldozers
destroyed homes of Hare Krishna members and threw personal possessions,
clothing and furniture into the snow and mud. Women with infants stood by
helplessly as bulldozers and hammer-wielding riot police destroyed their
homes. Human rights officials, trying to gain access to report on the
demolition, were blocked by police.

Kazakh officials have sought possession of the Hindu homes and a larger
100-acre parcel through court maneuvers and threat of force. Krishna members
as well as independent observers have denounced the legal maneuvers as
cover-ups for government-sponsored persecution and a land-grab, possibly
tied to members of the ruling family of this autocratic state.

Ninel Fokina, of Almaty Helsinki Commission, told Forum 18, a human rights
news agency, that while 13 homes were destroyed under court orders, "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".
Andrei Grishin, of the International Bureau of Human Rights and Law, had his
camera forcibly confiscated when he tried to document the destruction, and
was told by a government official, the Hakim (Governor) of the Yetisu
district, who oversaw the attack, that the Hakim would personally “crush his
eyes.”

Ironically, Kazakhstan has advertised itself widely as a nation that
supports religious liberty, and it is vying for Chairmanship of the OSCE, an
international organization of 50-plus nations focused on human rights. The
Kazakhstan embassy in Washington, D.C., regularly spends tens of thousands
of dollars on public relations campaigns, buying advertisements on
television and in leading newspapers like the Washington Post, to prop up
their nation’s fledgling reputation.

“The demolition of homes of innocent Hindus is outrageous,” said Sonia
Chopra, of the United Hindu Jain Temple Association in Washington, D.C. “The
hypocrisy of the Kazakh government is becoming evident, and should not be
tolerated by persons who value religious freedom.”

The British Parliament passed an Early Day Motion condemning the “harassment
of and discrimination against Hindu minorities” in Kazakhstan just days
before the recent demolition. They called on Kazakhstan’s President
Nazarbayev to personally intervene.

Other religious minorities, including Protestant Christian groups have
suffered discrimination in Kazakhstan as well. For more information, please
visit forum18.org.

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