Evening star., 1950-01-15

press and radio, and through the
Finnish Communist Party. Soviet
preSSure-that Is what it usually
amounts to is accentuated
through the close geographic po-
sition OF the big neighbor to the
small country, not only beyond
the eastern and southern borders,
but also in Porkkala, only Is miles
from Helsinki, where there is a
Soviet garrison and a naval base.
One OF the basic requirements of
any Finnish cabinet must be the
realization that, whatever its likes
and dislikes, Finland is a next
door neighbor of the Soviet Union
and will continue to be that for
some time to come. The Finnish
government is careful not to an
tagonize the big neighbor but it
does insist ON a certain freedom
to follow the mandate given by
the majority of the people, not
by the minority, the Communists.
Under the circumstances the
Finnish Communist Party is, of
course, most active and vociferous.
In fact, not a day passes without
the Communists accusing Fin
land of violating this or that
point of the peace treaty and the
Russo-Finnish friendship pact or
of claiming that either some in
dividuals or "reactionaries" as
whole-meaning the whole non
Communist majority-are working
against the Soviet Union. Nom
Communist newspapers answer
word for word, carefully leaving
out Soviet Unionn and her leaders.
Red Maneuvers
The Communist position is that
they-even with 19 per cent of
the vote-are the real repre-
sentatives of the Finnish people
and that any other policy ex-
cept theirs leads to a deteriora-
ton of the Finnish-Soviet rela-
tions. In their opinion, the most
beneficial position for Finland is
to be in as close a contact as pos
sible with the Soviet Union. This
policy, the Communists say,
would not only give Finland
greater economic and political
stability; it would also give her
more freedom. They argue that
the more satisfied the Soviet
Union is with the policies of
Finland. the less suspicious she
is about the small neighbor's in
tentions. But they fail to admit
that to reach this state of free
dom" would mean the end of
practically all other freedoms,
including having opinions differ
ent from those who have power
in the Soviet Union.
In realistic language, Finnish
Communists work to deliver the
country completely into the Rus
sian orbit. They do it through
maneuvering into leading posi-
tions in labor unions, co-opera-
tiveS and workers sport clubs.
They do it through calling wild
cat strikes. In 1948 and 1949
they tried to give the full treat
ment, to stage a coup. They have
good reasons for being frustrated
because Of their failures and are
likely to continue to fail if there
is not overly much outside inter-
ference. The many turncoats
among them, some of whom de-
nounced the Soviet Union in
strongest terms as late as during
the first half of the 1940s, feel
most uneasy Of them all.
Finland is trying to gain a
neutral position in European
politics. hoping to become an
island which any possible future
conflicts might bypass. While
she Joined the Soviet Union in
friendship and mutual assistance
alliance in 1948, she has not
wayered in upholding the West.
ern tradition of basic individual
rights of the Films. Largely
thanks to the favorable impress
sion her payments of the old loan
have made, she has been able to
get credit from the United States
while she trades also in the "ruble
block"