IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 618 

Congratulating the peoples of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic 

on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, on the 26th anniversary 

of their countries’ independence, and on the 101st anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s declaration of independence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 4, 2019 

Mr. VISCLOSKY (for himself, Mr. BANKS, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

and Mr. WRIGHT) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the peoples of the Czech Republic and the 

Slovak Republic on the 30th anniversary of the Velvet 

Revolution, on the 26th anniversary of their countries’ 

independence, and on the 101st anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s declaration of independence. 

Whereas, on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson’s 

‘‘Fourteen Points’’ address to a joint session of Congress 

called for the free ‘‘autonomous development’’ of the peoples of Austria-Hungary and became the basis for the 

founding of an independent Czech-Slovak nation-state; 

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


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•HRES 618 IH 

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 

its independence from Austria-Hungary on October 18, 

1918; 

Whereas the peoples of the present-day Czech Republic and 

the present-day Slovak Republic proclaimed their independence in the common state of the Republic of Czechoslovakia on October 28 and October 30, 1918; 

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

Czechoslovakia established formal diplomatic relations; 

Whereas the United States never recognized Nazi Germany’s 

annexation of the Czech Sudetenland in October 1938, 

the subsequent establishment of a German protectorate 

over Bohemia and Moravia, or 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 

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

Whereas the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized 

power from the democratically elected Government of 

Czechoslovakia in February 1948; 

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

Pact divisions invaded Czechoslovakia in order to crush 

the ‘‘Prague Spring’’, a peaceful popular movement calling for greater political and economic liberty that folVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:48 Oct 04, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR618.IH HR618

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•HRES 618 IH 

lowed 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 and have since established 

vibrant, pluralistic, democratic political systems based 

upon freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair elections, the rule of law, and individual rights, values embodied by Czechoslovakia’s first post-communist President Va ́clav Havel; 

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 NATO operations around the 

world; and 

Whereas the peoples of the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic have forged a special relationship based on mutual respect, close cooperation, and 

shared values of democracy, the rule of law, economic liberty, and individual rights and responsibility: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

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

4 achievements over the past 30 years since the fall of 

5 communist dictatorship in building free, democratic, 

6 and prosperous societies; 


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•HRES 618 IH 

1 (2) congratulates the peoples of the Czech Re2 public and the Slovak Republic on the 26th anniver3 sary of their independence and on the 101st anniver4 sary of Czechoslovakia’s independence; 

5 (3) expresses profound gratitude for the sac6 rifices of the Czech and Slovak peoples in support of 

7 NATO operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere; and 

8 (4) reaffirms the strong historical and cultural 

9 ties that bind the Czech, Slovak, and American peo10 ples together, and expresses the United States con11 tinued commitment to a free, peaceful, and pros12 perous Europe. 

Æ 


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