Was kostet die Welt? (4 Stars)

This is a German documentary about the recent political upheaval on the island of Sark, an independent state among the Channel Islands. "Political upheaval" is my own description. The film's narrator calls it a tale of pirates. The film's title means "What does the world cost?" but I've seen it advertised as "The Price of Paradise".

For centuries Sark has existed as a feudal kingdom. There was no democracy, but the population of about 600 people didn't care. The island's hereditary ruler is called the Seigneur. The island was split into 40 parcels of land. Nobody was allowed to own more than two parcels of land. The landowners and the Seigneur formed the island's government. Everyone was happy. The island had no income tax, no sales tax, no wealth tax, no inheritance tax. There was only property tax to be paid by the landowners and a landing tax to be paid by tourists visiting the island.

In 1993 the problems started. David and Frederick Barclay, the identical twin brothers who own the Daily Telegraph, bought the nearby island of Brecqhou. They built themselves a castle and various other buildings on the island. Brecqhou, which was never inhabited by more than one family at a time, is ruled by Sark. The Barclay Brothers petitioned for independence from Sark, but this was turned down.

After this the Barclay Brothers began to buy parcels of land on Sark. Only their first purchases were allowed, because ownership was limited to a maximum of two parcels. They appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, because they claimed that land ownership is a basic human right. The Seigneur backed down, because he was afraid of the immense costs of the court case.

Within a short time the Barclay Brothers owned more than half of the island. They planted vineyards, and they took over businesses, including four of the island's six hotels.

Next the Barclay Brothers said that the island's political system violated their human rights. They wanted to live in a democracy. Once more the Seigneur feared the legal costs, so he changed the legal system into a democracy, with 28 members of parliament, called conseillers. In the first election the people of Sark voted for people who had previously governed Sark as landowners. None of the candidates who supported the Barclay Brothers were elected. In retaliation the Barclay Brothers closed the hotels and all their other businesses, making 140 people unemployed. Some of the businesses re-opened a week later, but the Barclay Brothers had shown who was in charge.

Over the next few years, whenever the Sark parliament, called the Chief Pleas, passed a law unfavourable to the Barclay Brothers, legal action was taken against the conseillers. Even though this was not always successful, it intimidated the parliament so much that at the next election there was a shortage of candidates, so every candidate was given a place without a vote taking place.

Kevin Delaney, the main representative of the Barclay Brothers on Sark, publishes a weekly newspaper called the Sark Newspaper, in which the Sark government is regularly compared to Hitler's Nazi Party. Every week false allegations are brought against conseillers, accusing them of racism and other crimes. An attempt to sue the newspaper for libel failed because prosecution was "not in the public interest".

The last stage of the takeover is that the Barclay Brothers are evicting the people from their land. Farmers have lost their land and families have lost the houses where they've lived for generations. A few lucky people have been able to move in with other islanders, but most have been forced to leave the island. They don't stand a chance. The Barclay Brothers have staged a coup by bribing and bullying the population. Sark was never a rich country. Even the landowners weren't rich. They have no way of fighting back.

What do the Barclay Brothers want? Some of the islanders think they want to turn Sark into a new Monaco, a playground for the world's rich elite. I find that unlikely. Sark doesn't have the climate or the geographical formation to match Monaco. It's more likely that they want to exploit Sark as a tax haven for themselves and their invited guests. Living in a country without income or corporation tax is useful for London businessmen.

This is a depressing documentary. It shows how rich businessmen – the Barclay Brothers have over seven thousand million pounds – can do whatever they want and get away with it.