III 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 212 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 20, 2009 
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress on the occasion of the 
20th anniversary of historic events in Central and East-
ern Europe, particularly the Velvet Revolution in Czecho-
slovakia, and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and 
cooperation between the United States and the Slovak 
Republic and the Czech Republic. 
Whereas, on September 3, 1918, the United States Govern-
ment recognized the Czecho-Slovak National Council as 
the official Government of Czechoslovakia; 
Whereas, on October 28, 1918, the peoples of the present day 
Czech Republic and the present day Slovak Republic pro-
claimed their independence in the common state of the 
Republic of Czechoslovakia; 
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HCON 212 RFS 
Whereas between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany annexed 
part of Bohemia, set up a fascist ‘‘protectorate’’ in the 
rest of Bohemia and in Moravia, and installed a puppet 
fascist government in Slovakia; 
Whereas, on November 17, 1939, in response to widespread 
student demonstrations, Czech institutions of higher 
learning were closed by the Nazis, many students were 
taken to concentration camps, and 9 representatives of 
the student movement were executed; 
Whereas the Moscow-directed Communists took over the Gov-
ernment of Czechoslovakia in February 1948; 
Whereas troops from Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czecho-
slovakia in August 1968, ousted the reformist leadership 
of Alexander Dubcek, and restored a hard-line communist 
regime; 
Whereas, on November 17, 1989, the brutal break up of a 
student demonstration commemorating the 50th anniver-
sary of the execution of Czech student leaders and the 
closure of universities by the Nazis triggered the explo-
sion of mass discontent that launched the Velvet Revolu-
tion, which was characterized by reliance on nonviolence 
and open public discourse; 
Whereas the peoples of Czechoslovakia overthrew 40 years of 
totalitarian communist rule in order to rebuild a demo-
cratic society; 
Whereas, since November 17, 1989, the people of the Slovak 
Republic and the Czech Republic have established vi-
brant, pluralistic, democratic political systems based upon 
freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair open elec-
tions, the rule of law, and other democratic principles 
and practices; 
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HCON 212 RFS 
Whereas the people of the United States, the Slovak Repub-
lic, and the Czech Republic have maintained a special re-
lationship based on shared democratic values, common in-
terests, and the strong bonds of friendship, mutual re-
spect, and close cooperation; and 
Whereas the people of the United States have an affinity with 
the peoples of the Slovak Republic and the Czech Repub-
lic and regard them as trusted and important partners 
and allies: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the his-
toric events in Central and Eastern Europe that 
brought about the collapse of the communist regimes 
and the fall of the Iron Curtain; 
(2) commemorates, with the Slovak Republic 
and the Czech Republic, the 20th anniversary of the 
Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, which under-
scores the significance and value of reclaimed free-
dom and the dignity of individual citizens; 
(3) commends the peoples of the Slovak Repub-
lic and the Czech Republic for their remarkable 
achievements over the past 20 years in building free, 
democratic, and prosperous societies; 
(4) appreciates the contribution of the Slovak 
Republic and the Czech Republic as members of the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Euro-
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