Even though the officials of all levels categorically deny that the
Society for Krishna Consciousness is being persecuted on religious
grounds, the entire chain of events discloses a planned campaign that
aims at the Society's final liquidation, for which economical
instruments are used as well.
As senior Kazakh officials arrive in Romania for an OSCE conference on combating discrimination, the local administration chief ordered members of the embattled Hare Krishna near Almaty to demolish their own temple and other buildings within ten days. "If we don't do it, the authorities will," Hare Krishna spokesperson
Maksim Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 News Service. Another 14 Hare Krishna-owned homes are already under threat of demolition in the latest moves in the authorities' three-year campaign to destroy the commune. The government's religious affairs chief Yeraly Tugzhanov – on his way to the OSCE conference – refused to answer any of Forum 18's questions about the threatened destruction of the temple. He likewise refused to discuss the heavy fines imposed in Atyrau on 4 June
on six Jehovah's Witnesses for meeting for worship without state registration.
The akim (mayor) of Karasay region of Almaty oblast demanded to pull down the Krishna temple and other constructions of the community in 10-day's term. Society for Krishna Consciousness press service informed the agency.
The akim (mayor) of Karasay region of Almaty oblast demanded to pull down the Krishna temple and other constructions of the community in 10-day's term. Society for Krishna Consciousness press service informed the agency.
