FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Imamoglu in Ankara and Veliaj in Tirana, two close friends, end up in prison as a threat to Erdogan and Rama's power, while the autocrats clear the field of political heirs...
Ekrem İmamoğlu is the mayor of Istanbul and the leader of the Turkish opposition, with a pro-European and secular profile. Before the presidential election, President Erdogan arrested his rival on corruption charges, sending police to his house. It was clearly a political arrest, which was denounced internationally.
What does this have to do with Erion Veliaj?
The mayor of Istanbul was a close friend of the former mayor of Tirana, with whom he had strong political relations. On January 30, 2024, Veliaj received Imamoglu in his office. The meeting was demonstrative: two new political figures, two new leaders on the horizon.
Just two weeks later, on February 15, 2024, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tirana. He gave Rama an ultimatum to step down from power. The only other person Blinken met with, besides Rama, was Erion Veliaj, at Piramida, together with Alex Soros. Immediately after this meeting, Nesti Angoni's denunciation arrived at SPAK. The investigation against Veliaj was officially opened. A year later, on February 10, 2025, Veliaj was arrested in his office. Just a month later, on March 19, 2025, Imamoglu was arrested in Istanbul.
The similarity of the events cannot be ignored. In Albania, Veliaj was immediately attacked by the Erdogan-friendly media and their local allies, labeling him through a smear campaign. Small protests began in front of the city hall, which clearly seemed to be fueled by groups within the majority itself.
Names for his successor were circulated from the SP headquarters, linking them to clans close to the "sultan" of Tirana.
This clash cannot be understood without considering the international context. The Biden administration had tense relations with Erdogan. Mario Draghi publicly called him a “dictator.” Meanwhile, Trump kept him close, one of the few who met with him frequently.
In this context, the Veliaj-Imamoglu connection was read as a pro-Western political signal, supported by circles close to Soros.
The opposite plan quickly emerged: the pro-Erdogan media campaign against Veliaj, Rama’s coup within the SP, the demolitions of buildings in Tirana to blame “Lali.” Veliaj was labeled as responsible for the capital city filled with illegal constructions, which Rama now says he is “cleaning” himself.
The similarity with Ankara is eerie: Imamoglu and Veliaj were both targeted as threats to the power of their autocratic leaders. In Albania, Rama not only isolated Veliaj, but brutally purged his entire political structure, disallowing succession.
Veliaj is expected to start the open battle when he submits the letter to the Constitutional Court against the dismissal. The battle is expected to bring strong clashes and surprises, in a scenario where the shadow of Imamoglu in Istanbul and Veliaj in Tirana seem like two pages of the same story. /Pamphlet
Detaj: Imamoglu nuk eshte hajdut, e duan turqit, veliaj eshte hajdut I gerditshem, nuk e do kush, pervec 2 veteve. Por, mostra veliaj ka ne dore sekrete te Bablokut, dhe nuk gjendet aq 'ngushte' sa te mos e marre me vete vellain e madh... ARUBA erdh ne Tirane....