Permanent Representation of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE
Vienna, 15 June 2007
Dear Mr. Rhodes,
I would like to thank you for your letter dated June 8th 2007. We understand your concerns related to the case of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Karasai district near Almaty.
The officials on all levels categorically deny the fact that the Society for Krishna Consciousness has fallen under religious persecution, however the entire chain of events shows that there is a planned campaign aimed at the final liquidation of the Society, which will be
done with the help of economical instruments, among other means.
Workers and police arrived this morning (15 June) at the village near Almaty where the embattled Hare Krishna commune is based to demolish twelve more Hare Krishna-owned homes. "The houses were literally crushed into dust. By ten o'clock it was all over," Hare Krishna spokesperson Maksim Varfolomeyev – who witnessed the latest
demolitions - told Forum 18 News Service. The temple, which the devotees have been ordered to destroy by today, has not been touched but the devotees fear it could be the next target.
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.
