Regency of Lomar   Below is the research and information taken from Eric Victor McCrea. I would thanks him once again for his valuable contribution and time devoted to get the pieces together. The Republic of Lomar was created in 1997 in the heart of Silicon Valley (Santa Cruz, CA), “by a small group of Catholic and Orthodox Christians” headed by Laurent/Lawrence A. Cleenewerck. These high-tech professionals/engineers channeled their skills in Information Technologies toward establishing what they claimed was at one point the world's largest/leading cybernation. It encompassed thousands of cybercitizens, all of whom agreed that citizenship need not be restricted to one's place of birth. Lomar, which stands for “Libre Organisation Mondiale d'Aide aux Réfugiés”, evolved from an Internet-based micronation into a constitutional republic/non-territorial state; they are currently a small, transnational Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with diplomatic status. In March of 1998, the Republic of Lomar Foundation (Fédération Humanitaire Republique de Lomar) was legally and officially incorporated as a non-profit institution in Delaware, with a petition of tax-exemption to the Internal Revenue Service (the “Foundation” is basically their legal arm in the U.S.). Fundamentally secular, Lomar's altruistic ideals and benevolent endeavors support humanitarian/medical/educational causes; a portion of the profits from sales of their stamps and/or merchandise was even shared with the Tibetan government-in-exile and several recognized charities. One of their principal aims was to attempt to break down artificial borders/boundaries and go beyond the offering of meaningless/simple virtual-citizenship. As a document-issuing authority, they once provided authentic-looking passports and permanent or temporary alternative/second citizenship to the “collective community of underprivileged people” including exiles, stateless refugees, victimized subjects of unsatisfactory regimes, unrooted/unrepresented people, and other “qualified individuals” who were in need of relocation. They were following the precedent set by other entities which publish legal passports; these include the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the International Red Cross, the United Healthcare Organization, the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, the World Service Authority, the Orthodox Christian Cultural and Diplomatic Organization, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (upon which Lomar is modeled). They were also acting in the spirit of Fridtjof Nansen (arctic explorer and statesman), whose “Nansen passports” were one of the reasons he was awarded the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize. As part of their human rights advocacy, Lomar administers and maintains an international network of dedicated volunteer diplomats, special representatives, consulates, attachés, and counselors; its “largest team of diplomatic corps”, as well as their Secretary General, are based in France. If immigration was a person's only option, the council would've been able to provide legal assistance/visa services through what they admitted could be a long-term and expensive project. Though Lomar was never formally recognized as a Republic by any major government, they claimed that some of its citizens actually managed to enter Cuba and Russia with Lomarian passports. The main offices of ROLF/FHRL (http://www.rolhq.org/ and http://www.fhrl.org/) were in Washington, D.C., but its American delegation shifted to Nevada in August of 2004. “ROL builds slowly and painstakingly its reputation, despite various historical hardships.” Regrettably, their good character was temporarily sullied beginning in early 2001, when certain unscrupulous individuals in Nigeria operated a vicious e-mail scam (the African nation had been plagued by miserable financial schemes of all sorts; the menace was so endemic that it became known in local parlance and internationally as “419” fraud, after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses this notorious type of unlawful activity). Eager to dupe their own countrymen, the dubious Nigerians began selling counterfeit applications/certificates to unsuspecting gulls, who were assured easy travel to the Republic of Lomar, a heaven-on-earth “Utopian State” purportedly recognized by 58 nations. The naive targets, trustingly snared by the 419ers' well-designed bogus Web-page, did not know that this fraudulent entity was not the true ROL, which likewise existed only in the vast vulnerability of cyberspace. The actual Lomar, which proclaimed itself as the planet's foremost virtual state and whose name was being ruthlessly co-opted by the crooks so that their deplorable lies would appear convincing, was being victimized by the perpetrators' trickery as well. This make-believe dreamland had been formed courtesy of the “infinite wisdom” of a crafty syndicate of sagacious