"Whale Nation" Sends Emissary to UN

New York, Sept. 29, 2010

A representative of the Whale Nation has registered his request for UN recognition and representation with the UN General Assembly. Kimio Eto, Japanese Koto musician, has announced his pending representation of the self-proclaimed Whale Nation of Sentient Beings.
Mr. Eto, started koto instruction although blind, at age 8. As a young man, he often took his instrument out on the waters of Tokyo Bay, to escape the frenetic sounds of modern society. Seated in a small boat, he was surprised to hear whales harmonizing with his delicate koto music. "At times, it sounded like the Vienna Boy's Choir performing Bach," he says. "Sometimes the songs of whales resembled Villa-Lobos, sometimes Wagner." He was surprised how well they blended with Japanese Classical Music. "Kiri Te Kanawa, Renee Fleming, and Joan Baez would have loved to hear their concerts."
After several years of extended duets with whales, Mr. Eto began to comprehend whale language. "They are quite romantic," he says. "They sing across oceans." Mr. Eto says the whales bear humans no ill will. "They see the cycles of nature perhaps more clearly than we do. The four seasons and the cycles of life and death form the stage for the joys and sorrows of all life forms, and there can be no regrets," Mr. Eto has said.
In his representation to the UN organization, Mr. Eto says the whales want to raise their families in peace.
"Grief is common to all sentient beings," says Mr. Eto. "That does not mean humans are exempt from the suffering they inflict. The whales have taught me there is a price to be paid for indiscriminate cruelty, and human suffering is commensurate."
The UN General Assembly has scheduled a study commission on the rights of sentient beings other than human. Spain has already reserved human-like rights for chimpanzees and gorillas, and Switzerland has considered opening bank accounts for charitable donations in their name.
Prominent GOP strategists in America have scoffed at the idea. "52% of Americans-- the women of America-- don't yet have equal rights," said one, who declined to be named. "We're not going to start listening to voices from the oceans, and probably wouldn't understand them if we did."