FLASH
Shkruar nga Endri Xhafo
In fact, Rama, contrary to what the opposition says, which seeks to reinforce the divisions within the majority, did not want Veliaj's arrest. But he had done nothing to prevent it either. He had watched from above, considering himself a kind of arbiter of the internal war that he tolerated based on the principle of "divide and rule."
When Erion Veliaj was arrested on Monday afternoon, February 10, Edi Rama gave himself half a day before expressing himself. Sources close to the majority claim that upon returning from Shkodra, where he interrupted the planned activities, Rama urgently ordered an internal poll, from those who he believes give him a faithful and undistorted picture of the public mood. But the poll came out badly! The SP's ratings were low everywhere. Veliaj's arrest was not going anywhere. On the contrary! It was badly damaging the SP.
If the damage had been manageable, he would have continued with the usual refrain that “we do not comment on SPAK’s work”. The same sources claim that by then Rama had also faced two types of dissatisfaction: From his own, in relation to SPAK due to the perceived attacks as “mostly leftist”; but, especially, dissatisfaction from the “problematic chicks” so necessary on election day, some of whom were hit hard by SPAK after the Sky-ECC and Enchrochat wiretaps. Then Rama tried a new tactic, mainly for two reasons:
First, he spoke "to no longer remain silent" in relation to SPAK, seemingly taking Veliaj under his protection: The mayor should have been investigated while at large, because the Municipality could not be deprived of a locally elected official, who has a thousand duties on his head.
In fact, Rama, contrary to what the opposition says, which seeks to reinforce the divisions within the majority, did not want Veliaj's arrest. But he had done nothing to prevent it either. He had watched from above, thinking himself a kind of arbiter of the internal war that tolerated him based on the principle of "divide and rule", had reduced his specific economic and financial weight to the maximum through construction permits in the capital, because for large complexes the permit has long been granted by AZHT, an agency under the Ministry of Infrastructure, he politically doubled him as the district leader in Tirana with Manastirli, Spiropali, Gonxha, Majko and, most recently, Braçe, thus making irrelevant the last two appearances alongside the mayor during his last days in freedom. So the message to SPAK was actually not for Veliaj!
Speaking about Veliaj, he showed SPAK the line that should not be crossed now: Edi Rama himself! He said: "And don't make the mistake of coming to ask for my phone, because they have enough, they have collected all the phones in Albania there, go and deal with the facts", because "I said it when I was young with all my black hair, that son of a bitch's job, that no one has had and has no evidence", that "he should ask me for his money in his pocket". Adding a supposed guarantee, but in the form of a threat, that "without the SP there is no SPAK"! And so that there is no doubt that the object of the attack (or criticism) against SPAK was not the arrest of Veliaj, he himself took care when he wrote in X that "we have not changed the essence of our position that the SP is not a law firm for anyone who is in the process, including Erjon".
We come to the second reason why Rama spoke against SPAK, supposedly in defense of Veliaj, not even bringing the police in front of the GJKKO on the day of the security measure, when Veliaj's numerous supporters, municipal employees, artists, athletes, etc., blocked the entrance to the building for prosecutors and judges. Edi Rama does not want, cannot allow himself to lose that electoral machine that is the Municipality of Tirana! By declaring himself the de facto mayor of Tirana and announcing that he will come to run for MP in Tirana, he intends to keep all of Veliaj's people, deputy mayors, directors, former directors, bosses, socialists in the Municipal Council, heads of administrative units, grassroots people, at least a little bit charged. But he has a hard time! Their dissatisfaction today is deep! The sense of loss of those who had "coupled their cart to Lali's car" is only equivalent to the collective depression of losing money in pyramid schemes.
An entire army of people with political fortunes and economic interests linked to Lali, who would patiently wait for the day when he became Prime Minister to become, if not ministers, at least the new great directors of important departments, a future cut in the middle in the most incredible way possible, with a man languishing "in prison without trial", who until yesterday seemed untouchable, the "spiritual brother" of Alex Soros, expected at the highest levels of Washington, projected to be number 1. And as if SPAK were not enough, Veliaj's people had begun to experience in meetings with the base, the stigma of being "Lali's people", who did not approach them, at best they avoided them. But Rama cannot afford to have a shortage of votes and energy, as happened with the DP in 2023, when he lacked over 200,000 votes from Democrats who did not turn out to vote, dissatisfied with the party's division.
