Havel to Quit; Slovaks Declare Sovereignty : Eastern Europe: Czechoslovakia’s breakup now appears inevitable. But it will almost certainly be peaceful.

President Vaclav Havel said Friday that he is resigning, ending his struggle to spare Czechoslovakia from the post-Communist nationalism that is now dividing much of Eastern Europe.

Havel, an eloquent dissident playwright who led the “Velvet Revolution” that peacefully ended Communist rule here in 1989, was blocked by Slovaks earlier this month when he sought reelection in Parliament.

Havel’s announcement that he will step down on Monday came minutes after Slovakia’s regional Parliament declared sovereignty for the eastern republic.

Although Slovakia’s action appears to make it inevitable that Czechoslovakia will follow Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union into disintegration, this country’s breakup almost certainly will be peaceful.

Addressing the nation Friday night, Havel said his failure to be reelected president by the federal Parliament “showed me I have lost the trust of a larger part of the Slovak political representation. I do not see this loss as an expression of dislike of me as a person, but as an expression of disagreement with the values I stand for.”

Havel could have stayed in office until his term expired Oct. 5, but his early resignation was expected.

“It was no surprise,” said Vaclav Klaus, prime minister of the Czech republic, who backed Havel. “This act is a logical outcome.”

Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar also said the resignation was expected, but he denied that it was a direct result of the sovereignty vote.

“I think he’s reacting to what is happening in both republics,” Meciar said. “The president made the situation easier. His step is opening doors, not complicating the situation.”

After winning elections in their republics last month, Meciar and Klaus failed to agree on a way to keep the federation together and asked their parliaments to work out a split by the end of September.

Havel, who was harassed and imprisoned under Communist rule, sought to remake Czechoslovakia along the lines of his humanistic philosophy. But his philosophical bent could not withstand the daily skirmishes of the political arena.

He was elected president in 1989 and again in 1990. He made preservation of Czechoslovakia his main goal, but he was overwhelmed by nationalist sentiment.

Slovakia, the poorer third of the country, has long chafed under Czech domination. Its declaration of sovereignty does not make Slovakia independent, but the CSTK news agency quoted Meciar as saying it sends “a clear signal abroad that Slovakia is taking the intention to create its own state into its own hands.” That requires a new Slovak constitution, which Meciar said would be ready soon.

There is speculation that Havel might stay in politics as leader of a Czech republic, but the process of splitting the two regions has hardly begun and no such post exists as yet.

Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918 on the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia--which had been dominated by Austria--and Slovakia, which had been under Hungarian control.

Slovakia’s 5 million people, a third of Czechoslovakia’s population, clearly face dire problems. Slovakia is saddled with inefficient heavy industry and 12% unemployment.