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Paraduin

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The Sovereign State of Paraduin (parallel world) is a micronation established 1 April 2015 as a monarchy by Prince Ogidius (Dutch: Prins Ogidius).[1]

It consists of two areas: a house in Rotterdam, formerly part of the Netherlands, and a patch of uninhabited land on the Danube, known as Siga, which includes a river island. The nation's activities are mainly cultural.[2]


Location

File:Croatia Serbia border Backa Baranja.svg
Paraduin's main territorial claim, Siga, is situated at the largest green-colored pocket of contested territory. The yellow-colored areas to the east are claimed by both Serbia and Croatia. According to Croatia the green parts belong to Serbia, while Serbia states they are Croatia's.

The territorial claim of Paraduin consists of two distinct locations. The administrative centre is a house within the borders of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The second location, Siga, is an uninhabited parcel of contested land on the right bank of the Danube between Croatia and Serbia, which neither of them covets.[1]

Rotterdam

The house in Rotterdam is the residence and property of the prince. According to Prince Ogidius, who is suffering from the debilitating neuroimmune disease myalgic encephalomyelitis, international law gave him the right to secede from the Netherlands after he was denied welfare and the Dutch court refused to hear his case. This left him without means to survive.[3][4] Although ME has been recognized by the World Health Organization as early as 1969, its existence is still denied by the Dutch government.[5] Many patients have no or little income, and 25% wish to leave the country.[6]

Siga

Siga's status became disputed after Yugoslavia fell apart and the new independent states of Croatia and Serbia could not agree on the location of their border. According to Serbia, the current location of the Danube is where the border lies, while Croatia claims it's where the river used to run at an earlier date. As a consequence, some larger areas on the left bank of the river are claimed by both macronations, while each maintains that a few smaller pockets of land on the right bank belong to the other.[7]

One view is that these smaller pockets, of which Siga with about 7 km2[7] is the largest, became terra nullius to be claimed by anyone. Paraduin was the first of several micronations to do so. The macronations Serbia and Croatia maintain that Siga did not become a terra nullius, but is disputed land that will some day belong to one of them, depending on the outcome of negotiations.

Siga includes a floodplain forest, known locally as Gornja Siga (Upper Siga), and a river isle, Siga Szeget (Siga Island). The area is uninhabited, and international treaties regarding the Danube require it to keep its ecological function. Part of the land is privately owned by a logging company, while the beach and the sandy river island allow for occasional tourism.[8]

History

Although Paraduin claimed Siga on 5 March 2015,[9] the micronation's official founding day is 1 April 2015, when it added the Rotterdam headquarters and called itself a sovereign state. With permanent residence guaranteed, the nation presumes to satisfy the Montevideo criteria for statehood.[10]

Several other micronations intended to acquire Siga, specifically South Maudlandia (18 March),[11] Liberland (13 April),[12] and Âûtia (17 April),[13] but arrived later.[14] A flag ceremoniously raised by representatives of Liberland was removed within days.[15], which led some journalists to expect 'the world's smallest war'.[16][17] New attempts by Liberland representatives to access the area were thwarted by the Croatian police.

The Principality of Ongal claims the remaining, smaller pieces of disputed territory on the Danube's right bank, about 1,5 km2 in total.

Motto and constitution

The micronation's motto is 'Freedom in Solidarity',[1] and it supports the idea of a basic income.[13]

The constitution of Paraduin, published on April 1 2015, consists of 11 articles. The first article promises fair treatment to all citizens, while the third guarantees freedom of thought. These are viewed as basic human rights from which other rights are derived.