bamboozlers. Their phantom republic was practically begging for prospective citizens, and was in need of about 51,000 people by the end of 2001. Nigerians, responding en masse in order to secure the necessary paperwork, were defrauded and fleeced by the thousands. If the “wise” scammers hadn't successfully advertised the false Lomar as an irresistible Promised Land, then they at least convinced the multitudes that their deceitful destination was the ideal stopover en route to an even better Land of Milk and Honey — a gateway to Western prosperity. Lomar was said to be conveniently located somewhere between Canada and the U.S., and once its new citizens arrived in their uncharted home, they could easily enter those 2 North American countries because neither of them required the Lomarian travelers to obtain visas. They would be seemingly welcomed with open arms. This particular band of fraudsters, remorselessly capitalizing on the desperation and despondency of their fellow countrymen, used tactics that went way beyond the use of annoying “spam”. According to Lagos' “The Comet” newspaper and “The News” weekly magazine, the swindlers suspended “screaming banners” above the streets of the commercial districts of major cities; these served to attract “emigration-crazy” passersby to the business centers and travel agencies. To purchase and fill out citizenship forms, hopeful candidates were charged between 400-1,500 Nairas in one report, to between 1,500-4,000 Nairas in another, per person. The gullible victims, now poorer than ever before, seemed to have lost the ability to distinguish between reality and fiction. To them, Lomar proved to be a costly mirage. “People were falling over themselves to register,” stated a lawyer/writer named Mr. Amos Oyiwe; the criminals were “milking the people dry.” In the end, between 60,000-70,000 applicants fell prey to the con-men's lucrative ruse. The ROL, which had no authorized agents whatsoever in Nigeria, still struggles to recover from the negative publicity of that unpleasant episode. As soon as they received knowledge of these illegal acts, their officials intervened immediately; they did their best to clarify the situation and to put an end to the confusion. In the hopes that the nefarious culprits could be prosecuted, they attempted to denounce them to the proper authorities, and they communicated extensively with local Nigerian news agencies and the press; most notably, London's BBC radio broadcast an interview (2/10/2001) with the Chancellor of ROLF/FHRL. There was also a month-long shutdown of their Web-site, accompanied by special advisory bulletins/warnings on their main page. “Unfortunately, a few press articles mistakenly reported that the whole ‘Republic of Lomar’ web site was in fact invented to operate this scam — the truth being that this scam was in fact an abuse of our good name”. Though they've had to seemingly alter/curtail their methodology somewhat, Lomar has bounced back rather resiliently. They've also stepped up efforts to distance themselves from the overall micronational sphere. To quote an Important Notice posted at their Web-site, “We DO NOT SELL any passports or citizenships! We are 100% cooperative with all nation state governments and comply with international laws.” Lomar reiterates that the Nigerian flimflam was “uncovered and resolved by the highest legal means and exposed in the media. Those incidents greatly impacted the genuine and sincere nature of ROL and its accredited corps in helping refugees.” Nonetheless, their unit of diplomatic corpsmen pressed on till today. The Regency of Lomar Foundation works hand in hand with worldwide lawyerly institutions to protect its legality and credibility, especially in safeguarding the hard-earned trust of its benefactors and beneficiaries. “ROL is still an emerging NGO,” and its personnel is collaborating closely with governments, well-established international organizations, corporations, and people in order to gain more recognition and philanthropic partnerships from all quarters of the world. Its independent, aid-minded apparatus strives to attain any form of legitimate support for its serious cause, including fundraising and the heightening of public awareness. “Already, with the help of sponsors and donors, ROL has built a hospital, and soon, a daycare center in Peru”. They are also involved in many other laudable global efforts, such as the current initiatives in Burkina Faso and Cameroon. What's hugely ironic is that even while the Nigerian controversy was brewing, a populated place named Lomar actually seems to exist in the north-eastern part of that country (Borno State). Its geographical coordinates, in Decimal Degrees, are latitude 10.2333, longitude 12.0500; in Degrees-Minutes-Seconds, they are latitude 10° 13' 60N (or 10 14' 00"), longitude 12° 3' 00E (12 03' 00"). The maps can be viewed at: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/NI/0/Lomar.html http://www.tageo.com/index-e-ni-v-00-d-m2806269.htm     