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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
From Cyprus to Ukraine, Israel to the Balkans, conflicts over land have long turned bloody. But on Monday, the Netherlands and Belgium managed to settle a festering territorial problem, without firing a single bullet and with an unlikely spur: a headless corpse.
In a signing ceremony attended by their respective royals, Belgium agreed to cede about 35 acres of scenic land by the Meuse River in exchange for about seven acres of land from the Netherlands. The two countries had formalized their border in the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843.
In a region that has long known geopolitical and linguistic squabbles, and where Belgium has lived in the shadow of its neighbor, the land swap was anything but inevitable. That apparently is where the headless body comes in.
The land belonging to Belgium — equivalent to about 15 soccer fields — is linked to a hard-to-reach peninsula belonging to the Netherlands. In 1961, when the Meuse was reconfigured to aid navigation, it had the side effect of pushing three pieces of land onto the wrong side of the river. According to the Dutch news media, the uninhabited area subsequently gained a reputation for lawlessness, wild parties and prostitution.
However, several years ago, when a couple accidentally stumbled on a headless body and called the Dutch authorities, they were informed that the strip of land was under Belgian jurisdiction. But the Belgian authorities could not get there by land without crossing Dutch territory, which required special permission. The only alternative was a difficult river crossing.
Referring to the discovery of the body, Jean-François Duchesne, the police commissioner of the Lower Meuse region, told The Associated Press last year that the journey to the area had been arduous. “So we had to go there by boat with all that was needed — the prosecutor, the legal doctor, the judicial lab — we had to do round trips over the water,” he said. “It really was not very practical.”
The two nations then decided to head off future jurisdictional problems by negotiating a peaceful exchange of parcels of land each country had that were stranded on the wrong bank of the river. Belgium’s foreign minister, Didier Reynders, said on Monday that the agreement reflected excellent Belgian-Dutch relations and was proof that “borders can be peacefully changed.”
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Wednesday September 04 2019, @02:52AM (4 children)
This article was from 3 years ago. The swap was completed last year [independent.co.uk].
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 5, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday September 04 2019, @03:19AM (3 children)
It's still an interesting piece though.
Which are three of the Dutch's national sports, so I don't think there would be much problem there.
Oh, hang on, it belonged to Belgium. No wonder they gave it back, the Dutch were probably keeping them awake past 9 o'clock.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @06:54AM (1 child)
Lawlessness? We have laws for almost everything, and we are the best school boy (read: most ignorant as long as there are rules to be followed) of the EU.
Wild parties? Only big festivals, but we need permits and a dozen of institutions that need to check all the rules are followed.
Prostitution? Yep, mostly for foreign tourists and in the big cities. Also, semi-legalized by law.
The area where this swap took place has a relative high criminal record though, being easy to flee to Belgium, Germany, France and Luxembourgh within minutes to a few hours and has a relative low priority from the national police.
(Score: 3, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday September 05 2019, @12:33AM
I am basing my assessment of the Dutch people's partying abilities on a group of very affectionate young Dutch ladies I met once while on holiday.
As ambassadors for your nation I really could not fault them.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 04 2019, @11:02AM
Man, you're waaaaay off. You're thinking about the Brazilians. Or the Australians. Or the heathens on the other side of the Hudson River, a strange and mysterious land known as "New Jersey."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Funny) by deimios on Wednesday September 04 2019, @06:19AM (3 children)
Europeans and their metric system, can somebody convert that into football stadiums?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @07:06AM (2 children)
As far I can see from the sources the Independent (British, that explains the soccer fields) made that conversion, without mentioning the original size.
The Dutch news sources (DN and NOS) mention it's 10 hectares and the NYT converts that to 35 acres (according to google that should be about 25 acres, so they fail at converting).
In Europe land sizes are often mentioned in "hectares" or "ares", not in square meters (which would make more sense though). A hectare is 10 000 square meter.
(Score: 2) by deimios on Wednesday September 04 2019, @07:18AM (1 child)
It was a joke. I'm eastern european and media around here doesn't use "football field" and "olympic swimming pool" as measurements (yet).
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday September 04 2019, @05:35PM
Sure they do! It's just that those crazy Europeans are referring to a game that involves kicking a ball around with their feet!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @06:30AM (1 child)
And there was me thinking the Meuse was beer!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @11:16AM
Ofcourse it's a beer, it's Belgium!: https://www.toerisme-maas.com/en/sightseeing/essential-sightseeing/meuse-beers-and-the-beer-museum.html [toerisme-maas.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @10:00AM (1 child)
"And Remain Friends". Suuuure, they do. It's all just a cover story while their military, on both sides, prepares for the coming slaughter. Bombs are being assembled, planes being fueled, and men make ready to die for the glory of those soggy sections of sovereignty.
(Score: 2) by J_Darnley on Thursday September 05 2019, @12:08PM
I'd collaborate with the Dutch if they wanted to annex Flanders.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by UncleSlacky on Wednesday September 04 2019, @10:55AM
I thought this was going to be about these Belgian and Dutch enclaves:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baarle-Hertog [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @12:41PM
I see what you did there!
(Score: 2) by DBCubix on Wednesday September 04 2019, @02:05PM (2 children)
They didn't think to use a helicopter?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 04 2019, @02:17PM
If they don't have access to a boat or barge big enough for the job, they probably don't have access to one of those fancy whirly-gig chop-chop-chopters either.
If this were a Florida Man story, there would have been fifty people racing in with various kinds of boats, looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
(Score: 3, Funny) by PinkyGigglebrain on Wednesday September 04 2019, @05:37PM
Cost and availability aside there probably wasn't anywhere to land a helicopter. From the picture in the article it looks likely that the areas in question are probably light to moderate forest.
Though the thought of a bunch of middle aged legal and coroners staff repelling from a hovering chopper is a bit amusing.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @02:06PM
"From Cyprus to Ukraine, Israel to the Balkans"
Border disputes between two nations, and a nation invaded by foreigners are two different things.
Many countries have border disputes, but in Palestine, European khazar jews showed up at the border and invaded, murdering the locals, taking their land. The (Eastern) European khazar jews will invade any place where citizens are not aware of the menace that is the khazar jewish rat.
(Score: 2) by Tokolosh on Wednesday September 04 2019, @03:01PM (3 children)
1. All land should be owned by a person (not the state), with security of title.
2. Persons are governed by their own consent.
Beyond that, the function of Belgium and the Netherlands is to serve as a venue for the great powers to settle their differences.
(Score: 4, Touché) by meustrus on Wednesday September 04 2019, @03:14PM (2 children)
1. Back to medieval feudalism then?
2. If I don't consent, does that mean nobody can punish me for stealing your stuff?
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by Tokolosh on Thursday September 05 2019, @03:19AM (1 child)
1. I don't think you understand the feudal system. Serfdom is not government by consent.
2. My stuff will not be on your land. It will be on mine, where I have consented to government that says stealing is punishable with hand chopping.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Mykl on Thursday September 05 2019, @05:35AM
But if people are governed by their own consent, what if I don't consent to having my hand chopped off for stealing? Doesn't that violate Rule 2 earlier?
For that matter, what if I don't recognise your claim to land? Why should your claim on this land be greater than mine?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 04 2019, @06:45PM
Except on Sunday. No wild parties.