STOP A PROPOSED ANTI-CYCLING LAW IN SLOVAKIA

Your immediate action is requested to help prevent a draconian law from being approved by the president of Slovakia. Deadline: Tuesday, 17th July!

Mikulas Dzurinda, the former Slovakian prime minister, was joined by 300 cyclists, who demonstrated in front of the presidential palace last Sunday, in an attempt to lobby the president of the Republic, Ivan Gasparovic, not to sign a bill currently under consideration. This bill would both outlaw cycling and horseback riding in forests nationwide. In addition to this, the bill would also allow for great amounts of forests to be clear-cut. The president is expected to come to a decision by Tuesday afternoon, thus your statements of support for the Slovakian campaign are urgently needed.

What to do: Send a fax to the office of the president Ivan Gasparovic, telling him that you support the Slovakian campaign's plea NOT to sign the bill. Send a fax to 00421 2 57 888 103. You may also send an email to informacie@prezident.sk. The website of the president is: http://www.prezident.sk/?introduction.

Campaign website (in Slovakian): http://www.ekoforum.sk/ and you may also write to Juraj Smatana: smatana [at] strazov.sk.

THE PETITION (English Version)

Dear Mr. President Ivan Gasparovic

We hereby ask you to use your constitutional powers to NOT SIGN the amendment of the law that would prohibit the use of bicycles and horses in the forests that are not on forest roads and marked routes. We do not demand an unrestricted access to every forest by bikes and horses. We just request the possibility to be able to ride also in those forests that do not contain signed routes. We ask you to send back to Slovak Parliament the changes of law N. 326/2005 about forests as well as the law N. 217/2004 about forest reproduction material by wording of law N. 545/2004 approved by the Parliament of the Slovak Republic on the 21st June 2007 for REVISION, because it is unjust and inappropriately limits the possibilities for recreation, the experience of nature, the healthy and active use of spare time in areas where the owner of the forest or administrator of the forest would otherwise allow it.

The amendments also provide the possibilities for uncontrolled woodcutting. Thus, if you sign the amendments, our forests will experience a decrease of bicycles and an increase in forest tractors. We consider our forests to be a real national treasure. We believe that by imposing limitations to the entrance of forests a loss of public control would occur, with a limited group of people in turn receiving maximum access to the forest, with few limits to tree-cutting and animal hunting. We ask you to review also these parts of the forest law, which are valid from year 2005 and limit the access to forests by tourists on foot. We ask for clear measures against unlawful use of the terrain by motorbikes, cars and snow motor scooters in Slovak forests. The undersigned..

This page was last updated 12 July 2007