Rael Urges Closing of U.S. Bases in Okinawa

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Feb 02, 2012, 08:30 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, and thousands of Japanese Raelians have expressed their support to the Japanese delegation in Washington, D.C., in its opposition to the presence of and new construction of U.S. military bases in Okinawa.

Thirty-four American bases have occupied much of Okinawa's land for the past 67 years. And year after year, a majority of Okinawa's people have opposed the forced occupation of their territory by the United States by organizing regular peaceful sit-ins and protests.

Rael, who has been invited by the Raelians of Okinawa to attend their latest meditation gathering, says all U.S. bases in Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan should be closed.

In a recent speech, Rael also explained that Asian peoples have never been colonizers.

"Asians are mainly peaceful, but America is the worst colonialist nation in the world," Rael declared. "Americans say they fight for freedom and use that strategy to have 180 military bases worldwide, while China has only 2. The American military budget is 1,000 times larger than that of the Chinese. Who should we be afraid of?"

For Rael, the fear pretext used by America to justify its many bases and the building of more and more weapons is not only irrational but criminal. He says the 70 military bases in Japan are completely unjustifiable.

"Moreover, since no independent organization has ever verified U.S. claims that there are no nuclear weapons stored in Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency should at least conduct an inspection to make sure there are none," he said.

SOURCE Raelian Movement