Widely dismissed as a joke, the self-proclaimed Free State of Liberland is about to embark on its second anniversary conference, with an increasingly impressive list of international speakers.
It is, I will admit, one of my favourite stories of my 15 years in Croatia – a story I follow closely, and which I was privileged enough to experience first hand almost a year ago, when I attented the first anniversary Liberland Conference in a village outside the Slavonian capital of Osijek.
Liberland, a small territory of 7km2 od marshland on the left bank of the Danube, which lay unclaimed by any state fro 24 years, until an enterprising young man from Prague rocked up one day, planted a flag and declared himself the President of Liberland, a libertarian state which would exist between Croatia and Serbia.
The story went viral, with most people admiring the man’s prank and thinking more of it. A fine joke.
Except…
Next month sees the second anniversary Liberland Conference, and far from going a way, the Liberland noise is getting louder and more international. Last year’s event was a truly surreal weekend – which you can read about here – but this year, the modest Slavonian village of Lug has been upgraded to Budapest and a cruise down the Danube.
Once again, there will be a very international group of speakers, including (for the second year in a row), the founder of the Pirate Party, Rick Falkvinge, and controversial Croatian MP, who recently raised the Liberland question in the Croatian Parliament (see video below).
The full programme for this year’s conference, which will take place from April 14-16, can be found here.
Not familiar with the fabulous Liberland story? A nice overview (with a cameo role from TCN) from last year’s conference.
Freedom for Liberland! from MEL Films on Vimeo.
