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Albright warns Iran over treatment of Jews |
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May 6, 2000 WASHINGTON, MAY 5 (AP) - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned Iran on Thursday that the outcome of its trial of 13 Jews on spy charges could have international repercussions.
Albright, who has led U.S. calls for a new dialogue with Tehran, said in a strong statement before the American Jewish Committee, "If you want to earn international respect, the way to begin is by respecting the dignity of your own citizens."
The 13 Jews face death sentences on charges of spying for Israel. Three have confessed, but the State Department has questioned whether the trial conforms with worldwide standards of due process.
"Governments from around the world are right in telling officials in Iran that what happens in the trials of the 13 Jews will have repercussions everywhere," Albright said.
Albright's overtures, which have included criticism of Iran's human rights record, have failed to stir the government in Tehran to accept the offer for dialogue.
In her speech, Albright assailed anti-Semitism as "a recurring curse." She said from the former Soviet Union to the Middle East, from California to Central Europe, anti-Semitism persists.
"This demands vigilance from all who love freedom," she said.
Albright, whose own Jewish roots became known when she was named secretary of state, said the treatment of Jews is an accurate barometer of democracy, that where Jews are endangered, other groups are targeted.
At the same time, Albright urged her audience to combat "a new spirit of complacency and provincialism in some quarters of our country."
Having attacked isolationists in the past, she said this time that "new provincialists ask why we should still care about what happens abroad, especially in places many of us have never been."
"We do have to care," she said. "We have been down this road before, when too many people in too many countries cared too little about events in hard-to-find places."
German President Johannes Rau, who also spoke at the dinner, offered assurances that his country has a special relationship with Israel and that it would remain a cornerstone of German foreign policy.
"We are aware of our special responsibility for the security of the Jewish state," he said.
In February, Rau addressed the Israeli parliament in German, asking forgiveness for "what Germans have done - for myself and my generation."
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