Hare Krishnas face Kazakh wrath

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna faces Kazakh wrath

 

In Kazakhstan, Hare Krishna devotees are experiencing State hostility

as for several years the authorities have been trying to close down a

farm owned by the Krishna community on the outskirts of the country's

capital Almaty, the only Hare Krishna farming commune in the entire

Commonwealth of Independent States. Despite previous failures to close

the commune down, the authorities are continuing their attempts. Hare

Krishna devotees now face a new absurd accusation that the community

acquired the land in 1992 using forged documents. At the same time,

the Akim [Mayor] is trying to seize the agricultural plots from their

Hare Krishna owners. From this, it is quite evident that the head of

the administration is simply carrying out orders from higher up.

Although the Society for Krishna Consciousness in Kazakhstan had

appealed several times to the Kazakh Government's Council for

Relations with Religious Organisations but nothing has happened. There

are 3,330 religious communities registered in Kazakhstan, 13 of which

are Hare Krishna communities. Although the state authorities argue

that the relations of Hare Krishna communities with their neighbouring

representatives of other faiths, who are openly hostile to the Krishna

believers' presence, are not very good. Whereas the reality is that

the hostility to the Hare Krishna commune comes from State

authorities. So, it is high time the Indian government raised the

issue with Kazakhstan as both countries have good relations.

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=105&pa\

ge=26&HNETSEID=f13ed57f2ecc9fdcc23696df9d8e6e74#1