April 13, 2023 - It is 8 years since a Czech citizen made global headlines by claiming the Free State of Liberland on a slither of territory on the Danube between Serbia and Croatia.
I post regularly on Facebook, and it often happens that soon after I post a picture of my whereabouts in Croatia, I get a message from a friend or acquaintance to see if I have time for a beer.
Such a thing happened on a recent trip to Osijek, but I was VERY surprised to learn that the sender was in Croatia.
Vit Jedlicka, President of Liberland, who has been arrested several times and spent the night in Croatian jails on more than one occasion. The last I heard of him, he was banned from entering Croatia, despite being a law-abiding EU citizen with no criminal record.
An hour later, we were reunited in central Osijek, where President Vit picked up a couple of copies of our recent book, Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners, joking that he might find it useful after his efforts to establish his country next door.
The president was in typically jovial mood, and well he might be, for his Liberland dream is moving forward slowly, and he now has representation in 110 countries, as well as offices in over 20.
And today the party begins to mark the 8th anniversary, with a 4-day conference and celebration in Apatin, over the Danube in Serbia. You can learn more about it here.
Me? I am still recovering from the first conference back in 2016, truly one of the most surreal moments in this random 20-year journey in Croatia - you can read about it in Liberland Conference: Reflections of a Weekend in Alice in LiberWonderLand.
As for progress and updates, a couple of summaries to digest.
Freedom for Liberland! from David Freid on Vimeo.
Summary of recent Liberland diplomacy
Liberland considers itself fully a State, as it is one according to the standing Public International Law, particularly the Montevideo Convention (1). As such, it can enter international agreements and bond with them.
Somaliland, a de-facto state and the one relatively well-functioning polity in the erstwhile area of Somalia, recognizes Liberland fully and formally. A memorandum of cooperation has also been signed.
Liberland’s humanitarian arm, the Liberland Aid Foundation, has helped in numerous hot spots of dire need, such as Brazil during the Covid-19 crisis, Somaliland and El Salvador. It has recently opened offices in Malawi and Ghana, and negotiations are in the works with Abia State in Nigeria.
Considering its position as a relative newcomer on the international stage, Liberland focuses on “soft” diplomacy, entering memoranda of understanding regarding economic cooperation and humanitarian aid. The aim is to open doors for Liberland companies and government initiatives and to engage in a dialogue leading to a deeper, primarily economic, cooperation.
You may find the repository here of the memoranda of understanding and cooperation signed on behalf of Liberland or the Liberland Aid Foundation, that are currently in force and bind Liberland.
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(1) Rossman, Gabriel (2016) "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (But Still So Far): Assessing Liberland’s Claim of Statehood," Chicago Journal of International Law: Vol. 17: No. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol17/iss1/10
Liberland: Myths and Realities - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Free Republic of Liberland, founded on April 13, 2015, was proclaimed as a new country in accordance with international law regarding terra nullius. The land formerly known as Gornja Siga remained unclaimed by either Serbia or Croatia for over 25 years. Our project is now stronger than ever, with XXXXXXX applicants, XXXXX e-residents and XXX actual citizens. Our Blockchain, after going through a number of iterations, is ready to launch. Our Constitution and government structure, which is tied directly to the Blockchain, is truly the first of its kind. Our project to form a new country has received a lot of attention, including extensive media treatment. While much of the coverage has been excellent, a large bit of it is not.
The nature of information consumption by the general public is such that it is piecemeal, dependent upon the news cycle, and almost always incomplete. If some people haven’t heard about Liberland in the last few months, they assume we no longer exist. In addition, some people spread hearsay or misinformation without knowing the facts. Or, people read a random comment in a forum or blog post and assume it to be true without checking official Liberland organs. We’ll attempt to address some of the more frequent misunderstandings and myths here.
Myth 1: Liberland is not a “real” country and does not exist
This is likely the easiest myth to refute. Our position is that we fulfill the criteria for statehood laid out in the Montevideo Convention. According to Article 1 of the 1933 Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, the canonical definition in international law reads: "The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states."
We have a government, one that is capable of conducting relations with other governments. We have a people, and we have a defined territory (and additional property outside the territory). Granted, our access and control over the territory is limited by Croatia - this will be dealt with below. It should be noted that Croatia did not have complete control over its territory and its government did not have the consent of all of its people when it was recognized by other nations.
We are very real with real people from all over the world involved in helping us make our project successful. Liberland has solidified its internal governance and has over 100 global representatives. We have presented our case to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. and the European Parliament in Brussels and legislators and diplomats from all over the world. In Serbia, Liberland citizens are investing in tourism, maritime industry and high-tech fields. Our anniversary conferences and Floating Man celebrations alone have brought thousands to the region.
Myth 2: Croatia and Serbia oppose Liberland
While Liberland has had considerable difficulties with the Croatian government, we have been working on resolving the impasses. The blockade and patrols around Liberland cost Croatian and EU taxpayers large sums of money and prevent all access to the land, even stopping no-impact visits by hikers or beachgoers. To put it mildly, Liberland supporters in Croatia have been subjects of interest of Croatian intelligence services and attendees of our events have encountered problems at border crossings. In order to overcome these points of friction, we propose constructive dialogue that will benefit Croatia and support border security.
