By Vineet Chander – ISKCON COMMUNICATIONS
Over a Hundred Participate in Demonstrations, Refused Entry to Embassy
DATE: September 14, 2006
Washington, D.C.—Over one hundred members of a local Hare Krishna temple, the Hindu-Jain Temple Association, and other Hindu organizations and interfaith groups, protested in front of the Kazakhstan embassy for two hours on September 13, carrying a dozen brightly colored placards that called upon the government in Kazakhstan to stop the ongoing abuse and mistreatment of innocent Krishna devotee, Vaishnava Hindus, in that country.
A simultaneous protest took place in New York City. Both demonstrations were timed to intentionally coincide with the “Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions,” held in Kazakhstan. Many human rights groups and international governments, including the United Kingdom and India, are pressuring the Kazakh government to go beyond sponsoring conferences on religious freedom, and instead work to stop bigotry and harassment of religious minorities in their own county.
“National Hindu organizations from the UK, United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries call upon the Kazakhstan government to stop harassment and discrimination of Hindus,” said Ramesh Kallidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain.
According to Kallidai, Hindu groups are preparing to launch an expansive international campaign of demonstrations, if the situation is not resolved by the time of Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev’s official visit to the United States later this month.
A disturbing sign of the continuing tensions between Kazakhstan and the Hindu community was the disrespect shown to community leaders who had pre-scheduled a meeting with Embassy officials in Washington, D.C. When Sonia Chopra, of the Hindu-Jain Temple Association, Erik Schwarz, a lay Christian minister and interfaith leader, and Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON Communications Director, tried to attend their 1 pm meeting with the Ambassador’s representative, they were refused entry to the building. The three leaders were made to speak their case while standing on the steps outside the embassy, despite the fact that they had duly made, and had been granted, an appointment for a formal meeting.
To many, the embassy’s cold shoulder was just another reminder that Kazakhstan officials do not take the voices of the Hindu community seriously.
“I felt offended and demeaned,” said Mrs. Chopra, “I was promised a meeting with a high-level official, and instead our peaceful group of three religious leaders was refused entry to the embassy. This clearly demonstrates what is wrong in Kazakhstan.” Chopra is planning on lodging a formal complaint with the Ambassador.
The protests stemmed from attempts by local officials in Kazakhstan’s Karasai district to bulldoze the homes of Krishna devotees, and an ongoing effort to defame the Hindu tradition in the public and in the media by the local government.
“We call on the Kazakh government to follow their own principles of religious freedom and tolerance,” said Anuttama Dasa, Hare Krishna spokesperson. “It is an embarrassment for the nation of Kazakhstan that local officials are allowed to threaten and abuse innocent people while the head of state proclaims a progressive stance on freedom.”
To voice your concerns about attacks on religious liberty in Kazakhstan, please email:
Kazakhstan@un.int
For more information on the struggle for religious freedom in Kazakhstan, please visit: www.Forum18.org
