COHEN, ALBRIGHT GRILLED ON HYPOCRISY OF OPPOSING GENOCIDE RECOGNITION WHILE LEADING NEW GENOCIDE PREVENTION EFFORT
HULIQ, NC
Nov 14 2007
8vote WASHINGTON–The credibility of former Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen in
leading a newly launched genocide prevention initiative was called
into question, today, by reporters who cited their ongoing efforts to
block Congressional reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.106 /
S.Res.106), reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
"Sadly, the Genocide Prevention Task Force’s worthwhile efforts to
build consensus for an unconditional stand against genocide as a core
U.S. foreign policy priority are undermined right out of the box by
the fact that its leading figures, Madeleine Albright and William
Cohen, are today actively and publicly working to block American
recognition of the Armenian Genocide," stated ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian.
Secretaries Cohen and Albright were keynote speakers at a National
Press Club press conference hosted this morning by the U.S. Holocaust
Museum and Memorial, U.S. Institute for Peace, and American Academy
of Diplomacy, to announce the formation of the Genocide Prevention
Task Force, which the two will co-chair.
In response to questions raised by Hamparian and reporters from
media outlets including Asbarez, the Armenian Weekly, and the
Armenian Reporter, the two former secretaries were largely evasive,
and consistently used euphemistic language to avoid proper reference
to the Armenian Genocide.
"There are no absolutes in this," explained Secretary Cohen,
referring to U.S. action against genocide. "There is an element of
pragmatism… I think anyone serving in public office necessarily
has to have a set of balancing factors to take into account."
Secretary Albright stressed that taking action on genocide is a
difficult decision. "These are issues people have talked about a
long time and they may come out in statements and then, ultimately,
when you’re in the government (as we both have been) and you have to
make very tough decisions, you have to look at the overall picture. I
think we have to admit that. Otherwise, we’re not going to get off
the ground here. These are very, very hard issues."
"Secretaries Albright and Cohen can’t have it both ways. Either
they stand unconditionally against all genocides all the time, or,
by choosing to only raise their voices when it’s convenient, they
surrender their moral standing on this, the core human rights and
humanitarian issue our time," commented Hamparian.
In a September 25 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright opposed Congressional
consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106). A
similar letter was sent by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen
on September 7.
H.Res.106, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) with lead supporters
George Radanovich (R-CA), Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs
Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Brad Sherman (D-CA)
and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), currently has over 200 cosponsors.
On October 10, the House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the
resolution, which calls on U.S. foreign policy to properly reflect
the genocide of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children
from 1915-1923 in Ottoman Turkey. A similar measure in the Senate,
led by Deputy Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and John Ensign
(R-NV), has 33 cosponsors. The House measure is expected to come to
a floor vote later in 2007 or 2008.