The constitution furthermore establishes the nation as a monarchy, with Ogidius as its first ruler. The ruler's title is Prince (or Princess) of Paraduin, but the ruler is also considered a citizen. Although the legal power of the monarch is in every other aspect absolute, the right to fair treatment is unalienable. Other constitutional rights can only be limited if fair treatment requires it.[18]

Economy

Paraduin is mainly a cultural nation. Ongoing activities include the administration of the free online encyclopedia Wikisage, with versions in Dutch and English, and the writing and promotion of a novel called Bellerophon and other stories that play on a parallel world, also named Paraduin.[2] June 2017, The Dutch version of Wikisage contained over 42,000 articles.[19]

In December 2016, Paraduin announced its participation in a film project, the horror thriller The Russian Bride, starring Kristina Pimenova, Oksana Orlan and Corbin Bernsen, directed by Michael S. Ojeda. The micronation is represented by an executive producer.[20] Production on location was carried out in March 2017 at the Scripps Mansion in Lake Orion, Michigan.[21][22][23]

External links

References

References:
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Paraduin", Paraduin (retrieved 21 June 2017)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cultuur, Paraduin (retrieved 20 June 2017)
  3. "Rotterdam weigert bijstand aan voorzitter ME Vereniging" (Dutch) ("Rotterdam denies welfare to chairman ME Vereniging"), ME Vereniging Nederland, 13 juli 2014
  4. Weg Uit Nederland (Dutch) ("Gone from The Netherlands"), Paraduin Nieuws, 1 July 2015
  5. "Gezondheidsraad aan zet voor ME" (Dutch) ("Health Council to deal with ME"), in: DeHersenen.com, "De Hersenen. En hoe ze (met) ons veranderen" (Dutch) ("The brain. And how it changes (with) us"), MediaPlanet, September 2015
  6. Guido den Broeder, "Doorlopende Enquête Patiëntenperspectief onder de leden van de ME Vereniging Nederland. Eerste Cyclus, overzicht 2012-2014" (Dutch) ("Continuous Survey Patient Perspective among the members of the ME Association Netherlands"), Stichting ME Research, 9 September 2015
  7. 7.0 7.1 Mladen Klemenčić, Clive H. Schofield, "War and Peace on the Danube. The Evolution of the Croatia-Serbia Boundary", Boundary and Territory Briefing 3(3), 2001, IBRU, Durham University, UK, ISBN=1-897643-41-1
  8. "Siga", Paraduin (retrieved 21 June 2017)
  9. Ogidius, "Paraduin Claims Terra Nullius Siga", Paraduin Nieuws,5 March 2015
  10. Ogidius, "Paraduin Claimt Nederlands Grondgebied" (Dutch) ("Paraduin Claims Dutch Territory"), Paraduin Nieuws, 1 April 2015
  11. "Analysis – The Pannonian Crisis", South Maudlandian Standard, 28 April 2015
  12. "Un cetăţean ceh a format o nouă republică în Europa. Cum obţii cetăţenie" (Romanian) ("A Czech citizen has formed a new republic in Europe. How to get citizenship"), Romania TV, 29 March 2016
  13. 13.0 13.1 Guido den Broeder, "Een basisinkomen voor chronisch zieken en mensen met een beperking", Sociaal Bestek 77(3):34–36, 2015
  14. Firat Yuzbasioglu, "Regering beu? Sticht je eigen land!" (Dutch) ("Fed up with the government? Create your own country!"), Oikos Online, 27 November 2015
  15. Vesna Spasojević , "Liberlend, zemlja koje – nema" (Serbian) ("Liberland, a country that - no"), Radio Televizija Vojvodine, 17 April 2015
  16. "Man schept nieuw klein Europees landje - 160.000 mensen hebben al getekend om burger te worden" (Dutch) ("Man creates tiny new European country - 160.000 people already signed up to become citizens"), EnDanDit, 22 April 2015
  17. Sam Proctor, "Man Forms His Own European Nation, 160K People Want To Be Citizens", Unilad, 27 April 2015
  18. Constitutie, Paraduin, 1 April 2015
  19. Wikisage Hoofdpagina (Dutch), Wikisage (retrieved 20 June 2017)
  20. Ogidius, "Paraduin Participant in Kristina Pimenova Film", Paraduin Nieuws, 4 December 2016
  21. Ogidius, "Filming of The Russian Bride to take place in March", Paraduin Nieuws, 1 March 2017
  22. Jonathan Barkan, "Filming Begins on The Russian Bride and We’ve Got Exclusive Photos", Dread Central, 22 March 2017
  23. Brad Miska, "‘Avenged’ Director Battles ‘The Russian Bride’!!", Bloody Disgusting, 22 March 2017