With common understanding and partnership with Croatia, our project can bring significant investments, jobs and tourism to a region that needs it. Along with the investments that would come with a flourishing Liberland, The Croatian region of Slavonia, with its rich culture and history would prosper as this neighboring area could be a key factor in our long-term development strategy for job creation and tourism. Independent, publicly available economic studies show that Liberland could have a positive incremental impact on Croatian GDP as high as 0.5% or more in just a few years.
With regards to Serbia, we are on very good terms with the local population; in fact, most of our activities are based in Serbia, in Ark village, Apatin and its harbor, our Free Trade Zone, Sombor and Belgrade. We have brought considerable investment, conferences and tourism to Serbia since the beginning. While we would welcome higher involvement, our relations with the Serbian government are very good.
Liberland is not a separatist or secession movement and we do not infringe upon the borders of Croatia or Serbia.
Myth 3: Liberland hands out passports and citizenship for free and will invite hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees to Europe
This is patently untrue. Citizenship is not free for the asking. You do not get it just by signing up on the website. This is a misconception that seems to have spread during the initial frenzy of coverage about Liberland. It is earned by donating or becoming an active supporter of the project and earning the equivalent in Liberland Merits (LLM), which is currently set at 5000 Merits. Our e-residency program, much like Estonia’s e-residency program, is not a physical residency program, although e-residents are welcome to visit our facilities provided they comply with Serbian immigration laws.
Although we have generated strong interest from all over the world, Liberland does not plan on and never did plan inviting mass immigration to the region. As we saw during the refugee crisis, the majority of newcomers flowed not to Liberland (indeed, they literally marched right on by) but directly to countries where they would receive the most social welfare benefits. For instance, millions of refugees went to Germany alone.
In addition, the people of Liberland are entirely a self-selected community; we attract people who place a high value on individual freedom and responsibility, who have a high level of education or technical skills and who align with our points of view; cultural assimilation of Liberlanders is already a given, and it is a wonderful culture indeed. Our aim is to build an environmentally friendly community in this beautiful region of Europe. A high population density is not necessary to succeed; we feel we can use the latest technology to build a sustainable community that maintains a high quality of life and does not place undue burdens on the local environment.
Myth 4: It’s just a “tax haven”
With taxes and regulations at historic highs in the EU and other countries, it’s no wonder that people want to escape such confines to somewhere where freedom reigns. Much ado has been made in the European press about the “Panama Papers” but the main takeaway from that story is that corrupt officials of much more well-known and larger countries take their ill-gotten funds and stash them away. By contrast, Liberland is a place where you don’t need to stash your money away in hidden foreign bank accounts. We place a very high value on free markets and transparency. Government revenue is collected in the form of voluntary fees and contributions, not mandatory taxes.
Our Free Trade Zone does benefit from reduced or exempted VAT, import duties and taxes in full compliance with Serbian law.
Myth 5: No other country recognizes Liberland
Another misconception about Liberland is regarding recognition by other countries. While we do not yet have full diplomatic recognition from UN member countries, we most certainly have diplomatic relations with them. Our delegations meet often with heads of state, top officials, diplomats, representatives of parliaments, senates and congresses, governors and mayors of other countries. We have signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs), twin city agreements and trade and aid agreements with several UN-recognized countries. On a humanitarian level, the Liberland Aid Foundation has sponsored humanitarian projects in Serbia, Croatia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Brazil, Uganda and more
Note that we subscribe to the declaratory theory of statehood, in contrast to the constitutive theory (the constitutive theory of recognition holds that a state does not exist until it receives recognition from other states). In contrast, the declaratory theory of recognition holds that a state may exist without recognition, which is merely an acknowledgment of an existing situation. The declaratory theory has become the prevailing view in international relations (see the Montevideo Convention criteria mentioned above).
Some of the more outlandish myths and misconceptions about Liberland will not be dealt with here, but some of the things we have heard include:
- Liberland is just another crypto scheme
- Liberland is just a bunch of elitist white or rich guys
- Liberland is a Serbian plot, a Russian plot, etc.
- Liberland has a central bank (a rather sordid tabloid in Bangladesh recently published this nugget, among other zany claims. News to us!)
Myths and misconceptions about Liberland can be overcome simply by following the news posted on our website, on our social media, or on Liberland Press. You can also contact our office at any time with specific inquiries.
Thomas D Walls, Minister of Foreign Affairs
References:
-Free Republic of Liberland official website www.liberland.org
-“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (But Still So Far): Assessing Liberland’s Claim of Statehood,” Gabriel Rossman, University of Chicago Journal of International Law (2016)
-“An Argument for the International Recognition of Liberland,” Christopher Balch, Mich. Journal of International Law (2015)
-Democratic Statehood in International Law - The Emergence of New States in Post-Cold War Practice, Jure Vidmar, Hart Publishing (2013)
-War and Peace on the Danube: The Evolution of the Croatia-Serbia Boundary Author: Mladen Klemenčić & Clive Schofield, IBRU: Centre for Borders Research, Durham University
-A multi-part economic study by the Libek Foundation of Serbia, covering:
Spillover economic effects of Liberland on the economies of Serbia and Croatia
The Importance of Economic Freedom
Free trade zones in Serbia – current situation overview
Overview of taxes, business environment and tariffs in Hungary, Serbia and Croatia
Taxes in Hungary, Serbia, and Croatia: a brief overview
