; 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 Václav 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