Jakarta –
The modern world is inhabited by swathes of countries that are strictly demarcated by rules of boundaries. Trying to get past it, you guys could deal with territorial law. Yet there are a small number of places on Earth that are not claimed by sovereign nations. This land has been empty for a long time, no one wants it.
These areas were known as Terra nullius, from the Latin word meaning no one’s land. Among the Terra Nullius areas are Bir Tawil which lies between Egypt and Sudan, several pockets of territory involved on the Croatian-Serbian border, and the large chunk area in Antarctica.
1. Bir Tawil: The Land of the Travelers
One of the most significant examples of Terra Nullius is Bir Tawil, a 2,060 square kilometer stretch of land near the border between Egypt and Sudan, which neither country claims.
Bir Tawil is a desolate desert land where temperatures can reach 45°C in the height of summer. The population of this land is officially zero, although it is frequented by passing nomadic tribes, such as the Ababda people.
This geographical uniqueness is largely due to the borders drawn by the British Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the US State Department, Britain reached an agreement with Egypt in 1899 which declared that territory south of the 22nd parallel belonged to Sudan, which would place Bir Tawil under Sudanese control.
In 1902, Britain drew up other plans for the Sudan-Egypt Boundary. Under this scheme, Bir Tawil was placed under Egyptian rule as the area was occasionally used by the Ababda tribe who hail from near Aswan in southern Egypt.
However, Egypt only wants to adhere to the original borders from 1899, while Sudan claims the administrative borders of 1902. In other words, Egypt believes that Bir Tawil is in Sudan, but Sudan believes that it is in Egypt.
Several groups have attempted to claim the land, but none is recognized internationally. In 2014, US resident Jeremiah Heaton of Virginia attempted to claim the area as his own, calling it the Kingdom of North Sudan, and declaring himself self-proclaimed king. Her motivation is so she can grant her daughter’s wish to become a princess. Unsurprisingly, his claims are not recognized by the United Nations.
Another idea for this area is that Bir Tawil could serve as an example of a new type of jurisdiction for indigenous peoples to have land rights. But in reality, until now Bir Tawil does not belong to anyone.
2. Marie Byrd Land: A Slice of Unrecognized Territory
In the eyes of international law, no part of Antarctica belongs to one country. However, that has not stopped seven countries from claiming parts of the continent as their own, namely Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom.
If plotted on a map, these territorial claims would show Antarctica sliced up like a pizza, with Australia and Norway taking the lion’s share. But there is one corner of the territory that is not claimed, this is Marie Byrd Land.
Quoted from IFL Science, the name of this area is taken from the name of the wife of American naval officer Richard E Byrd who explored the area in the early 20th century. Spanning 1,605,792 square kilometers, Marie Byrd Land is the largest unclaimed territory in the world. The reason why it has remained Terra Nullius is because it is so isolated and impassable, even by Antarctic standards.
3. Gornja Siga: The Neglected Land
Between the Balkan borders of Croatia and Serbia on the east bank of the Danube River, several swathes of land have been contested since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. But otherwise on the west bank of the river, there are four or more unwanted lands.
Gornja Siga is the largest of the areas, consisting of 7 square kilometers of forest land which acts as the Danube floodplain. The area is technically under Croatia’s de facto control, although they claim the land belongs to Serbia, while Serbia has no claim on the land.
Despite being ignored by Croatia and Serbia, others are keen to call Gornja Siga their own. In April 2015, a small group of libertarians led by Czech politician Vít Jedlička planted a flag in an uninhabited swamp and proclaimed it a new micro-nation called Liberland. They want to turn it into a territory with no mandatory taxes, minimal state regulation, and use Bitcoin as currency.
“Liberland’s motto is ‘Live and let live’ out of pride in the personal and economic freedoms of its people, including the limited powers granted to governments to ensure less interference with the liberties of people and the nation as a whole,” reads a statement posted on Liberland’s website. On the site we can even register citizenship.
Unfortunately, that dream ran into a number of obstacles. Despite showing little interest in Gornja Siga previously, Croatian authorities are not keen on the idea of having a rogue libertarian micro-state that could destabilize their sovereign territory. Police also arrested anyone who tried to set foot on the land.
Watch the video “What is the condition of the Earth like if it is uninhabited?”
(rns/fay)
2023-07-19 15:06:09
#Regions #Earth #Country
