The first citizens will arrive on Friday to live in the world’s newest self-declared country —Liberland, a tiny area of woodland and fields on the sandy banks of the River Danube.
The establishment of the pocket-sized nation was declared earlier this month on land which lies between Croatia and Serbia. The founders said that it was never properly claimed by either country.
Liberland has its own flag, which features an eagle and a sun, a constitution, and a motto—“To live and let live”. Its self-appointed ruler is Vit Jedlicka, a conservative, anti-EU Czech politician and admirer of Britain’s Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP.
Known officially as the Free Republic of Liberland, the country’s independence was formally declared on April 13. Some 120 would-be citizens are expected to arrive on Friday for what has been called the state’s first Liberty Day. The would-be Liberlanders are encouraged to bring food, beer and “all necessary equipment for comfortable survival in nature”, including tents and sleeping bags. The first 100 people to turn up to the site, which lies at the end of a dusty road on the west bank of the Danube, will be granted honorary citizenship.
Liberland has not been recognized by any other country, least of all Serbia or Croatia, but that has not stopped 300,000 people around the world from applying for honorary citizenship. Liberland’s right to exist may be legally questionable but that has not stopped its founders from dreaming of building a flourishing, free-market economy, with a large population living in yet-to-be built skyscrapers.
“This is about limiting the powers of the state. Governments have grown so big.” ‘President’ Jedlicka told The Telegraph. “We are part of a great libertarian movement that is growing around the world. Governments are becoming increasingly unpopular.”
Mr Jedlicka says he wanted to fulfill the dreams of his seven-year-old daughter, who told him she longed to be a princess.
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