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WASHINGTON D.C. (Nov. 27, 2006) – The
Hindu American Foundation (HAF) strongly condemned the destruction
of five homes and a temple belonging to members of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) by Kazakh government
authorities. On November 21, 2006, sixty policemen assembled
at the ashram in Karasai District and bulldozed the property,
leaving devotees homeless in the middle of the winter.
Prior to the razing, ISKCON leaders reported
being continually harassed by local government officials seeking
to seize their property. The government has repeatedly filed
lawsuits, confiscated land, barns and cows, and subjected
devotees to frequent police, fire protection service, sanitary
agency, environment protection agency, and land committee
inspections. In May 2006, HAF
protested against an earlier attempt to raze the homes
of ISKCON members on behest of the local governor.
The destruction has drawn condemnation from
Hindu and human rights organizations around the globe. In
addition, British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the
persecution of Hindus with Kazakhstan President Nursultan
Nazarbayev in London on November 22.
Following the destruction, Kazakh ISKCON
devotee Rati Manjari said: “I have no roof over my head
in this winter time. It's not only me, there were mothers
with children. Where will they go?"
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 minority. Though not demographically
significant, followers of ISKCON, a Hindu Vaishnavite sect,
have been registered in Karasai district since May 2002.
According to the U.S. State Department’s
2006 International Religious Freedom report, a Kazakhstan
government official stated that ISKCON is not accepted as
a religion and devotees are considered a threat to the country.
In the past, several Kazakh Members of Parliament have made
inflammatory official statements expressing suspicion of minority
religions. Last year, under the pretext of national security,
several amendments to the Constitution were passed allowing
the government to target minority religious groups and severely
restrict religious freedom.
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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