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KRISHNA MOVEMENT UNDER ATTACK IN ARMENIA (part 3) (fwd)
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: KRISHNA MOVEMENT UNDER ATTACK IN ARMENIA (part 3) (fwd)
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From: vijaypai@ece.rice.edu (Vijay Sadananda Pai)
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Date: Thu, 20 Apr 95 10:13:13 CDT
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From vijaypai@ece.rice.edu Thu Apr 20 11: 03:23 1995
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In-Reply-To: <3n5thf$en0@larry.rice.edu>
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Organization: Rice University
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References: <3n5t6r$eea@larry.rice.edu> <3n5tcq$ehl@larry.rice.edu>
In article <3n5tcq$ehl@larry.rice.edu>,
Vijay Sadananda Pai <vijaypai@kachori.rice.edu> wrote:
>Please register a protest about the treatment of the Hare Krishna
>followers in Armenia.
>For further information and further updates on this
>campaign please contact:
>
>ISKCON Communications Europe
>
>premarnava.hks@com.bbt.se
Recent problems in Armenia
Below we chronologically document the more recent development of
systematic harassment of Hare Krishna members, by priests of the majority
Armenian Apostolic church, police and local government officials.
July 10th., 1992 the Hare Krishna temple in Yerevan was attacked by
arsonists. Temple members managed to extinguish the fire which damaged the
temple building and two cars owned by ISKCON. ISKCON appealed to the
Commission for Human Rights of the Supreme Council of Armenia and local
police, but the complaint was ignored.
In June 1993 a few members of the Society went to the Republic of Ngorno
Karabakh to open a free food distribution centre for local people. On June
12th. ISKCON members and Mr. L. Gulian, the Head of the Department of
Refugees and Humanitarian Aid reached an agreement to co-operate together
in order to help the region's under-privileged. Mr. Gulian promised to
provide ISKCON with premises for their free food distribution in
Stepanakert city and other settlements in the R.N.K. In Stepanakert
ISKCON was granted facility to distribute free food on the premises of a
former restaurant. Within a month of the programme starting, a group of
armed men broke into the premises and demanded, on behalf of the
government, that our members leave the country within 24 hours. ISKCON's
members appealed to the State Minister Zirair Pogosian, who refused to
help and actually declared support for the demands of the intruders.
On September 23 1993, Mikhael Unjugulian, a Krishna devotee was severely
beaten before the inhabitants in his village of origin, Oshakan. His
assailant was a priest from the local Armenian Orthodox Church, a Father
Gevork. A vain appeal for justice was made by the victim to the police in
the Ashtrak region. His complaint was ignored. The incident was witnessed
and can be verified by many inhabitants of the village.
In April 1994, thirty tons of religious books were dispatched from ISKCON
in Moscow for the temple in Yerevan. The books were seized by the customs
at Masis station before they reached Yerevan.. Initially the Council for
Religious Affairs instructed the customs station not to release the books
but later claim to have written to ask them to release them. It should be
noted that religious books do not require customs clearance in order to be
imported into Armenia.
After various attempts to secure possession of the confiscated books
ISKCON members heard from reliable political sources that the literature's
had been burned. Further information suggested that the order to burn the
books came from the head of the Armenian KGB, David Shahnazarian. They
were reportedly burnt in the ovens of the thermal power plant in Yerevan,
mixed with liquid fuel. Informants claim that this was done in reply to
the international reaction to the reported persecution of Hare Krishna
members in Armenia.
On the 16th. March, 1995 a committee was formed comprising of the
president of ISKCON in Armenia, a representative of the US Embassy in
Armenia, the head of Customs, the head of the local station police and the
head of the railway station in Masis. This committee proceeded to unlock
the container of books. The container was opened and it was found to be
empty.
ISKCON in Armenia has lodged an official complaint regarding this but has
been advised that it may not be wise to pursue the case seriously.
On April 18, 1994 Hare Krishna member Artur Khachatrian was attacked by a
group of fifteen members of the Armenian Army in an Officer's Club in
Yerevan. He was severely beaten and had to be hospitalised. The religious
books he carried with him were burned. The case was reported to the police
station in the Spandarian district of Yerevan. The appointed police
investigator was a Captain Asatrian who decided not to question or arrest
the offenders, although their names are known to the police.
