By Adonia Agayan

YEREVAN, July 10 — “If President Barack Obama doesn’t recognize the Armenian Genocide this year, then he will definitely do it next year,” said Ara Najarian, the mayor of Glendale, California, on July 8 at a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, the whole Armenian community of the United States is disappointed with the fact that he didn’t fulfill his pre-election pledges. In the annual traditional presidential address on April 24 concerning Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, President Obama used the term “Medz Yeghern,” the Armenian term for the Armenian Genocide, instead of the word “genocide.”

“Armenians supported Barack Obama during the elections, but now they are disappointed,” Najarian said.

Glendale’s Armenian population plays a great role in the city’s life. The most popular lawyers and doctors are of Armenian descent. Armenians make up 100,000 of the 250,000 strong population of Glendale.

He noted that the reason for not fulfilling the pre-election pledges concerning the recognition of Armenian Genocide was the Turkish lobby and Israeli activities in Washington. Nevertheless, the situation has changed because of the strained relations between Turkey and Israel after the flotilla incident that occurred just over one month ago. He believes there is hope that Israel will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“We should keep on promoting the resolution in Israel concerning the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and hope that Israel will pass the resolution and teach Turkey a good lesson,” he said.

Najarian, who is in Armenia to attend the Pan Armenian conference on “The State of Teaching the Western-Armenian Language in the Diaspora” initiated by the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora, said that Armenia must resolve its problems with Turkey, but the issue of the Armenian Genocide can’t be relegated.

“The Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict are both number one issues for the Armenian Diaspora,” he said.

The resolution on the Armenian Genocide was supported by the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Congress. As always, Turkey refuses to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and badly reacts to every kind of criticism from the West.

Najarian, who is also a member of the Republican party, informed that he and the president were once classmates. According to him, in those times no one thought that Obama would become the US President one day.

“We were classmates in 1981 when we studied at the Occidental College in Los Angeles. He was a very quiet but smart guy,” Ara Najarian said.

The mayor spends his vacations in Armenia and confesses that both he and his family members were impressed by the numerous cafes of Yerevan that are open and full of people even during the latest of hours, whereas in Glendale, all the cafes close by 10 o’clock. Najarian would like Glendale to resemble Yerevan in that. Nevertheless, he also said that there is one thing one should understand –- the reason that brings so many people to cafes at such a late hour.

Yerevan Report