Response to 1 Sept. Jutarnji list article

Office of the President 4 Sept 2024

We wish to address several inaccuracies and misleading statements recently published regarding Liberland and its founder, Vít Jedlička, in the 1 September article by Filip Pavić.

We respectfully request corrections to be issued in accordance with Zakon o medijima u R Hrvatskoj; Narodne novine br. 59/2004, 84/2011, 81/2013, 114/2022.

Who is Vít Jedlička?

Vít Jedlička is not an anarchist like the article erroneously states — he’s actually a statesman and entrepreneur, and he has founded Liberland, a brand new country. Anarchists are not known for starting new nations.

Mr. Jedlička’s awards for his peace and humanitarian work from the Gusi Peace Prize and the Humanitarian Focus Foundation at the UN in New York - as well as his solid background in politics and business - show that he’s a builder, not a disruptor.

Allegations of Support from Serbia

Claims that Serbia backs Liberland or Vit Jedlička are completely false. Liberland gets no financial, political, or any other type of support from Serbia. We’re ready to be fully transparent about this so anyone can check for themselves - our books are open to the journalists from Jutarnji List or officials of Croatia who might show legitimate interest in correcting their mistaken positions.

There are absolutely no connections, arrangements or deals with the Serbian government. Making false statements of this nature is not just wrong—these statements are defamatory and may be subject to legal action.

Status of the Land in Question

Gornja Siga is not part of Croatia’s forest management land. According to multiple statements from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Croatia’s official position is that the border with Serbia is defined by historical cadastral borders, not the Danube’s main channel (thalweg). The Croatian Constitution and laws support this position, clearly defining Croatian territory and Gornja Siga not being a part of it. This is reflected in official Croatian and European cadastral maps confirming that Gornja Siga is not Croatian land.

As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture cannot allocate land in Gornja Siga to Hrvatske Šume d.o.o., a state-owned company whose authority is strictly limited to managing forests within Croatia, as defined by the Law on Forestry. According to official documents from the Ministry of Agriculture and Hrvatske Šume, you will see that Gornja Siga is not listed under the “Zmajevac Danube Forests” or any other forest under Croatian management. Claiming otherwise would be akin to Croatia attempting to administer a forest in another country, like Austria.

If we may refer to Hrvatske Šume’s own website, it shows Gornja Siga as outside of the unit named “ZMAJEVAČKE PODUNAVSKE ŠUME” and also outside of Croatian territory:

https://webgis.hrsume.hr/arcgis/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8bb3e1d6b80d49ad9e0193f8b62380e2

The green line outlines the Šume unit; the red line indicates state borders.

If we were to accept Croatia’s narrative, it would mean that Croatian entities, like Hrvatske Šume d.o.o., have unlawfully entered territory that Croatia claims either belongs to Serbia or is - at best - reserved for future international dispute resolution. In both cases, this suggests unauthorized encroachment on land that Croatia does not own. If we go by Croatia’s own official stance—that the dispute should end in the land belonging to Serbia, ergo the land is Serbia — it would essentially amount to an invasion of Serbia. As per the Liberland position, this is an unwarranted and unprovoked aggression into its territory.

It is our position that the activities of Hrvatske Šume d.o.o. - and by extension, the Ministry of Agriculture - violate the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia; according to Article 7, even Croatian armed forces may only cross borders pursuant to approval by the Croatian Parliament and with the prior approval of the President. According to Article 8 of the Constitution, the borders of the Republic of Croatia may be altered solely by a decision of the Croatian Parliament, and to date, the Parliament has made no such decision to include the area of Gornja Siga inside its borders. It should be noted that Gornja Siga was never part of Croatia during the time of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Also, in the late 1990s, when the area of eastern Slavonia was integrated into the Republic of Croatia following the operations of the United Nations Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) administrative zone, Gornja Siga was decidedly not included in it.

As such, the activities of Hrvatske Šume d.o.o. in Gornja Siga are clear and quite serious violations of international law, a point that the Ministry cited in the article seems to acknowledge publicly. Liberland, which strictly follows the rules of Public International Law, is actively pursuing legal action against this encroachment in Croatian courts and, where possible, in international forums. We will pursue all available avenues until these illegal actions are stopped.

On the So-Called “Cleaning” of the Forest Floor

We need to clarify the claim that there have been “garbage cleaning operations” in Gornja Siga. As outlined earlier, these operations are illegal because Gornja Siga is not Croatian territory. It is crucial to understand what these operations actually entailed. On 21 September 2023, an entire functioning settlement was forcibly demolished, which included a fully equipped kitchen, working power generators, solar panels, and a Starlink terminal. Vehicles were also taken away as “garbage,” along with personal belongings of people residing there. All of this was done against the protests of the settlement’s inhabitants and visitors.

On 16 February 2024, an entire houseboat was removed against the will of its inhabitants, who were threatened with physical violence.

More recently, on 19 August 2024, the construction site of Liberland's first medical clinic—a humanitarian project intended to serve both locals and visitors, founded in collaboration with HIRH Sandor Habsburg—was vandalized and destroyed.

These actions amount to theft, robbery and wanton destruction. Given that the stolen items were taken into Croatian territory and the perpetrators were Croatian, we have reported these incidents as crimes to the authorities of the Republic of Croatia.

Liberland’s Position and Intentions

We respect both Croatia’s and Serbia’s positions and actively seek tighter relations with Croatia, viewing it as our key partner in the region. Our goal remains the peaceful and legal establishment of the community of Liberland, with respect for the sovereignty and legal frameworks of all neighbouring countries.

The Liberland community can become the greatest economic opportunity for the region of Osijek-Baranja in decades and the tightest and most trustworthy partner for the Republic of Croatia. We are at a loss as to why this is not recognized in the political circles of Croatia and why actions are taken to hinder the inflow of jobs, tourism and economic development we are about to introduce into the region.

We urge all parties and media outlets to engage with accurate information and to avoid spreading false claims that could harm diplomatic relations and misrepresent the nature of Liberland’s efforts and intentions.