Free Republic of Liberland
Free Republic of Liberland | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: To Live and Let Live | |
 Location of Liberland | |
| Official languages | |
| Demonym(s) | Liberlander |
| Government | Provisional do-ocracy government chaired by the president (de Jure) |
• President | Vít Jedlička |
• Vice president | Boguslaw Wozniak |
• Minister of Foreign Affairs | Thomas D. Walls |
• Minister of Finance | Navid Saberin |
• Minister of Justice | Michal Ptáčník |
• Secretary of State | Tariq J. Abbasi |
| Sovereign state | |
• Proclamation | 15 April 2015 |
| Area | |
• Total | 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) |
| Currency | Liberland dollar (based on Liberland blockchain) (LLD) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| Internet TLD | .org & .ll.land |
Website https://liberland.org | |
Liberland, officially the Free Republic of Liberland, is a micronation located in Europe, more specifically on the island of Gornja siga, a disputed territory between Croatia and Serbia.[1]
Geography
It is located on the island of Gornja Siga and has an area of 7 km².[2]
History
The state was proclaimed on 13 April 2015 with a ceremony in Gornja Siga, which included a flag-raising performed by Vít Jedlička and his supporters. Jedlička is a member of the Free Citizens' Party, of classical liberal orientation, liberal-conservative, right-libertarian and Eurosceptic.
Jedlička claimed the area based on the principle of terra nullius. The border, he argued, was defined in accordance with Croatian and Serbian claims and did not interfere with the sovereignty of any other state. In April 2015, Jedlička stated that an official diplomatic note would be sent to both Croatia and Serbia, and subsequently to all other states, with a formal request for international recognition.
On 20 April 2015, Jedlička gave a lecture at the Prague School of Economics, entitled "Liberland – how a state is born". He discussed various aspects of the project and the interest it has generated around the world. One topic he raised was the Montevideo Convention, explaining that Liberland intended to fulfill the principles of the convention (permanent population, possession of a territory, existence of a government, ability to establish relations with other states), which is commonly used to define a state. At the time of the conference, the Liberland project had ten people willing to manage foreign relations. Other topics covered in the lesson included the concept of voluntary taxation and how the large number of citizenship applications had made it necessary to restructure the process of obtaining citizenship to make it more effective, as it relied only on an email account.
On 18 December 2015, Jedlička held an event where he introduced the first provisional government of Liberland and its ministers of finance, foreign affairs, interior and justice, as well as two vice-presidents.
Croatian authorities have frequently blocked access to the area since the beginning of May 2015. Starting in August 2023, Croatian police allowed small groups of Liberlanders to make short visits during daylight hours, subject to passport checks upon entry and exit from the territory.
In May 2015, Vít Jedlička and his translator Sven Sambunjak were briefly arrested by Croatian police after attempting to cross the border. Jedlička spent a night in detention, then was sentenced to pay a fine for illegally crossing the Croatian border, but appealed the verdict. He claimed that there were at least three citizens of Liberland within the area, who were from Switzerland. Later that month, Vít Jedlička was arrested again. Initially, journalists were able to enter the area with Jedlička, but were later denied entry, including that of journalists from the Serbian public television service Radio Television of Vojvodina, and from the daily Bosnian Dnevni avaz.
The arrested activists came from various countries, including Ireland, Germany, Denmark and the United States. Croatian police continued to detain people, including those who entered the area by boat (via an international waterway). One of them, Danish activist Ulrik Grøssel Haagensen, was placed under house arrest for 5 days before being sentenced to 15 days in prison, sparking some protests in Denmark.
The supporters of Liberland have also founded a "base camp" on the left bank of the river, in Serbian territory, from which they provide help to those who intend to enter Gornja Siga by river, after registering with the Liberland Settlement Association.
In May 2016, several judicial appeal decisions were published from Croatia. The court confirmed that crossing into Liberland from Croatia is illegal, but found the sentences for entering Liberland from Serbia to be improper. The court said the lower court had committed "a fundamental violation of the misdemeanor proceedings" and "essential procedural violations." It further ruled that "the facts were incorrectly and incompletely established [by the prosecutor], which could lead to a misapplication of substantive law." A new trial was ordered in 6 of the 7 appeals. The lower court is required to determine the location of the border and border crossing point.
In 2017, an attempt by 50 libertarian activists to access the island by river on the occasion of the second anniversary of the proclamation of the state was blocked by the Croatian police.
In July 2023, the British YouTuber Niko Omilana together with his cameramen George, managed to access the territory of Liberland by evading the defenses of the Croatian police boats with the fastest jet skis, also helped by the fact that he started from 'Hungary and therefore not having violated any Croatian law on illegal exit from the country. Omilana then planted a Liberland flag on her soil, and made the first physical transaction in Merit, paying her aide for a leaf collected shortly before, also from the micronation's soil. The leaf in question is now declared a "national treasure" by President Vít Jedlička.
On August 6, 2023, the opening of the border with Croatia was announced.
Subsequently, both requests for citizenship and those actually accepted increased and various plans were presented for the administration of Liberland and for the construction of buildings in the small territory.
During the 2019-2021 COVID-19 pandemic, Liberland, through the Liberland Response Center, distributed 600 face shields as humanitarian aid to Croatia and 600,000 respirators for the United States.
Croatian police and law enforcement forces invaded the island of Liberland between 21 and 22 September 2023.[3]
Politics and government
| Role | Name | Mandate |
|---|---|---|
| President | Vít Jedlička | 2015 - 2023 |
| Vice-president | Boguslaw Wozniak | 2015 - 2023 |
| Secretary of State | Tariq J. Abbasi | 2015 - 2023 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Thomas D. Walls | 2015 - 2023 |
| Minister of Interior | vacant | 2015 - 2023 |
| Minister of Finance | Navid Saberin | 2015 - 2023 |
| Minister of Justice | Michal Ptáčník | 2015 - 2023 |