Ecologists protest Zakopane bid for Olympics, but Kwasniewski supports it

They claim that the construction of the necessary infrastructure will devastate large parts of Tatrzanski National Park. The "Coalition for Carpathian Mountains Rescue" sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee, asking it to reject Zakopane's bid. "The idea of the Olympic Games in the middle of the National Park is a barbarian project which is illegal according to international environmental protection regulations," read the letter. Freedom Union's (UW) Ecological Forum and the Cabinet State Environment Protection Council (PROP) also issued protests. However, President Aleksander Kwasniewski expressed his support for the idea and announced that he plans to appoint a plenipotentiary to coordinate the Olympic Games effort. (Zycie Warszawy, page 1, Prawo i Gospodarka, page 2)