III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 343 

Congratulating the people of the Czech Republic and the people of the 

Slovak Republic on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the 

26th anniversary of the formation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak 

Republic, and the 101st anniversary of the declaration of independence 

of Czechoslovakia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. 

COONS, and Mr. MURPHY) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the people of the Czech Republic and the 

people of the Slovak Republic on the 30th anniversary 

of the Velvet Revolution, the 26th anniversary of the 

formation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, and the 101st anniversary of the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia. 

Whereas, on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson, in 

the ‘‘Fourteen Points’’ address to a joint session of Congress, called for the free ‘‘autonomous development’’ of 

the peoples of Austria-Hungary; 


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•SRES 343 IS 

Whereas the Fourteen Points address became the basis for 

the founding of an independent Czech-Slovak nationstate; 

Whereas, on September 3, 1918, the United States recognized the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Paris as a 

de facto government at war with the German and AustroHungarian Empires; 

Whereas, on October 14, 1918, the Czecho-Slovak National 

Council formed a provisional government, which declared 

independence from Austria-Hungary on October 18, 

1918; 

Whereas the peoples of the present day Czech Republic and 

the peoples of the present day Slovak Republic proclaimed independence on October 28, 1918, and October 

30, 1918, respectively, forming the common state of the 

Republic of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas, on November 12, 1918, the United States and 

Czechoslovakia established formal diplomatic relations; 

Whereas the United States never recognized— 

(1) the annexation of the Czech Sudetenland by 

Nazi Germany in October 1938; 

(2) the subsequent establishment of a German protectorate over Bohemia and Moravia; or 

(3) the creation of the German puppet Slovak State 

in March 1939; 

Whereas the Slovak and Czech resistance movements against 

the Nazi occupation, with the support of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, launched the Slovak National 

Uprising in August 1944 and the Prague uprising in May 

1945, accelerating the collapse of the Third Reich and 


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•SRES 343 IS 

demonstrating the courage, patriotism, and freedom-loving spirit of the Czech and Slovak peoples; 

Whereas, in February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power from the democratically elected government of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas, on August 20, 1968, 20 Soviet and Warsaw Pact 

military divisions invaded Czechoslovakia in order to 

crush the ‘‘Prague Spring’’, a period of greater political 

and economic liberty that followed the appointment of 

Alexander Dubcek as First Secretary of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party; 

Whereas, in the nonviolent Velvet Revolution of November 

1989, the peoples of Czechoslovakia overthrew 40 years 

of totalitarian communist rule; 

Whereas, after the Velvet Revolution, the peoples of Czechoslovakia established vibrant, pluralistic, democratic political systems based on freedom of speech, a free press, 

free and fair elections, the rule of law, and individual 

rights, values embodied by Va ́clav Havel, the first president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism in 

that country; 

Whereas, on January 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the 

Slovak Republic were formally created as independent nation-states after a peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia; 

Whereas the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic joined 

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 12, 

1999, and March 29, 2004, respectively, and have made 

significant contributions to the operations of the North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization around the world; and 

Whereas the peoples of the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic have forged a special relaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR343.IS SR343

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•SRES 343 IS 

tionship based on mutual respect, close cooperation, and 

the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, economic 

liberty, and individual rights and responsibility: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the peoples of the Czech Repub3 lic and the Slovak Republic for their considerable 

4 achievements in building free, democratic, and pros5 perous societies over the past 30 years since the fall 

6 of communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia; 

7 (2) congratulates the peoples of the Czech Re8 public and the Slovak Republic on— 

9 (A) the 26th anniversary of the formation 

10 of each country; and 

11 (B) the 101st anniversary of the independ12 ence of Czechoslovakia; 

13 (3) expresses profound gratitude for the sac14 rifices made by the people of the Czech Republic and 

15 the people of the Slovak Republic in support of the 

16 operations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza17 tion in Afghanistan and elsewhere; 

18 (4) reaffirms the strong historical and cultural 

19 ties that bind the people of the Czech Republic, the 

20 people of the Slovak Republic, and the people of the 

21 United States together; and 


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•SRES 343 IS 

1 (5) expresses the continued commitment of the 

2 United States to a free, peaceful, and prosperous 

3 Europe. 

Æ 


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