July 7th, 1955

[i]Our country of Turkey has long suffered injustice. Indeed it had done so from its very inception, where Imperialist invaders occupied its rightful lands. The international stage as some called it scoffed at the Turkish people, they decried their efforts to be free from terrorism that the Arabs and Kurds so viciously insisted upon. But the Turks persevered. Turkish resolve pushed out the traitors, the villains South. It pushed them North, it pushed them East and West and every way away from Turkey. Many times a foreign coward has tried - and failed pathetically - to return these wrongs inflicted upon our brave people. Not once have these horrible people succeeded. 

But our work is not done. Though within the Republic of Turkey our people enjoy unprecedented rights, freedoms, a cultural renaissance, luxuries, and a respect for our way of life, many of our kinsmen abroad cannot enjoy such wonders. Within the Caucasus, even now our fellow Turks of Azerbaijan, Azeris, Azerbaijanis, they are oppressed. The tyrants of the self proclaimed Transcaucasian Republic stifle their culture, their development, their faith. They demand their efforts for conflicts they have no interest in, they aim to remove the soul of our dear brothers and sisters for their childish cause. We cannot let this stand. 

As of today, I, your Prime Minister, demand of the Transcaucasus that they issue a free and fair referendum for Azerbaijan to willingly join the Turkish Republic as an autonomous Republic. Should the self-determination of Azerbaijan’s people be resisted, then our nation will be forced to take drastic steps. Thank you.[/i]

The recording was distributed across the nation by television and radio, and a very similar letter was sent to the relevant embassies and couriers some time before. It was truly a throw of the coin on whether or not the Transcaucasians would accept the offer of a free referendum, and though he did not doubt the results of it he doubted the good faith in their presentation. They would of course be intelligent enough to not falsify the vote to a truly obscene level. But he knew there were other ways to suppress the will of the people. Perhaps men from the rest of the Caucasus would be bussed in to vote in a land they had never lived in. Perhaps they would create a protocol to apply for the vote by which they would cut out much of the relevant voters. But if lazy they could quite simply adjust the percentage for a narrow victory in their favour. 

There were contingencies in place for just this. Mountaineers, artillery, and motorized infantry had all been discretely mobilized in the Turkish East to ensure that if the Transcaucasian government failed to do so, the Turkish government would ensure the destiny of Azerbaijan would come to life. At the same time, infantry and mechanized divisions had been prepared in the South for a counter-attack in the event of opportunism from the Kurds and Arabs. Avnicoglu truly did not want war. It was bad for everyone involved, but it was better than letting injustice reign. Drumming his fingers on his desk he relaxed, asking his secretary for tea and the newspaper. One of those which he didn’t control the headlines for if possible. Perhaps he’d go for a walk with the children after lunch! Then of course, he'd have to sit with the generals to hear of the preparations for the smaller, more isolated conflict that would be made to control an actual land border with Azerbaijan should it be allowed to reunify but said route was not given. After all, enclaves and exclaves were so messy on the map; they just wouldn't do.