Sovereign State of Paraduin
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Paraduin | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: Freedom in solidarity | |
| File:Rotterdam / Siga | |
| Official languages | Dutch |
| Demonym(s) | Paraduinese |
| Government | Monarchy |
• Prince | Ogidius |
| Establishment | 1 April 2015 |
| Population | |
• (1 resident) census | 5 |
| Time zone | UTC + 1:00 |
Website Official website | |
The sovereign state of Paraduin came into existence on 1 April 2015 by satisfying the Montevideo criteria. It consists of two areas: a house in Rotterdam, formerly part of The Netherlands, and a patch of uninhabited land on the Danube, known as Siga. In addition to forested mainland (Gornja Siga), this includes a river island.
Rotterdam
The house in Rotterdam, residence and property of the prince, was claimed as part of Paraduin on 1 April 2015. According to Prince Ogidius, who is suffering from the debilitating neuroimmune disease myalgic encephalomyeltis, international law gave him the right to secede from The Netherlands after he was denied welfare and the Dutch court refused to hear his case. This left him without means to survive. Although ME has been recognized by the WHO as early as 1969, its existence is still denied by the Dutch government. Many patients have no or little income.
Siga
Siga's status became disputed after Yugoslavia fell apart and the new republics of Croatia and Serbia could not agree on the location of their border. According to Serbia, the current location of the Danube is where the border lies, while Croatia claims it's where the river used to run on an earlier date. As a consequence, some larger areas on the left bank of the river (the Serbian side) are claimed by both macronations, while both nations claim that a few smaller pockets of land on the right bank (the Croatian side) belong to the other.
One view is that these smaller pockets, of which Siga is the largest, became a terra nullius to be claimed by anyone. Paraduin was the first of several micronations to do so, on 5 March 2015, before it even had established itself as a sovereign state. The macronations Serbia and Croatia maintain that Siga did not become a terra nullius, but is disputed land that will some day belong to one of them, depending on the outcome of negotiations. In 2015, no negotations were taking place.
A would-be micronation named Liberland tried to occupy the land but these attempts were thwarted with the aid of the Croatian police. Representatives of Liberland got detained and fined, and they are denied access. Tourists, however, are allowed to visit Siga. Part of the land is privately owned by a logging company.
Population
The nation counts citizens living within as well as outside its borders.
Constitution
Paraduin's constitution, published on 1 April 2015, contains 11 articles. The first article promises fair treatment to all citizens, while the third guarantees freedom of thought. These are viewed as basic human rights from which other rights are derived.
The constitution furthermore establishes the nation as a monarchy, with Ogidius as its first ruler. The ruler's title is Prince (or Princess) of Paraduin, but the ruler is also considered a citizen.
Economy
Most of Paraduin's activities are cultural. They include storywriting and the free online encyclopedia Wikisage. The Dutch version of Wikisage holds over 55,000 articles. A parallel world, also named Paraduin, is where many of the stories take place, like the novel Bellerophon.
In December 2016 Paraduin announced its participation in the development of the motion picture 'The Russian Bride' by Reigning Entertainment, starring Kristina Pimenova, Oksana Orlan and Corbin Bernsen. The film's principal photography took place in March 2017, at the Scripps Mansion in Lake Orion, Michigan. The movie debuted June 2018 at Cinepocalypse, Chicago and internationally March 2019 as the closing feature at Fantasporto, Porto. It has been released worldwide, including a theatrical release in Russia.