Czechs and Slovaks Unhappy with the Split
Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Divorce"
By Phil Barta

On January 1, 1993 two newly independent countries will emerge in the heart of Europe. While Czechoslovakia will cease to exist as a federation, its republican components will evolve as its internationally recognized successors. The Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) and Slovakia will thus become the latest additions to a new Europe. We can be fairly confident that the break-up of Czechoslovakia will not boil over into chaos and carnage as it has in the former Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, a growing number of Czechs and Slovaks (and ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia) are openly regretful of the coming split. Many, including former Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel, are hopeful that politicians will be able to forge a new governmental system, possibly a confederation, after a successful separation. Both nations are determined to make the division as smooth as possible; the process has been referred to as the "velvet divorce," reminiscent of Czechoslovakia's "velvet revolution" of 1989. While the debate over who is responsible for the disintegration of Czechoslovakia continues, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are quickly moving ahead of this question to address the concerns linked to establishing market economies. While the disollution of the country will be painful, the rapid and generally successful measures taken by the federal government to develop the foundations of a market economy and democratic society have prepared the Czech lands and Slovakia for independence.

Under the leadership of President Havel and then finance minister Vaclav Klaus, the recently elected premiere of the Czech lands, Czechoslovakia asserted its desire to move quickly into the European order; Havel held out a vision of hope in the bleak domestic situation and pursued a high profile internationally, while Klaus has pushed the economy full-steam towards privatization. Since 1990 Czechoslovakia has laid parts of the basic foundation of a market economy: legal reform, price liberalization,...

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