This community of interests is so great that, notwithstanding the difference
of races, religions and languages, it would be difficult to imagine a normal existence
and development of the vital forces of any of these nations taken singly; it is why it is
evident that the Caucasus, geographically one, limited by the Black Sea and the
Caspian Sea and by the Caucasus mountains, must be united under some economic
and political form. What sort of union will it be? The Areopagus of the
representatives of the Caucasian nations, under the guidance of the Peace Conference
and Leage of Nations will have to settle that question.
The Peace Delegation of Azerbaijan thinks that the best form would be a
confederacy of Caucasian Republics: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and the
Mountaineers.
Being partisipiants of that federative union of the Caucasian Republics, the
Azerbaijanians, like the Mountaineers of Northern Caucasus, consider that form of
union to be the best means to put an end to national and territorial contests. These
discussions will lose their sharpness, and, thanks to mutual concessions for the sake
of common interests, they will end favourably for the welfare of all the Caucasians,
we feel certain of this, if however there were some question, the solution of which
seemed too difficult for the Caucasians, the international arbitration of the League of
Nations would come to their help by its authoritative voice and would still better
strengthen the unity and solidarity of the natives of the Caucasus.
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. - ATTITUDE OF THE AZERBAIJANIANS
APPEAL TO THE TURKS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE BOLSHEVIKS
Understanding all the importance of the part played by an international
tribunal like that of the Nations, we sincerely welcome in the name of Azerbaijanians
its conception and organisation, not doubting that the Azerbaijanians shall have a
place in it among the other nations, in order to collaborate to the peaceful work of the
nations and to be able to contribute in the measure of our abilities to attain the noble
and generous aim of the League of Nations for the welfare of humanity.
We are certain that we too, Azerbaijanians, shall find in the international
organ of high morality and justice which the League of Nations will be, guarantees
for the defence of the rights of our people, which has, as we have already said, the
material and personal power necessary for, an independent political existence and for
its development in the family of the Nations called to life by the great Wilsonian
principles, based on the self determination of the nations.
Situation and characteristic features o f Azerbaijanians
It is true that the millions of Azerbaijanians are still little known, their
ethnography, history, literature, manners have not been the subject of any deep study.
It is principally the fault of the ancient Russian regime which for a century, by means
of persecutions related above, tried to russify the Azerbaijanian people by all
conceivable means and to deprive them of their national character.
Beside this, a characteristic feature of the Azerbaijanians is that modesty
which forces them to stand aside from all stems having an appearance of self
advertising. The Azerbaijanians are not accustomed to advertise themselves and to
proclaim aloud urbi et orbi their pains and misfortunes of which they had more than
their share and that they put up with without murmuring without crying out in the
press and in the world, without lamentations addressed fo the public opinion of
Nations and States.
It may be considered as a defect from certain point of view at all events it
has been the cause of many misfortunes for our people and prevented them from
showing their true national physiognomy. This circumstance was also the cause of
lying informations published in the European and American press about the
Azerbaijanians.
The authors of those informations wrote sometimes by hazard, sometimes
through ignorance of the subject, they had pretended to treat publicly, but mostly this
was written purposely by enemies of our people, who in their blindness wished to
harm the Azerbaijanians in any way possible, thinking they were thus useful to their
own nation.
Call fo r help against the bolsheviks
We have already explained how the Azerbaijanians took part in the
preceding wars and in the one that has just been finished, by sending detachments of
volunteers to the Russian army.
It is not likely that the Azerbaijanians will be blamed for having had
recourse to the Turkish military forces to fight bolsheviks.
To understand the necessity of that demand, one must think of the situation
in which the Caucasus, especially Azerbaijan, was then.
It was at the time of the breaking up of the Transcacausian Government,
when the front of the Caucasus was completely abandoned by the Russian armies and
foreign troops filled Transcaucasia. The capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, and some
districts were in the power of the bolsheviks, who making all sorts of communistic
experiments, destroyed all the material wealth of Azerbaijan and laid their hands on
all they could find, not excluding the Azerbaijanians, who were compelled to enlist in
the ranks of the Red Guard.
Their troops had already reached the Kurd-Emir and Oujaura railway
stations; the towns of Shemakha, Lenkoran, Salian and Gheokschai had been taken
and Gandja (Elizabethpol), the provisional residence of the newly formed
Government of Azerbaijan, was threatened.
Succour could not be expected from the next neighbours, Georgians,
Armenians and Northern Caucasians; they were all absorbed by the disturbances at
home.
Such was the situation of Azerbaijan, threatened also by the bolsheviks from
the sea, from Astrakhan and Transcaspian. Not having yet an organized army
Azerbaijan after the rout of the Russian army in the Caucasus, had been left without
any weapons, which the Georgians and Armenians had taken possession of, to share
them among themselves. Azerbaijan, which belonged to no group of Powers, was
obliged to apply to the Turkish troops, whose intervention enabled the
Azerbaijanians, who had hastily organized themselves, to take back the town of Baku
and to deliver from bolsheviks one of the most populous and fertile regions, with its
wealth of petroleum and fish.
It was therefore a question of life and death. The Azerbaijanians were
induced to apply to the Turks only by the instruct of sell defence. Turkey, however,
did not meddle with the home aitairs of Azerbaijan; she was favourable to a
Confederacy of Caucasian nations. Her troops left Azerbaijan immediately after he
signature of the armistice by the Powers of the Entente.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |