Deputy Chief of Mission Eddins Opens Pittsburgh Agreement exhibit at University Library

Deputy Chief of Mission Keith Eddins' Remarks

Director Trgiňa, ladies and gentlemen: 

Today we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia, as well as the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement.  Both events symbolize the strong bonds between the United States and Slovakia.

On May 31, 1918, the newspaper the Pittsburgh Post reported on a mass meeting of Czech and Slovak Americans.  These émigrés called for independence for their nations from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Their calls culminated in the signing of the Pittsburgh Agreement by Slovak and Czech Americans and Tomas Masaryk on (date). 

Copies of these exhibit panels are traveling around Slovakia.   They are now open to public viewing in Kosice and Banska Bystrica.

The Pittsburgh Agreement represents a major step on the long road to independence for Slovakia.  It demonstrates the support America has offered -- and continues to offer -- to Slovakia and its people.

The inspiration for the Pittsburgh Agreement was born of the American belief in the principle of self-determination. 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately a half-million Slovaks immigrated to the United States.   These immigrants absorbed this principle and wished to see it transplanted to their homeland.

President Woodrow Wilson made self-determination for Slovaks and Czechs our official policy when he announced the famous Fourteen Points to Congress on January 8, 1918. 

By September of that year the United States had recognized the Czechoslovak National Council as the official governing body of Czechoslovakia, paving the way for formal Allied recognition in October.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States worked to counter the oppression the Soviet system.  The tragic events of 1968 gave way to the hope and promise of the Helsinki Final Act.  And the commitments enshrined at Helsinki led eventually to the Velvet Revolution. 

Through the Velvet Divorce and continuing to today, the United States has worked side-by-side with our Slovak partners to establish and maintain institutions that are critical to a healthy, free and democratic nation. 

America has supported Slovakia in the establishment of effective non-governmental organizations committed to democracy, good governance, and human rights.  We have helped with the modernization and training of your armed forces, which serve the cause of democracy as a member of NATO.  We supported your entry into the European Union, helping to solidify liberal, free-market economics. 

These efforts are in the spirit of the U.S. commitment to the nation of Slovakia embodied in the Pittsburgh Agreement.

We look forward to a continued friendship and partnership that honors freedom and self-determination. 

And we congratulate University Library for this educational and inspiring exhibit.

Thank you.