THE PRESIDENT OF LIBERLAND means business 'global investors want to invest in my country, we're talking 20 billion dollars'
Dora Koretić in a briefing with the President of the Free Republic Liberland Vito Jedlicka
For those of us who have never been to Liberland, tell us what it looks like?
- It is a quiet piece of land in the shape of a heart and that's probably why it is so alluring to people. At the moment, there is only one house, but soon there will be a lot of skyscrapers. We plan on renewing that house and making it a cultural monument.
Are there a lot of mosquitoes?
- No, currently there really aren't any.
Why did you move from a rich country, the Czech Republic, to a region with poor economic performance?
- Liberland has no economic results because there is no economic activity. In addition, we, in Liberland, will not have so many bad regulations like the countries in the region.
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Where will all the people who have applied for citizenship live given the fact that Liberland is only seven square kilometers?
- Listen, Liberland is bigger than Monaco. I'm serious about this, and I think that the Croats are very serious given the limited border activities in recent days. I understand that, because Croatia and Liberland do not have a document that would define these borders, but we are preparing a border draft and we hope to soon open the border with Croatia. Until that happens, our only access is via water.
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How do you choose which residents will be granted citizenship?
- It is difficult, but we choose those who have been the most help since the beginning. For instance, we gave citizenship to those that offered us office space in Serbia as well as those who previously funded us. A lot of investors are interested in the success of Liberland.
Do you already have some sort of investment?
- We do, roughly $ 20 billion from serious investors. They are interested in the sectors of IT, banking ...
Are you serious? Does that include world known names?
- Yes, but I have not received permission to reveal the names of the companies.
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How will you finance Liberland considering that it will supposedly be tax-free?
- We are already in a big plus, many want to fund what we do. I believe that we will not have problems with the budget as it will be a small country with low costs.
Are you some kind of dictator given that you declared yourself the president?
- I did not declare myself, the media incorrectly relayed this information. I was elected the regular way, by the board, but once we get our Constitution, I will lose all rights and Liberland will be a country without a president. All of this can be read in our Constitution.
Will you bring your family to Liberland?
- I'm already here with my wife, and we plan to have a child in Liberland.
So, your wife is the first lady of Liberland?
- Yes, she is the first lady and one of the members of the committee. Her name is Jana Markovičeva .
Are you employed somewhere?
- In the past year I have been working as a private entrepreneur. But most of my work, I delegated to my colleagues, and I am mostly dedicated to Liberland.
Who is your political idol?
- It is definitely Frederic Bastiat. He's been dead for 150 years, but he and his book "The Law" inspired me the most.
I read in your biography that you were educated in the United States. How did you fund it?
- Yes, I was there for half a year, and my father paid.
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So, you come from a wealthy family?
- Well, we were wealthy because my father led a successful private business by building gas stations since 1997. It was a big company with more than 200 employees. However, after the Czech central bank increased interest on loans in 2007, he went bankrupt.
Some see you as clown. What do you think about that?
- I do not know what to say to that. I haven't noticed. We want to do something new, a free country where people will not have to pay taxes and where they will be able to finance what they want. I think that it is grotesque that the third richest man in the Czech, Finance Minister Andrej Babiš received 50 million kroner from the EU for his private house.
(Telegraf.co.uk/ jutarnji.hr)