【こぼれ話】冬眠クマの邪魔はしない、大みそかイベント会場の移転中止　ポーランド

【ワルシャワＡＦＰ＝時事】冬眠中のクマを起こさないで――大みそかの恒例イベントを主催するポーランドのテレビ局は22日、クマが冬眠するほら穴の近くでイベントを開催する計画が中止を余儀なくされたことを認めた。（写真はポーランド南部ザコパネで行われた、年末恒例イベントが国立公園内のスキー場へ移転することに反対するデモ）
　コンサートや、何杯もの酒を飲むことで知られる大みそか恒例のイベントを主催する公共放送ポーランド・テレビ（ＴＶＰ）は、イベント会場を南部タトラ山脈にある国内で最も有名なスキーリゾートに移転しようとしていた。
　しかし、冬眠中のクマが音で起きてしまう恐れがあると地元新聞社が指摘すると、タトラ国立公園も懸念を表明。地元新聞社が立ち上げた署名運動では、これまでに２万８０００人分の署名が集まった。
　ＴＶＰのヤツェク・クルスキ代表は、大みそかは「われわれを分断するのではなく一つにしなければならない」として、イベント会場を従来の南部ザコパネに戻すことを決めたと述べた。
　イベント会場の移転をめぐりザコパネでは先週、数百人規模のデモが行われ、担架にクマの人形を乗せて市内を練り歩くなどして開催地変更の手続き中止を求めた。
　ＴＶＰはこれを受けて当初、デモに参加する人々を「偽の環境保護活動家」と批判し、移転予定先のスキーリゾートではこれまでにスポーツ大会も行われていたが、何の問題もなかったと主張していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/11/25-08:23）

Do not poke the bear. A Polish TV channel learnt the truth of the saying on Friday, being forced to abandon plans to hold its noisy New Year's Eve party near bear caves.
The TVP station -- which hosts a gala event each New Year featuring concerts and a lot of drinking -- wanted to relocate the party to Poland's most famous ski resort in the Tatra mountains.
But a local newspaper said hibernating bears could be disturbed by the noise, sparking warnings from the Tatra National Park and a petition that was eventually signed by 28,000 people.
TVP chief Jacek Kurski confirmed the event would move back to its previous location in the town of Zakopane, saying New Year's Eve must unite us, not divide us.
Zakopane officials also confirmed the location switch, saying they were happy to have managed to convince TVP to return to the town centre.
Hundreds of protesters marched through Zakopane with a fake bear on a stretcher last week calling for TVP to relocate the event.
The station initially branded the protesters pseudo-ecologists and argued that sports events had been held in the area without a problem.
The TV station had originally said moving the event to the mountains would have provided protection from the wind.
But the Tatra National Park had warned that the noise and flashes made by fireworks and firecrackers trigger anxiety in animals, as well as a search for new spots and in the long term a drop in the birth rate.
The statement added that a bear had died last year after being woken up on New Year's Eve.
An expert from the park confirmed to AFP that there were Carpathian brown bears in the area, though he said precise numbers were not known.