The capitalists, the bourgeoisie, including the Cadet Party, never did recognise the right of nations to political self-determination, i.e., Freedom to secede from Russia. One merely has to compare the positions of all the principal classes and parties to see the truth of this. The republican bourgeoisie are for an agreement between the Finnish Diet and the Constituent Assembly. We have here a clear, precise, and indisputable picture. For Finland was annexed by the Russian tsars as the result of a deal with the suppressor of the French revolution, Napoleon, etc.
Agreement is possible only between equals.
If the agreement is to be a real agreement, and not a verbal screen for subjection, both parties to it must enjoy real equality of status, that is to say, both Russia and Finland must have the right to disagree. That is as clear as daylight. The Organising Committee should have told the Finns plainly whether it recognises the right of secession or not. It befogged the issue, like the Cadets, and thereby repudiated the right of secession. It should have attacked the Russian bourgeoisie for denying the oppressed nations the right to secede, a denial which is tantamount to annexation.