|
7TH
FEBRUARY 2000
Welcome to the
12th edition of our newsletter, which deals with Iskcon's recent
Central Office of Child Protection's report on Satadhanya das. We
expect you will be receiving a sanitised version of this from the
GBC in the near future. We however are quoting from the full
unexpurgated report, that has been leaked to us, and which will not
be made public.
Please read on...
In a confidential report, Dhira Govinda dasa, head of ISKCON's
Central Office of Child Protection, recently presented the official
decision on the case of Satadhanya das. Readers may recall that we
had drawn attention in
newsletter number 5 to the fact that of all the people in the
world the GBC had selected this notorious pedophile to represent
them in the Calcutta High Court in defence of their illegal guru
system. This, we felt, was a slap in the face for his victims, and
the victims of many other criminal sexual abusers that have
flourished in ISKCON. Now, after years of exhaustive questioning,
the true horror of Satadhanya's crimes has been revealed. The report
shows they involve the worst types of physical, mental and sexual
abuse imaginable:
|
"Satadhanya succeeded in suppressing the
identity of his first known underage victim for 9 years, and
of his second known underage victim for 18 years. A third
victim, about 18 years old at the time of abuse and
therefore possibly not under ICOCP jurisdiction, remains
extremely bitter to this day about the lack of concern shown
by Satadhanya and ISKCON. These victims suffered greatly
during their adolescence from Satadhanya's abuse. Then, for
the balance of their formative years and long into their
early manhood to the present moment, they have suffered
severe after-effects of abuse.
This panel has therefore concluded that the mistreatment did
not end 12 years ago. What to speak of ending, it is clear
that by Satadhanya's suppression, indifference and denial,
despair resulting from the abuse has to varying degrees
become more profound as the years and decades have passed. A
fourth victim remains unidentified and the degree of his
abuse and suffering remain". |
Satadhayna has
never come clean on any of his crimes until absolutely cornered. As
the report says:
|
"Satadhanya's testimonies show that his
credibility in relation to this case is very low. He has
regularly denied allegations until he had no choice but to
confess, then admitted only to what he believed was known
while consistently overstating the age of his victims and
understating the severity and duration of the abuse." |
Most disturbing
of all is the degree to which the ISKCON leadership, both in Mayapur
and right up to GBC level, are revealed as consistently failing to
properly bring this criminal to task. On several occasions ISKCON
leadership expressed the view that Satadhanya had suffered enough
retribution merely for having lost an official post:
|
"In January, 1993, and at other times, the
Mayapur GBC Committee expressed the opinion that Satadhanya
das was punished sufficiently by being dishonored and being
forced to give up his position as regional secretary." |
In two
particularly damning passages the report reveals ISKCON leaders
actually colluding to suppress information, and thus sharing
culpability for the continued suffering of the abuse victims:
|
"The case file shows that there were repeated
and respectful complaints from devotees in Mayapur and
elsewhere about Satadhanya's continuing influence in Mayapur
and about the nearly total absence of punishment he received
for his known offenses. The file also shows that the
protection afforded Satadhanya by managers in Mayapur in the
face of these complaints went beyond what can be explained
by naivete, ignorance, or simple forgiveness. During the
Mayapur vote in 1992 and at other times there was also
significant resistance to divulging the known facts of the
case." |
The other
devastating recommendation comes in the report's conclusion:
|
1) The Governing Body Commissioners of ISKCON
Mayapur along with the Mayapur Administrative Council (MAC)
should write letters of apology and remorse, signed by each
MAC and GBC member, to each of Satadhanya's child abuse
victims. These letters should appropriately take
responsibility for the organization's role in favouring
Satadhanya and neglecting the welfare of Satadhanya's child
sexual abuse victims.
Further, the letters should genuinely welcome the victims to
visit and reside at ISKCON Mayapur, and the letters should
apologize for allowing Satadhanya to retain an Influential
position in ISKCON Mayapur, thus adding to the victims'
feelings of pain and intimidation. Similar letters of
apology should be written to the devotee community at large
in Mayapur, and to the ISKCON community at large." |
Considering the
GBC is made up almost entirely of 'diksa gurus' who are supposed to
be 'as good as God', the above must be highly embarrassing for them.
The whole Mayapur project is to pay heavily for its past neglect:
|
"3) This panel recommends that ISKCON Mayapur
and affiliated projects contribute at least $10,000 annually
for at least the next ten years specifically for the purpose
of child protection. At least 50% of this money should be
directly allotted as grant money for persons who suffered
child abuse while under the care of ISKCON Mayapur." |
The report
further recommends that Satadhanya be banned from Mayapur for the
next ten years and write detailed letters of apology to his victims
along with payments to them of $1,000 per year for the next five
years.
The report also recommends the following:
|
"6) Satadhanya dasa must not assume any
position of influence that is connected with ISKCON. This
stipulation also includes a prohibition from representing
ISKCON. For example, he is not permitted to represent ISKCON
to an embassy or to any governmental entity." |
Satadhanya is
officially representing all of ISKCON's gurus in the Calcutta High
Court, his being the ONLY signature on the defence's affidavit. We
wonder if now finally the GBC will see how inauspicious their
defiance of Srila Prabhupada's order on initiations has become.
Will they now withdraw Satadhanya as their representative as the
above report recommends? If there is an ounce of intelligence
amongst them then surely the GBC must realise the game is now well
and truly up.
It should be noted that Satadhanya may only be banned for the next
ten years from certain ISKCON projects, whereas some devotees who
merely wish to follow Srila Prabhupada's orders on initiation have
been banned for life, beaten and intimidated. Thus we see how ISKCON
really sees the relative importance of child sex abuse, and in how
much contempt they hold Srila Prabhupada's direct order.
ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) thank-you for taking the time to read
this newsletter, and please keep your letters, and e-mail addresses
of other devotees who should be added to our list, flowing in. A
hard copy of our main position paper 'The Final Order' is available
on request.
If you would
like to receive any of the back issues of the Newsletter please let
me know.
No1. Invitation to Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja
No2. GBC Lose First Round of Court Case
No3. The Story VNN Refused to Publish
No4. Poison Theorists Accuse Adri of Complicity
N05. Iskcon Continues to Promote Child Abusers
No6. Invitation to Malaysia
No7. United World Body Formed
No8. Does Srila Prabhupada Support Poisoning Theory?
No9. PADA Attacks IRM Position
No10. PADA Continues to Present False Evidence
No11. GBC Funded Video says Ritvik Spiritual
|