IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 212 
Expressing the sense of Congress on the occasion of the 20th anniversary 
of historic events in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly the Velvet 
Revolution in Czechoslovakia, and reaffirming the bonds of friendship 
and cooperation between the United States and the Slovak and Czech 
Republics. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 7, 2009 
Mr. MICA (for himself, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. BILIRAKIS, 
Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. INGLIS, Ms. FOXX, 
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. LATHAM, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MACK, Mr. 
CHAFFETZ, Mr. PETRI, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. 
SCALISE, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. ROYCE, 
Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. CAMP, Mr. 
FLEMING, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. BARRETT of South 
Carolina, Mr. LATTA, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. KOSMAS, Mr. EHLERS, Mrs. 
BLACKBURN, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. OLSON, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. 
MCCARTHY of California, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. BALDWIN, 
Mr. NUNES, and Mr. PASCRELL) submitted the following concurrent reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
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 
and Czech Republics. 
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•HCON 212 IH 
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 Slovakia, com-
prising the present Slovak Republic, and the peoples of 
Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Silesia, comprising the 
present Czech Republic, proclaimed their independence in 
a common state of the Czechoslovak Republic; 
Whereas between 1938 and 1945, the Nazis 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, the 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 Communists seized power from the democrat-
ically elected Government of Czechoslovakia in March 
1948; 
Whereas troops from Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czecho-
slovakia in August 1968, ousted the reformist govern-
ment of Alexander Dubcek, and restored a hard-line com-
munist 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; 
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•HCON 212 IH 
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 
and Czech Republics have established a vibrant, plural-
istic, democratic political system based upon freedom of 
speech, a free press, free and fair open elections, the rule 
of law, and other democratic principles and practices; 
Whereas the people of the United States and the Slovak and 
Czech Republics have maintained a special relationship 
based on shared democratic values, common interests, 
and the strong bonds of friendship, mutual respect, and 
close cooperation; and 
Whereas the people of the United States have an affinity with 
the peoples of the Slovak and Czech Republics and re-
gard the Slovak and Czech Republics as trusted and im-
portant partners: 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 and Czech 
Republics, the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revo-
lution in Czechoslovakia, which underscores the sig-
nificance and value of reclaimed freedom and the 
dignity of individual citizens; 
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•HCON 212 IH 
(3) commends the peoples of the Slovak and 
Czech Republics for their remarkable achievements 
over the past 20 years in building free, democratic, 
and prosperous societies; 
(4) appreciates the contribution of the Slovak 
and Czech Republics as members of the North At-
lantic Treaty Organization and the European Union 
to the promotion and defense of common values of 
freedom, democracy, and liberty around the world; 
(5) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and close 
cooperation that have existed between the United 
States and the Slovak and Czech Republics; and 
(6) extends the warmest congratulations and 
best wishes to the people of the Slovak Republic and 
the peoples of the Czech Republic for a peaceful, 
prosperous, and successful future. 
Æ 
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