In Klánovice, about 250 people protested against the golf course

Prague - In Klánovice, Prague, about 250 people demonstrated this afternoon for the preservation of the local forest. After 5 PM, they set off from the train station to the local municipal office. The protesters believe that the Klánovice councilors want to give consent for the construction of a nine-hole golf course after the mayor was replaced. They called for their resignation because of this.
    The Forest Golf Resort Prague company has wanted to build a golf course in the Klánovice Forest since the 1990s. The roughly one-kilometer march through the village was organized by the Green Party in Klánovice, the Civic Association for Klánovický Forest, the Civic Association Újezdský strom, and the Klánovický Soul association.
    A few police officers monitored the peaceful event on site. The demonstrators held banners with slogans like "Bém: Lobby is my hobby," "The forest is our lungs," or "Golf in the forest is yesterday's news." They called on the councilors to preserve the untouched forest in Klánovice, which they claimed was part of their pre-election promise.
    Opponents of the golf course have already demonstrated several times directly in Klánovice and in front of the city hall of the capital. This time, the event was also meant to support the initiation of a referendum on the future of the forest. Some local residents began gathering signatures last week to allow the referendum to take place. According to the chairman of the association for Klánovický Forest, Boris Procházka, the opponents of the golf course could collect the signatures for the referendum by the end of this week. They had previously organized a petition for the preservation of the forest, which has been signed by about 25,000 people so far.
    In January of this year, the Klánovice mayor Ladislav Hrabal (SZ) was dismissed, who gained popularity among local residents because he opposed the construction of the golf course. He was replaced by non-party member Jaroslav Losert, who held this position from 2005 to 2006. According to Procházka, Hrabal was criticized, among other things, for failing to secure funds for the repair of local roads and the development of the municipality. Procházka, however, believes that the mayor's replacement was timed and that there are interests of the Forest Golf Resort Prague behind it.
    Losert met with the protesters today but did not please them much. "If all legal requirements are met, I am in favor of the construction," he said.
    Golfers are attempting to revive the course, which was first opened in Klánovice during the First Republic. However, the state nationalized the land after World War II and reforested it. Opponents argue that there are now trees decades old growing in the original site that would need to be cut down. As of January 1, 2002, there were 325 hectares of forested area in the cadastral territory of the city district of Prague - Klánovice according to the district's website http://www.praha-klanovice.cz.