Democratic Party deputy leader Belind Këlliçi reacted to reports of an alleged meeting between Minister Toni Gogu and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj at Fier prison.
Këlliçi said that, according to claims made by Plarent Ndreca, Gogu had delivered a message from Prime Minister Edi Rama to Veliaj: give up the Tirana mayor’s office, or Rama would use SPAK against him and leave him in prison. The Democratic Party deputy leader called this a mafia-style offer and asked Gogu to provide a full explanation.
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He recalled that Tirana’s Democrats had opposed Veliaj through protests and complaints to SPAK, but stressed that Veliaj’s fundamental rights must be respected. Këlliçi also accused Rama of using SPAK against political opponents and in conflicts within the Socialist Party, citing cases that, he said, had affected the Democratic Party and its leader, Sali Berisha. He concluded by calling for Rama’s resignation, a caretaker government, and free and fair elections.
Belind Këlliçi’s revised statement:
Dear citizens,
When Rama said of the criminal groups in the country that they should “eat each other’s heads,” he had not imagined, Këlliçi said, that this conflict would reach what he calls the main criminal organization, “Rilindja.” Now, he said, Rama and Veliaj are pitted against each other in the “Rilindja” clans’ battle for power and political influence.
Këlliçi referred to a statement by defendant Plarent Ndreca, which was widely covered in the media today. According to Ndreca’s account, at midnight on Friday, Pastor Oltion Gogu, also known as Toni Gogu, went to Fier prison to meet Erion Veliaj. Këlliçi described Gogu as Rama’s spokesman and Veliaj as the head of the 5D Structured Criminal Group, and likened the alleged message to a mafia offer that cannot be refused, as in the film “The Godfather.”
According to Ndreca, the message was: “Give up the municipality, or I’ll put SPAK on your back and let you rot in prison!” Këlliçi said this was the substance of Rama’s alleged threats against his former associate, the mayor of Tirana, whom he accuses of winning the capital with stolen votes and organized crime money.
Dear citizens,
You know the confrontation between Erion Veliaj and me, and Tirana’s Democrats, Këlliçi continued. He said Veliaj won a rigged race through stolen votes and “narco-euros.” He recalled that the Democratic Party protested for 44 consecutive weeks and filed several complaints with SPAK. Këlliçi said Veliaj is now behind bars in part because of the persistence of Democrats and the citizens of Tirana.
However, he added, political opposition does not rule out respecting Veliaj’s fundamental rights. If Plarent Ndreca’s allegation is true, Këlliçi condemns what he calls the prime minister’s mafia-style blackmail and publicly asks Oltion Gogu to provide a comprehensive explanation.
According to Këlliçi, Veliaj should face the law, not people who, he alleges, use the law to retain power and target both political opponents and rivals within their own party.
He said the alleged threat concerns not only Rama, Veliaj, and Oltion Gogu, whom he described as their servant who occasionally plays the role of a pastor. In Këlliçi’s view, this case reveals what he called SPAK’s true face: the “Socialist Party’s Partner Organization.” He alleges that Rama uses the institution against those he wants to remove from the party.
Këlliçi said that the way Rama allegedly threatens his own people with SPAK also shows how he has used the institution against the Democratic Party and Sali Berisha personally. He called this politically directed justice, which the Democratic Party says it has denounced for years, as well as an example of what he calls the “first narco-state in Europe,” founded by Edi Rama.
As the only way forward, Këlliçi called for Rama’s resignation, the formation of a caretaker government, and free and fair elections.
Thank you.
