Edi Rama declares Erjon Veliaj a putschist "He financed violent protests"

Edi Rama has come out and declared Erion Veliaj a coup plotter, part of a conspiracy to overthrow him from power, and, after banishing him to Fier prison, has decided to silence even those few socialists who dared to demand explanations for the treatment of the mayor of Tirana.

Lapsi.al has learned that in the meeting held with cabinet ministers and regional political leaders, the prime minister once and for all put an end to the debate that was just beginning to erupt within the Socialist Party following the sudden transfer of Erion Veliaj from the Durrës detention center to the Fier detention center.

For Rama, the issue is no longer about the rights of a detainee or the legality of the decision to transfer him, but about a conspiracy against the government, at the head of which he has now placed his former close associate.

"I have received accurate and verified information that Erjon Veliaj wanted to overthrow me from power and that he financed groups of people to take part in the protests of recent weeks," Rama is reported to have told those present at the meeting.

Those present at the meeting listened in silence. Some of them were not at all surprised by what they were hearing. It is learned that Rama did not elaborate on what information he had received, who had provided it and why it had not been made public, but he asked those listening to him to remain completely silent on the matter.

"I don't want to hear anymore that Veliaj has rights or that he doesn't have rights for his treatment in prison," Rama said, according to Lapsi.al's source. "Whoever deals with him, is with him," he put a lid on the discussions, with a threat that didn't leave much room for interpretation.

The message was brief at the meeting, but very clear. Anyone who dares to ask for further explanations about Veliaj, anyone who raises doubts about the way he is being treated, risks ending up on the same enemies list.

The source who conveyed these statements by the prime minister to Lapsi.al said that after Rama's words there was no further discussion on this issue, including Veliaj's former friends, who preferred to remain silent rather than speak about the newly declared putschist, Erjon Veliaj.

Paranoia of internal enemies

That Rama is increasingly displaying the traits of political paranoia that characterizes autocrats when they sense power slipping from their hands was evident from the way he described the protest participants in recent weeks. The prime minister found enemies in all corners of the world, but also at home.

In the conspiracy, he included the Russians incited by Putin, the Iranians of the Khomeiniist republic, Antifa that has put all of Europe in difficulty, organized crime that attacked the police, but also evening analysts, opposition media, opposition parties, etc. Erion Veliaj was just the last character in this story, in a list that lengthens every time the protests take on larger proportions.

Rama's behavior is typical of paranoid autocrats who begin to see any discontent as a conspiracy, while dividing people into loyalists and enemies.

The voices whispering in Rama's ear

But like all paranoid people in power, Rama also has another characteristic. In their political turmoil, they need someone to whisper in their ear, to feed their suspicions, to show them their enemies and to serve as a compass in the battles against conspirators. This role, in Rama's inner circle, seems to have already been consolidated by Belinda Balluku.

Lapsi.al previously reported that Rama spent several days in the company of Belinda Balluku, in one-on-one meetings at Vila 31 in Tirana. These meetings, which took place in the last days of the protests, took on a special significance after Erion Veliaj's public stance in support of the student revolt, triggered by political developments in Serbia and the fall of Aleksandar Vučić.

"Student movements and protests are not the 'end of the world', but the end of 'a world'. The sooner we understand this as citizens and policymakers, the better we will be able to respond to the needs and expectations of this generation," Veliaj wrote on Facebook.

These words were enough to rank Veliaj among the traitors who were trying to overthrow him from power. The short text served Rama as confirmation of all the rumors about the intrigue of the mayor who refused to relinquish the Municipality of Tirana.

Not in vain, Erjon Veliaj was stripped of all privileges and transferred urgently, without any official reason, to a cell in Fier, where he was kept next to several life-sentenced prisoners. Once one of the most important people in the socialist government, one of the most pampered people by Edi Rama, he deserved no other treatment than that which belongs to the putschist groups. And the socialists, the ardent admirers of the party who until yesterday applauded the two leaders in the stands, today must be careful when mentioning his name./Lapsi.al