On July 4, 1994 two female members of the Hare Krishna Society in Yerevan,
Anaite Arzumanian and Mariana Dorunz, travelled to the neighbouring town
of Sisyan, to distribute religious literature and minister to local
sympathisers. They were intercepted on route by two priests of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, Father Narek from Sisyan and an American
priest of the Avat Mission (a branch of the Armenian Apostolic church),
Father Zenob. Supported by soldiers of the Armenian army, the priests
confiscated more than 150 books and proceeded to light a bonfire with
them, an act which attracted much local attention. The priests and their
supporters then forcibly ripped the clothing off the women, twisted their
arms, tore their religious beads off their necks and threw these articles
into the bonfire. This scene was witnessed by many of the local people.
This incident was reported to Mr. Robert Patterson of the American
embassy in Armenia, and to the special correspondent of Espress-chronika
in Armenia, Michail Dabasian.
Krishna devotees appealed for justice in these cases to the Armenian
Prosecutor and the Committee for Human Rights at the Armenian Supreme
Soviet. The only response came from an investigator, Mr Kroian, which
consisted only of a threatening commitment to investigate all Hare
Krishna activities in Armenia.
On July 26, 1994 another ISKCON member Karo Mkrtchian was seriously beaten
and threatened with murder by six members of the Dashnaktzusyun Party (a
nationalist political party). Again any religious books or paraphernalia
he carried were confiscated. He was also told that if he was seen again in
the city after twenty four hours, he would be killed on the spot.
On July 31, 1994 in the town of Goris a live phone-in interview with the
Patriarch of the South Armenian region, Bishop Abraham was broadcast on
the local state cable television. During the interview a question was
raised about the status of ISKCON. The bishop replied that it was all the
work of Satan and that the books sold by ISKCON represent a real social
danger, diverting people from the path of God. He claimed to have formed a
committee, in the local Cultural House for Youth with the aim of
collecting all the ISKCON books from the population in exchange for free
Bibles (this facility was also announced on local radio). He promised to
burn publicly the collected literature.
On August 28th. ten armed thugs stormed the Hare Krishna Temple in
Yerevan. They completely vandalised the place of worship, desecrated the
altar, and severely assaulted the temple President, Ivan Dallakian. The
attack lasted more than twenty minutes. During the attack ISKCON members
tried to report the attack to the police who only sent a police patrol to
the scene after four attempts at trying to contact them. The police car
only stayed long enough for the police officer to declare, "We are not
going to protect people like you." After the incident, Ivan Dallakian
himself called the police and asked for protection. He gave the police
the names and addresses of the people who attacked the temple; but again,
there was no sign of response from the police.
On the morning of August 31st, the same people phoned and warned that they
would come again at 19.00 hours. Temple members called the police at 17.00
hours and requested protection. A police patrol arrived after a short time
and stayed only fifteen minutes, explaining that they had no time to wait.
At the appointed time four people arrived at the temple. They started to
abuse the temple residents and threatened violence. Before long a
scuffle ensued and suddenly, after just a few moments, a fleet of fourteen
police cars appeared on the scene. The policemen surrounded the temple
and arrested all the residents. Seventeen Hare Krishna members were taken
into custody. In the police station the prisoners were abused and beaten.
Subsequently sixteen of those arrested have been freed from the state
prison. They were, nonetheless, forced to stay under house arrest for an
unspecified investigation period. After a period of two months the charges
were dropped.
As a result of the attack on the temple one Hare Krishna member, Boris
Agagabian, was hospitalised with head injuries and a severely damaged
nose. Another member, Mkrtchian Karo has suffered severe head injuries,
inflicted by a metal bar. Others also had to receive hospital treatment.
On the 3rd. September a member called Grigorian Kamo was arrested by the
local police and taken into custody. During the night he was badly beaten
in his cell by the same policemen who had beaten the others on the 31st.
On the 6th. September Grigorian Kamo was transferred to a psychiatric
prison hospital. He has since been released.
Media incitement
A mass media campaign was orchestrated against ISKCON in the last six
months of 1994. The reportage was sensationalistic and sectarian. When Ara
Akopian (an ISKCON member) recently asked Voskan Maminonian, a
correspondent from the Erkir newspaper, why he published blatant lies
about ISKCON, the correspondent replied, "When a war is being fought
against a political enemy, then all means are to be used, both honest and
dishonest."
