Liberland: hundreds of thousands apply to live in world's newest 'country'

The Guardian ^ | 4-24-2015 | Daniel Nolan

[Citizen Zed]

Accessible only by car via miles of winding, dusty Croatian roads, Gornja Siga – current population zero – is an unlikely testing ground for a plan to shape the world’s political future. It is a secluded area where verdant forest meets white sand on a western bank of the river Danube. The only signs of life are a single dilapidated building with a curious flag flying outside, pheasants, deer, the occasional wild boar, and eagles and falcons overhead.

Yet last Monday the Eurosceptic Czech politician Vit Jedlicka and two other libertarians declared this 7 sq km of Serbo-Croat no-man’s-land the world’s newest sovereign state, naming it Liberland. Despite abstaining in Liberland’s first presidential election, Jedlicka emerged victorious, thanks to votes from his fellow founding father and Liberland’s founding mother (also his girlfriend). Then things began to get weird.

In the week since Liberland announced its creation and invited prospective residents to join the project, they have received about 200,000 citizenship applications – one every three seconds – from almost every country in the world.

Prospective citizens are also offering Liberland their expertise in areas from solar power and telecoms to town planning and coin minting. “There is a spontaneous ordering taking place,” Jedlicka says. “People have planned the whole city in three days and others really want to move in and invest … what seemed like a dream now really looks possible.”

Liberland’s only stipulations are that applicants respect individual rights, opinions and private property, and have no criminal record or Nazi or Communist party background.

Jedlicka says: “The model citizen of Liberland would be [American founding father] Thomas Jefferson, which is why we established the country on his birthday. Citizens will be able to pursue happiness and this is the place where we can make this happen.”

[max americana]

“I thought it was going to be a place to send all the libs.”

I thought too just by the name alone. Good to know Jefferson is going to be their template. I still have to hear about guns, defense of the border specifically to make a solid judgement..

[Bob434]

[[Liberland: hundreds of thousands apply to live in world’s newest ‘country’]]

100’s of 1000’s of idiots hwo know NOTHING about the owner of liberland, or where he stand politically. The ‘only stipulations are that people respect the rights, opinions, and personal property of others’? How vague can you be? Suppose it’s someone’s Opinion that it’s a-ok to take you wife and have sex with her? does their ‘individual right’ and ‘opinion’ outweigh yours? Suppose their opinion is that you are not entitled to have as much property as you do?

Is there a constitution (and a hard fast rule/law that it can’t be changed or subjectively interpreted into oblivion) that clearly defines what rights are?

I give the country 6 months before it devolves into a cesspool of everyone demanding that THEIR opinions be considered more important than their neighbor’s

[backwoods-engineer]

It says, “Liberland’s only stipulations are that applicants respect individual rights, opinions and private property,” So no.

Yep. So many people in our society would not be willing to follow this simple law. So many people in our own government want to take your rights away, steal your property, and tell you what opinions you must hold. And that's just the Republicans :-)

[backwoods-engineer]

Actually, no. For a plausible extrapolation in fiction, read L. Neil Smith's "Probability Broach" novels.

Also, our own country started out that way, pal.

[Celtic Conservative]

You mean, as opposed to a country that has a drinking song as its national anthem?

CC

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"You mean, as opposed to a country that has a drinking song as its national anthem?"

the Star Spangled Banner was originally a poem that was put to the music of a popular drinking song (To Anacreon in Heaven). However, the Star Spangled Banner itself was never a drinking song. Besides, I like drinking songs... :-)

[Bob434]

whatever pal.

[bkopto]

It looks beautiful to me. No government or politician in sight.

[Bob434]

and by the way pal- it is a much much different country today than it was back then- practically EVERYONE is out for themselves these days- hardly anyone gives a crap about others-

I stand by what I said

[Celtic Conservative]

I’m of Irish descent, I kinda’ like ‘em myself.

;^)

CC

[SunkenCiv]

This topic was posted 04/24/2015, thanks Citizen Zed. Thoroughly Modern Miscellany.

(more accurately, why nobody who wants this part of Europe is allowed to live there)

Why Nobody Wants This Part of Europe | February 5, 2022 | RealLifeLore

• This newly declared microcountry wants to become the world's foremost tax haven [04/22/2015]

[SunkenCiv]

• Man forms tiny European nation, 160,000 sign up to become citizens [04/22/2015]
• This newly declared microcountry wants to become the world's foremost tax haven [04/22/2015]
• Birth of a nation? Czech pol claims to have established new country in no-man's land [04/21/2015]
• This man just claimed a new European nation. 160,000 people already want to live there. [04/21/2015]
• external link: Free Republic of LIBERLAND