[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 343 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d 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, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Risch, and
Mr. Manchin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations
December 17, 2019
Reported by Mr. Risch, without amendment
January 8, 2020
Considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
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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