Title: A 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic for their achievements in building prosperous, democratic societies since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The resolution also commends the countries for their support of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) operations in Afghanistan and reaffirms the United States' commitment to a free and peaceful Europe.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 343 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
Whereas the Fourteen Points address 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 de facto government at war with the 
        German and Austro-Hungarian 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 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 Vaclav 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 relationship 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commends the peoples of the Czech Republic and the 
        Slovak Republic for their considerable achievements in building 
        free, democratic, and prosperous societies over the past 30 
        years since the fall of communist dictatorship in 
        Czechoslovakia;
            (2) congratulates the peoples of the Czech Republic and the 
        Slovak Republic on--
                    (A) the 26th anniversary of the formation of each 
                country; and
                    (B) the 101st anniversary of the independence of 
                Czechoslovakia;
            (3) expresses profound gratitude for the sacrifices made by 
        the people of the Czech Republic and the people of the Slovak 
        Republic in support of the operations of the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization in Afghanistan and elsewhere;
            (4) reaffirms the strong historical and cultural ties that 
        bind the people of the Czech Republic, the people of the Slovak 
        Republic, and the people of the United States together; and
            (5) expresses the continued commitment of the United States 
        to a free, peaceful, and prosperous Europe.
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