Liberian microstates in friction with border police of Croatia

The micro- state Liberland , which is located on a piece of no man's land between Croatia and Serbia, having not had time to form , has already encountered problems from the border states . In fact, now a river island with an area of ​​7 sq. Km. controlled by Croatia. It was her police service that began last week to detain freedom-loving citizens for attempting to cross borders.

The authorities of Croatia block access to the sweet air of freedom, because neither its officials nor their colleagues from neighboring Serbia like the activity unfolding around the island of no man. He is in a “no man's” state, or, in the terminology of international law, in the status of “terra nullius” since the 90s - after the tragic events in the Balkans led to the alteration of borders.


Vit Jedlička / from the official page of Liberland

The founder of the state and his first president, Vit Jedlička, who announced the creation of the republic in April, was detained on April 12Croatian police and spent the night in the squad. The detention occurred at the moment when Yedlichka tried to get to his "country" on foot, returning from a meeting with representatives of the Croatian Foreign Ministry. This was reported to Fox News by an initiative group that called itself the Liberland Press Agency (LSA).



An entry on Liberland's official blog states that “it was a more friendly visit than a detention.” However, Jedliczka had to spend the night at the police station, from which he left only the next morning.

And just a week later, Croatian police detained 12 people trying to get to the island in three small boats. Clutching the boats to the shore, the police arrested all Liberlandites for “illegal border crossing” and imposed a fine.


The President of Liberland approaches by boat to his country from the side of Serbia / Liberland Times

Nevertheless, neither the founder of the state nor its inhabitants lose optimism and determination. Their legal adviser, Professor Thomas Bell of Chapman University, explains that this site, according to international law, is in a terra nullius state, and the project participants simply want to settle on land that no one needs. LSA claims that the detention of people violates article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting forced deportation.

The president of the new microcountry claims that he has already received more than 300,000 applications for citizenship. In an interview with Telegrafhe said that he had already prepared a draft land border with Croatia. In addition, he said, several investors from the banking and IT sectors are already ready for cash injections into the self-proclaimed country in the amount of $ 20 billion.

Yedlichka also told some details about his life. His father was building gas stations in the Czech Republic, but after a sharp increase in interest on loans in 2007, he declared bankrupt. Jedlicka moved to Liberland with her wife and plans to have a baby there. His idol is Frederic Bastia , a French liberal economist, a supporter of free trade, who wrote, in particular, the work " Law“which inspired Jedlicka’s activities. Bastia’s statements are:“ The state is a huge fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of others ”and“ The tax is robbery by law. ”

The Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained to Fox News in an interview. that they do not seriously consider the claims of liberlandites to the territory, and consider everything that is happening "essentially a joke."