Berisha nga ana e tij është i drejtpërdrejtë kur thotë se SPAK-un do ta shkrijë. Por që ta shkrijë SPAK-un, Berishës i duhet një shumicë kushtetuese për të ndryshuar Kushtetutën, ndaj kërcënimi nuk ka gjasa të realizohet. Të paktën këtu duhet ta besojmë Ramën kur thotë se “pa PS nuk ka SPAK”, shprehje që merr kuptim po ta lexosh mbrapsht, që pa votat e PS-së nuk bëhet dot asnjë ndryshim kushtetues.
Por përse e kërcënon Berisha “SKAP-in e partisë” edhe pas goditjes së Erion Veliajt? Të paktën për tre arsye:
Së pari, Berisha dhe familjarët e tij nuk i kanë mbyllur hesapet me SPAK-un. Mbajtja lart e presionit është një formë mbrojtjeje, njësoj si ajo e Ramës me telefonin.
Së dyti, “Amerika është tërhequr tani nga SPAK”, sipas fjalëve të vetë Ramës; ndërkohë që kur Amerika nuk ishte tërhequr ende nga SPAK, prokurorët e çështjes së Veliajt morën një mesazh të qartë kur tentuan ta arrestonin herën e parë në tetor – “ne jemi shumë të zhgënjyer”, – ndërkohë që gjyqtarja e hetimit paraprak e refuzoi masën e arrestit, fakt që u konfirmua edhe nga vetë Rama. Mirëpo kur USAID-i u shpall “organizatë kriminale”, që “duhet të marrë fund”; kur ish-sekretari Blinken, – që dekoroi Dumanin në dhjetor për luftën kundër korrupsionit në Shqipëri pasi kishte shpallur më herët Berishën “non grata” për “korrupsion madhor”, – u shpall ai vetë i padëshiruar në të gjitha godinat federale të SHBA-së dhe ia hoqën çertifikatën e sigurisë; kur misionet OPDAT dhe ICITAP rreshtën asistencën e tyre në Shqipëri; kur të premten e 13 shkurtit Presidenti Trump nxori një urdhër të ri ekzekutiv që udhëzon Sekretarin e Shtetit Marco Rubio të rinovojë shërbimin e jashtëm për të siguruar “zbatimin besnik dhe efektiv” të agjendës së tij MAGA të politikës së jashtme; kur Reuters ka raportuar edhe se shumë ambasada amerikane në botë do të shkurtohen me 10% personel amerikan e vendas, vetvetiu kuptohet pse “rruga e Elbasanit”, pra “Amerika është tërhequr nga SPAK” në këtë fazë tranzicioni administratash. Por ndërkohë nuk kemi as edhe një fakt, as edhe një deklaratë të vetme, asgjë publike që të lë të mendosh se administrata e re nuk do ta mbështesë SPAK-un në luftën kundër korrupsionit në Shqipëri. Afërmendsh prokurorët e SPAK-ut janë gati t’u falen “padronëve të rinj”… sapo të mësojnë se kush janë ata.
Berisha, for his part, considers SPAK the fruit of a justice reform initiated by the Soros Foundation of Tirana (cf. OSFA 2014-2017 Strategy Plan), even though Rama sells it as a reform of his own and the Socialists. Thus, Berisha, – who on the day Veliaj was arrested introduced in Tirana one of President Trump’s closest associates, Chris LaCivita, who called Rama a “Soros puppet”, – does nothing but show himself consistent in denouncing a reform that he has always called “Sorosian”, which according to him goes along with Trumpist efforts to de-Sorosify American foreign and criminal policy. So the second reason why Berisha keeps up the pressure on SPAK, which has declared that it will not take a break despite the May 11 elections, is to carry out other arrests from among the majority that all of Tirana has been buzzing about for a long time, in connection with the Tirana incinerator (the land issue) and/or the Llogara tunnel and/or the political relations with the Elbasan gangs.
The reason, or rather the third consequence of Berisha's threat to "dissolve SPAK", is the message that goes directly to the "problematic punks" with whom, according to the DP, Rama has won all elections since 2013, that now they must either go with the DP, which pledges to dissolve SPAK, or, in the less ideal case, they should no longer support Rama.
SPAK is today in a crossfire, the most unfavorable position in relation to politics since its creation. While it is rightly demanding legal changes that would allow its prosecutors a second term as special prosecutors. Therefore, SPAK can no longer ignore the political consequences of its actions. It is at that point that it can determine who will govern the country for the next 4 years. Public displays of solidarity by small parties and claims that prosecutors are guided only by the law are fairy tales that even they themselves do not believe.
Lini një Përgjigje