VZCZCXRO9437
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHPW
RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #0818/01 1280859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080859Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5389
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 1568
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0945
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1648
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0628
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1130
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1046
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 1499

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000818 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/IRF 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID SOCI KIRF KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN:  SCIENTOLOGISTS, JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES HAVE 
CONTRASTING VIEWS ON PROGRESS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
 
ASTANA 00000818  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On April 22, USAID's State and Society Advisor 
met with representatives of the Church of Scientology and the 
Jehovah's Witnesses in Almaty.  The two organizations offered 
contrasting views of progress on religious freedom and government 
interference in their activities.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Church of Scientology began its activities in 
Kazakhstan in 1996, in Almaty.  The Church claims 10,000 members in 
Almaty, and about 15,000 additional members nationwide.  The Church 
also claims to have an ethnic composition of approximately 50 
percent ethic Russians and 50 percent members of other 
nationalities.  Church Member Anastasia Minayeva and other staff 
with whom the USAID Advisor met alleged that the Church is under 
great pressure from the Government of Kazakhstan.  Last year, the 
Church received visits from procurators, tax authorities, and 
eventually the Committee for National Security (KNB).  Procurators 
opened a case against the Church because of its use of vitamin 
supplements in conjunction with sauna therapy.  According to the 
Church, the vitamin/sauna practice is common in Scientology and used 
to "detoxify" the body. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Scrutiny by the procurator's office led to a raid on a 
Church of Scientology on October 8, the Scientologists said.  The 
Scientology members claimed that all of their "confessional files" 
were taken.  Confessional files are the written comments of a Church 
member "auditing" another church member.  This involves recording 
responses to questions posed by a Church member, which are kept in a 
confidential file.  Members cannot continue their confessionals 
without the confiscated files, and the information also needs to be 
analyzed by a higher Church member so that progress and spiritual 
health of church members can be tracked.  Minayeva stated that she 
suspected that the raids occurred because the Government of 
Kazakhstan believes that they are an instrument of the United 
States, and possibly a subversive organization. (COMMENT:  There are 
indications that the government may believe that the Church is 
engaged in profit-making business activities inconsistent with its 
status as a religious organization.  END COMMENT.)  Minayeva stated 
that the Church is funded entirely by donations and income derived 
from sources originating in Kazakhstan, and the Church does not 
receive funding from foreign sources. 
 
CONFISCATED MATERIALS 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Church is still in operation, but the Scientologists 
say that recently local authorities confiscated electronic devices 
called "e-meters" used in "auditing" sessions.  The e-meter is a 
device placed in the hands of Church members and used to measure 
electrical impulses in response to "auditing" questions.  Auditing 
is a practice much like a one-on-one counseling session.  The Church 
uses "auditing" to measure the spiritual progress of individual 
Church members.  According to Church representatives, the 
Kazakhstani authorities claimed that the technology could be used as 
a lie detector, a claim which is denied by the Church.  The files 
that were confiscated contain personal data, and may only be 
returned if the individual requests his or her personal file from 
the authorities.  In Scientology, an individual usually does not 
have access to his or her own file, and it is usually only reviewed 
by those trained by the Church, the Scientologists explained. 
 
SIGNS OF HOPE 
 
¶6. (SBU) Church members described the current situation as not 
particularly good, but believe that there are some positive signs 
for them in Kazakhstan.  A small branch of the Church did receive 
all of its confiscated files back, and all Church members were 
allowed to individually petition the courts.  Court hearings are 
scheduled for May, and Church members believe they will receive 
court decisions within the same month.  Church members also believe 
that the mass media is now less negative about their activities, 
although members did cite a negative report about the Church of 
Scientology published the previous week.  Church leadership is in 
contact with the Helsinki Commission, the United States Council on 
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), as well as the OSCE. 
 
ASTANA 00000818  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Church members believe that the international spotlight of 
Kazakhstan's 2010 OSCE chairmanship may lead to improved short-term 
prospects for the Church in Kazakhstan. 
 
JEHOVAHS WITNESSES 
 
¶7. (SBU) Jehovah's Witnesses have reportedly existed in Kazakhstan 
since the 1940s, when Witnesses were deported from Ukraine and 
Moldova and sent to Central Asia.  The current ethnic composition of 
the religious group in Kazakhstan includes Ukrainians, Moldovans, 
Kazakhs, and Germans.  The religious group claims it has a growth 
rate in Kazakhstan of about four percent per year.  The growth rate 
is partly attributed to conversions, but mostly to the growth in 
family size of members.  The meeting with the USAID Advisor was 
conducted at the Jehovah's Witnesses' state-of-the-art facility in 
Almaty, with a representative from Germany, Arno Tungler, and a 
local staff attorney, Yury Toporov. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  According to Tungler, religious freedom has improved in 
Kazakhstan for the Witnesses, following the closure of at least 
three of their communities by the government from 2006 to 2008. 
Tungler stated that in previous years "traditional religions" may 
have used political influence with local authorities to put pressure 
on groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses.  However, a 2008 letter from 
the Procurator General's Office (PGO) supporting the Witnesses' 
legal claims improved the situation, as well as direct engagement 
with the Presidential Human Rights Commission.  The letter from PGO 
was produced in agreement with the Presidential Human Rights 
Commission.  Tungler also stated that the organization directly 
engages the Government of Kazakhstan concerning its work, and that 
overall, its meetings with government officials have been positive. 
Tungler attributed these positive actions to a clear decision on the 
part of the Government of Kazakhstan to avoid negative press in 
light of the OSCE chairmanship. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Tungler also believes that the Witnesses' established and 
lengthy presence in Kazakhstan, with 16,000 members registered 
throughout the country and in every province, is partly responsible 
for improving acceptance of the religious group.  Other members 
present stated that they were not interested in the total number of 
converts, but were more interested in the quality of converts.  They 
explained that conversion sometimes can take two to three years. 
Moreover, conscientious objection to military service, which was a 
problem a decade ago, has not been a problem for the last five to 
six years.  Also, no Jehovah's Witness is in prison, and there are 
no active cases in the courts against the religious group.  All 
previous cases were decided in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses and 
have set a precedent for other similar actions against religious 
minorities. 
 
MILAS