Peaceland

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Peaceland
Flag	Arms
Motto: none Musical Anthem: ? by ?

Location:	Near Brdy-Teslíny, Western Bohemia, Czech Republic
Co-ordinates:	49°38'10.6794"N 13°44'59.64"E
Area:	0.000151 km²
Capital:	Peak 718
Membership:	207
Date of foundation:	3 June 2008
Leadership:	Jiri Tutter ?
Organisational structure:	Republic
Language:	Czech
Currency:	?

Peaceland was a short-lived micronation established in 2008 in the Czech Republic. It was situated in the area around “Peak 718”, a hill located inside the military area in Brdy Mountains (Western Bohemia). It was founded in spring 2008 by the members of Greenpeace as a protest against the intention of the Czech government to lease the area in question to the United States as a location for a radar which would become the part of the American anti-missile system. Peaceland claims to control about 15 hectares (151.223 sq m) of land. At the highest point(June 2009) it stated 207 registered citizens.

It was founded on 28 April 2008 after several weeks of Greenpeace occupation of the hill. The “Declaration of Independence” issued by the new state accused the government of the Czech Republic of failing to ensure the peace and protection of basic human needs. According to the people of Peaceland, these facts justified the right to peaceful secession.

The territory of Peaceland was actively controlled by Greenpeace for 11 days. On 9 June 2008, the day after the cultural event organized in support of the protest, control of the area was seized by the Czech military police, with their units entering Peaceland and dragging the protesters away. This action was interpreted by Greenpeace as an act of international aggression. [1]

The existence of Peaceland was mentioned by the activists in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. The project was also given considerable media attention and caused many reactions, both positive and negative. From micronational point of view, there was an interesting response from Mr. Jiri X. Dolezal, a well-known, somewhat controversial Czech journalist, who reacted by establishing his own tongue-in-cheek bathroom micronation – “The Democratic Republic of Travařovice” – and declared war on Peaceland. He planned to break into the Peaceland territory and urinate there (as the act of conquest). [2]

The current status of Peaceland is not clear. Whereas there was no announcement about the end of activities, the territory is no longer controlled by Greenpeace and there are no publicly-known proceedings of the nation. The project might have become dormant or practically non-existent due to the postponement of negotiations regarding the anti-missile system related to the change of U.S. administrative as well as Czech government during 2008-2009. In 2010, the internet domain peaceland.cz apparently expired.