The first coin issued by Lomar is a bronze 1 Kurant, dated 2006. Its obverse features the Great Arms of Lomar; its reverse shows an Arctic Wolf alongside the Star of Lomar (symbol of the Regency of Lomar). “‘Kurant’ was an old word for a medieval currency of exchange, and was also inspired by a famous Kurant Bank in Denmark in the 18th Century.” This “limited edition charity coin”, designed and financed by Mr. Jorge Fernández Vidal (see my listing for Westarctica), also serves as a “community currency”; its “denomination of ONE (1) Kurant is equivalent to 12 Euros, considered fair wage for one hour of labor.” All revenue from sales of the coin will be directed to ROLF's charitable causes. I obtained one of the pieces directly from His Excellency Klaus Schlapps (abt@abtei-st-severin.de), who was appointed First Councilor and President in December of 2003. In 2004, after his election, he became their Regent and changed ROL's “inappropriate name” from “Republic” to “Regency”. According to Dom Klaus, the Arctic Wolf was chosen as one of the coin's devices because Laurent Cleenewerck based his original vision of the Republic of Lomar (“Utopian Safe Haven for Refugees and Displaced Persons”) on an imaginary state he read about in short story by H.P. Lovecraft. The great polar kingdom of Lomar, which existed hundreds of thousands of years ago, was literally located in the Arctic Territory (supposedly in Canada or on the northern shores of Greenland). The fabled region was part of the author's Cthulhu mythos. When I pointed out to Dom Klaus that I thought that “L.O.M.A.R.” existed only because its letters stood for “Libre Organisation Mondiale d'Aide aux Réfugiés”, he stated that “The Acronym actually was created later.” In light of this, I think it is remarkable that once Cleenewerck hatched his Republic, he subsequently managed to select meaningful words (free, organization, worldwide, aide, refugees) — each of them perfectly embodying the specific purpose for which Lomar was founded — to successfully represent each of the five letters. Unfortunately, Cleenewerck had seemingly lost interest in the Republic he created “once it started to succeed, probably he is more exited on creating than keeping such entities. He has continued to do so. When I took over the old Republic, there where no Bills payed, neither the Incorporation Fees.” Dom Klaus has guided Lomar's transition into a fully operational, sovereign humanitarian organization. “Now with a dozen Alliances with other NGO's we are now a powerfull Taskforce operating in many Nations.” He reports that Lomar will also have paper notes, “as a model currency for local development projects.” Lomar's coin can be viewed and purchased at: http://rolhq.org/html/kurantcoin.html For reasons that will soon become evident, I would be remiss if I did not offer a few words about St. Severin's Abbey. They began in 1992 as a nucleus of religious-minded individuals. This group was shepherded by two priests from the Order of Port Royal: Fr. Klaus Schlapps (later elected as the 1st Abbot of the Abbey and then consecrated as the 3rd Abbot-Bishop of the German Province) and Fr. Michael Maier. In August of 1999, St. Severin's priory (in Buchloe, Ostallgäu County, Schwaben/Swabia District, Bavaria) was designated an abbey by the Abbot-General of the Order of Port Royal. In the fall, this religious community then moved to a small building/monastery in the free city of Kaufbeuren (also in Ostallgäu). In May of 2002, they relocated to Leinau, a small hamlet belonging to the village of Pforzen (2 miles from Kaufbeuren, still in Ostallgäu). There, these cloistered, life-professed monks operate a small fine arts college (the Kunstschule Allgäu). Lastly, this informational segment would not be complete without a little background about the Order of Port Royal. This is a monastic community which began with the French Cistercian convent of Port Royal. It lasted from 1204-1705, and was revived from the 1930s-60s. The office of Abbot remained vacant from 1967-90, and the membership declined drastically. In 1990, Dom/Father Peter Falk (the last surviving priest, ordained in 1963), convened the remaining members of the Convent, and they decided not to dissolve the order and that renewal was to be their mission. That year, the reconstituted order unanimously elected him to the office of Abbot (prior to this, the order understood itself as a contemplative body, without any effect on public Catholic life; afterwards, they changed their politics). He was consecrated as the order's 2nd Abbot-Bishop on September 17, 1996; though he is now retired, he also became their 1st Abbot-General (the Head of the entire order). Since then, the order has grown substantially; and they have branches/provinces in Germany, Italy, England, and the United States. Their respective Web-sites are: http://abtei-st-severin.de/english/ http://www.orderofportroyal.org/     Micro-Nations   Chiefa Coins