University student anoints himself “prince” of Hans Island

JOHN THOMPSON

A university student in Ottawa has proclaimed himself the prince of Hans Island, adding a bizarre twist to the tale of the disputed ownership of the desolute hunk of rock.

Both Canada and Denmark claim ownership of the 1.3-square-kilometre island, which is located between Ellesmere Island and Greenland.

A 1973 map that defines the boundaries between Canada and Greenland, part of Denmark, left Hans Island out of the boundary line, because neither side could agree who owned the island.

Cavan van Ulft, a 27-year-old engineering student at Carleton University, says that means the island isn’t under the jurisdiction of international law, and is free for the taking.

So several weeks ago, he began posting an ad in this newspaper, that declared himself “The Reigning Price of Tartupaluk” – the Greenlandic name for Hans Island – and announced full state sovereignty and independence for the new principality.

Van Ulft claims he flew to Greenland during the summer, then chartered a boat to Hans Island, where he declared the new nation’s independence on Aug. 13.

Academics familiar with the Hans Island dispute have dismissed this as ridiculous. But van Ulft maintains he has a case, and that he’s serious about the whole matter.

What’s more, during a phone interview on Wednesday, van Ulft says the grab for Hans Island is meant to draw attention to the plight of Arctic residents, and provide them with their own seat at the United Nations.

“I really want to reach out to northerners, and I want them to know about Tartupaluk,” he said.

“I just saw an opportunity to improve the social and economic conditions for people.”

Tartupaluk’s website, www.gov.tu.net, includes a constitution, charter of rights, details on the currency and the central bank, and even an online application for residency.

The site describes Tartupaluk as the world’s first direct democracy within a constitutional monarchy. That means every citizen would have a seat at the legislative assembly.

Thankfully, residents aren’t required to spend their entire year on the barren hunk of rock – although the prince says that’s his stated goal, to demonstrate effective occupation.

Van Ulft says he’s receiving residency applications by the hundreds.

The website includes a population estimate for July 2007 of 1,084. “We’re on target,” he said.

He has no vision of how an economy will be built on the island, other than to say he’s ruled out oil and gas exploration. He admits that may be a detail that financiers of a new state may be interested in. “Probably,” he said.

The website even has Inuktitut support, although with translations done by the Prince himself, it’s likely of spotty quality, van Ulft said.
Mind you, Tartupaluk’s website does rival the Government of Nunavut’s – but that isn’t saying much, given the number of dead links found on many the web pages of some GN departments.