Madeleine Albright and may lead new genocide prevention effort?

PanARMENIAN.Net - 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 (ANCA).



"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. "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 of our time," commented Hamparian.



Albright was among 8 former Secretaries of State, who sent a letter to House Speaker Pelosi urging her not to put the resolution on the House floor.



October 10, with a vote 21 to 27, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Armenian Genocide resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff January 30, 2007. However, in October 2007, the four leading authors called on Speaker Pelosi to adopt a revised schedule for the consideration of this human rights legislation.