Posted on 01/28/2006 2:16:09 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
LONDON: Britain is to throw its weight behind its Hindu community's vocal campaign against Russia's alleged harassment of the country's 100,000 white, Slav Krishna-bhakts and 30,000 other Indian-Russian Hindus.
British foreign minister Douglas Alexander has told parliament the UK will discuss Russia's alleged harassment at a EU summit, which is part of the ongoing dialogue with Moscow.
Alexander acknowledged that Hindus in Russia faced difficulties in practising their faith freely and were apparently unable even to establish a permanent place of worship in Moscow.
The minister's comment referred to the Russian Hindus' well-publicised complaint that Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov had cancelled permission for them to build a grand temple in the heart of Moscow.
The Russian Hindus, who travelled to Britain last week for a high-profile launch in parliament of a campaign for their religious rights, claimed that the Moscow authorities subsequently authorised an insidious campaign of harassment against them, which included turning off the heating, electricity and water supply to the humble makeshift building that currently serves as a temple.
The British minister's assurance to the UK's large and vocal, estimated 700,000-strong Hindu community, was in response to a written parliamentary question tabled by Conservative MP, James Clappison, whose Watford constituency is home to the sumptuous Hare Krishna temple called Bhakti Vedanta Manor.
Clappison, who was present at the January 18 British launch of the 'Defend Russian Hindus campaign', had asked for British foreign secretary Jack Straw's assessment of the treatment of Hindus in Russia.
The official British reaction to the campaign comes barely a month after Arhcbishop Nikon of the Russian Orthodox Church described Lord Krishna as an "evil demon, the personified power of hell, opposing God", sparking worldwide protests.
Earlier this month, London mayor Ken Livingstone expressed concern at the harassment of Russian Hindus by discussing the matter with his Moscow counterpart during his visit to London.
Commentators said the British support for Russian Hindus was in stark contrast to the non-committal stance of the Indian government, which says it is loathe to interfere in the affairs of a sovereign country.
But the British government has said it frequently raises "the issue of religious freedom during regular EU and bilateral contact with the Russian government. We will continue to monitor this and other religious freedom issues in Russia and raise them as appropriate."
The ministerial reply came after a multi-party 'early day' parliamentary Motion led by Labour's Ashok Kumar, the only British Hindu MP, which expressed parliamentary support for the 'Defend Russian Hindus' campaign and regretted the intolerance shown towards Russian Hindus manifest as denial to establish a place of worship.
On Friday, the campaign's lead organisation, the umbrella Hindu Forum of Britain, said it was encouraged by governmental response to an embryonic movement launched by Hindu organisations from the UK, America, Canada, Africa, India and Australia.
"Hindus are one step above Muslims."
.......You got yourself an ally in Tailgunner.
"They persecute Christians."
Yes, the Hindus do persecute Christians in India, very viciously.
Pastors have been burned to death alive, nuns attacked, Christian children brutalized, etc.
Hinduism is not much more civilized than Islam, if at all.
Not to mention the fact that there are human sacrifices in Hindu, in addition to the fact that they worship cows.
Right becuase Hindus are organized in a highly effective fashion to take down western civilization like fundamentalist Islam. /sarc
Show me a systemaic effort by the majority of hindus to attack and brutalize christians? There isn't any. But go on making false analogies.
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