Featured Image Credit: Daniel Jackson
Topics: News, World News
Gerrard Kaonga
Starting a new country... well, that doesn’t tend to happen so much anymore, not without a civil war and massive toll on its people, at least.
But one brazen man decided that's exactly what he wanted to do, and he wasn’t going to let the pesky meddling of a country's government get in the way of his ideal dream.
Daniel Jackson is the current president of the Republic of Verdis; a land started after Jackson and a small group of other people took issue with how the Croatian government was handling the nation.
From this grew the decision to form a separate country located in the Balkans, on the western side of the Danube between Croatia and Serbia.
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Haven’t heard of the country? Well... they aren’t exactly recognized internationally by any sovereign state.
They are technically a micronation.
What’s that, you ask? It's defined as a political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state.
However, Jackson, who spoke to UNILAD, doesn’t like that term and doesn’t consider it applicable to Verdis.
He said: "We consider ourselves a functional sovereign state, although our government is in exile at this time."
But micronations aren’t exactly new, there very well could be one in your own country as many have popped up over the years all around the globe, including in Australia, South Korea, Chile, Italy and the United States.
But what is most bizarre about this situation, is how the Croatian government reacted to the forming of Verdis, according to Jackson.
Jackson, who was born in Australia and was raised there, as well as in the UK, stated that the Croatian government ‘violated international law by entering Verdis and destroying our permanent settlement on the 12 October 2023'.
The Croatian government’s heavy-handed reaction probably has something to do with the fact that Croatia and Serbia have been in a bitter border dispute over the land since the 20th century.
This likely makes the idea of anyone coming in and setting up camp a rather bitter pill to swallow.
Jackson continued: “Many settlers were arrested, including the Vice President and myself. We were taken into Croatia and all settlers were given 7 days to leave.
“The Vice President and I were marked as 'threats to homeland security', and there is also now a Croatian police boat permanently in Verdis' waters. Some of our own boats are now missing and we cannot re-enter Croatia as our ban would either be extended, or we would likely just be denied entry."
That said, when explaining the creation of Verdis, Jackson said the overall goal was to focus on humanitarian efforts and build a thriving city.
He noted that despite him and his citizens being banned from the land, they have been able to provide aid to Ukraine in its fight with Russia.
While this might sound all a little far-fetched, a small group now in a border dispute with big ol' Croatia, Jackson explained they have had quite a few applicants to join Verdis.
“Verdis has had over 15,000 applications for citizenship, and over 380 citizens. A number of citizens were in the country when arrested, but support for us has been stronger than ever since the invasion by Croatian authorities.”
The fight isn’t expected to end here though. Jackson and his supporters are set to stage a protest in London to fight back against the Croatian government's action.
The group is set to march through the city at 12pm on May 4, starting outside Europe House and heading to the Croatian embassy at 1pm.
So don’t be alarmed if you're in the UK capital and happen spot an odd flag you've never seen before!
UNILAD has contacted the government in Croatia for comment.