KAZAKHSTAN: FUTURE OF HARE KRISHNA COMMUNE REMAINS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001371

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: FUTURE OF HARE KRISHNA COMMUNE REMAINS
PRECARIOUS

REF: A. 06 ASTANA 651, B. 06 ASTANA 668, C. 06 ASTANA 903

D. ASTANA 232

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1. (SBU) Summary: Various government officials have assured the
Hare Krishnas that their ongoing property dispute with local
officials will be resolved fairly and peacefully, through
negotiations. Although there is hope that an acceptable resolution
will be found, so far the Hare Krishnas report only confusion and
roadblocks in dealing with the national government, and local
authorities continue to threaten the demolition of additional Hare
Krishna cottages. End summary.

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SINCERE NEGOTIATIONS OR PUBLIC RELATIONS COVER?
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2. (SBU) Throughout the winter, various government officials assured
the Hare Krishnas and other observers that their ongoing property
dispute with Karasai district officials would be resolved fairly and
peacefully, through negotiations, and signaled that the resolution
will involve a new plot of land for the Hare Krishnas. In February,
Amanbek Mukhashov, vice chairman of the Religious Issues Committee
(RIC) publicly stated that the Hare Krishnas would be allotted
another plot of land, and ordered them to work with local
authorities to find a piece of land. In private conversations with
Poloff, the Hare Krishna leadership indicated they were ready to
consider moving, as they were not optimistic they would ever receive
fair treatment from Karasai district officials or the court system.
However, the Hare Krishnas stated that a new plot of land was not
the only issue; they also wanted compensation for the investments
they made in their current property, including for the homes that
were demolished by local officials (Ref A).


3. (SBU) On March 13, local akimat officials instructed the Hare
Krishnas to relocate to a piece of land 70 kilometers northeast of
Almaty. The Hare Krishnas visited the land on March 16, but found
it to be deserted, arid, saline land with virtually no vegetation.
Accordingly, they rejected the land, though they remained open to
further negotiations.


4. (SBU) On March 30, local Krishna leader Govinda Swami met with
Kazakhstan's Human Rights Ombudsman Bolat Baykadamov and one of his
staff members at an OSCE conference in Vienna. Govinda Swami, a U.S.
citizen, was accompanied by Liza Zhumakhmetova, a legal adviser in
the OSCE's Human Dimension Office in Almaty, and Ninel Fokina of the
Almaty Helsinki Committee. According to Govinda Swami, Baykadamov
said that the Presidential Administration was now handling the
matter on behalf of the government, and wanted to inform the OSCE,
foreign government delegations, and the Hare Krishnas that the
matter would be resolved quickly because it was becoming an
impediment to Kazakhstan's OSCE chairmanship bid. Baykadamov said
the Presidential Administration blamed the predicament on "bad acts"
by the Karasai district officials and the RIC, and wanted to work
with the Hare Krishnas to find an alternate location for a worship
Center in Almaty, as well as discuss compensation for the destroyed
homes. According to Baykadamov, Karasai district officials and the
RIC would no longer be involved in the matter.


5. (U) On April 5, Baykadamov returned to Kazakhstan and made a
public statement on the Hare Krishna issue. He insisted that the
November demolition of Hare Krishna cottages was legal. He announced
that he had met with Govinda Swami in Vienna and conveyed the
Government of Kazakhstan's message that it was ready to provide
another piece of land in Almaty for construction of a new temple. In
addition, he stated that the government was ready to find a solution
for the Hare Krishna's other issues, including another piece of land
where they can raise cows and compensation for the resources
invested into development of their property in the Karasai
district.


6. (SBU) On April 20, after hearing nothing from the government, the
Hare Krishnas contacted Baykadamov about the situation. Baykadamov
reportedly retracted the statements he made in Vienna, stating that
the Presidential Administration was not involved in the matter and
never would be. He informed the Hare Krishnas that they needed to
work through the RIC and local officials, the same parties that the
Hare Krishnas have been dealing with all along. In frustration, the
Hare Krishnas now allege that Baykadamov's comments in Vienna and to
the media were part of a larger propaganda campaign to assure the
OSCE and other Western observers that Kazakhstan is effectively and
responsibly resolving the dispute.


7. (SBU) After the about-face from Baykadamov, the Hare Krishnas
contacted Yeraly Tugzhanov, chairman of the RIC, to proceed with the
negotiations. According to Govinda Swami, Tugzhanov informed them

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that he was working with the Almaty city administration, and
instructed the Hare Krishnas to apply for land in Almaty to
establish a worship center. The Hare Krishnas did so, but were told
by Almaty city officials that they knew nothing of the situation and
had no instructions from the RIC. On May 18, the Hare Krishna
leadership travel to Astana to meet with Tugzhanov, who again
promised to work with Almaty city officials and make progress in
finding a suitable piece of land.

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DEMOLITION THREAT REMAINS
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8. (SBU) In the meantime, Karasai district officials have continued
their legal campaign against the Hare Krishna commune outside of
Almaty. On May 3, commune leader Viktor Golous received a call from
local court executors that additional demolitions would occur the
next morning, May 4, at 10 a.m. The Hare Krishnas immediately began
informing their supporters and calling their contacts in the
government. According to Golous, Tugzhanov of the RIC informed them
that he could not help them and could not interfere with a court
action. Poloff contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the
matter, but officials there were unaware of any planned demolitions.
On May 3, deputy head of the Presidential Administration Maulen
Ashimbayev, who was well-briefed on the issue but not aware of the
demolition order, assured the Ambassador that the GOK wanted to
resolve the dispute through negotiations.


9. (SBU) On May 4, several journalists, Pol FSN, and an OSCE
observer proceeded to the Hare Krishna commune to observe the
demolitions. Though the electricity was shut off for a while, no
police or demolition crews arrived, and no demolitions took place.
Amanbek Mukhashov, vice chairman of the RIC, later informed Poloff
that no demolitions were ever planned, and the matter would be
resolved through negotiations.


10. (U) On May 8, the Supreme Court issued yet another ruling
against the Hare Krishnas, this time concerning the 116 acre parcel
of farmland as opposed to the cottages that have been the subject of
the demolitions and demolition orders. The ruling stated that the
Hare Krishnas no longer have a right to use the land, and clears the
way for authorities to confiscate the land at any time and transfer
it to the Karasai district land reserve. The Hare Krishnas
criticized the ruling as another in a long series of unfair adverse
court rulings.

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COMMENT
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11. (SBU) Comment: There is some hope that the Hare Krishnas will
find a minimally acceptable solution to their multi-year property
dispute. Officials in Astana are consistent in their stated desire
to solve the problem by finding new land for the Hare Krishnas, and
have thus far managed to forestall any further demolitions by
aggressive local authorities. The beleaguered Hare Krishnas are
prepared to leave their commune in the Karasai district, assuming
they are provided with suitable land for their place of worship,
their animals and farming activity, and compensation for their
substantial investment in the current commune property. However,
the government's eagerness to tell the world that it has peacefully
resolved the problem appears greater than its actual desire to do
so, given the slow pace of constructive negotiations and the
continued aggression of local authorities. Post will continue to
monitor the situation and engage with government officials in
support of a nonviolent, fair resolution. End comment.

ORDWAY