Kajsiu: Organized crime finances the prime minister's towers, not the protest against them

The degradation of a government is in direct proportion to the lies it produces. The greater the degradation, the greater the lie. This was also confirmed by Prime Minister Rama's recent statement that the protests are organized and financed by organized crime and Antifa. Among the prime minister's propaganda babble, these two are undoubtedly as spectacular as the political and moral degradation of his government. 

Let's start with Antifa, which does not actually exist as an organization or institution. It is simply a name, like the Flamingo Revolution, for a decentralized left-wing, radical, anti-fascist political movement. Antifa does not exist as an organization, so it cannot be declared a terrorist organization. 

In this respect it is very different from the Iranian terrorist organization Mujahedeen–e-Khalq (MEK) also known as the Mujahedin of Iran that Rama's government shelters between Durrës and Tirana. The MEK has a clear leadership, budget, membership and hierarchical structure. As well as a long history of terrorist acts, assassinations and violence around the world. (See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Mojahedin_Organization_of_Iran) 

Antifa, on the other hand, has no central leadership, no formal membership, no budget, no organizational structure or branches that can be coordinated in a structured way among themselves. Anyone can come out and say “I am Antifa,” and there is no way to prove it. 

In other words, Antifa is not capable of organizing itself, let alone the youth protest or revolt in Albania. Even more so when the vast majority of the Albanian population and youth do not even have any idea what Antifa or its ideology is. So claiming that the youth revolt is being organized, inspired or financed by Antifa is absurd.

Then why does Prime Minister Rama insist on an absurdity like Antifa? For the same reason why he insists on the donation of Sazan and Zvërnec. To please the Trump family. Donald Trump hates Antifa and has turned it into a symbol of left-wing radicalism that, according to him, is setting the United States on fire.

So Prime Minister Rama has decided today to violate the truth in order to gain political support from the Trump administration. It is the same logic that pushed him yesterday to violate our territorial integrity by donating Sazan and Zvërnec to the Trump family, in exchange for political support.

It is this communication, not with the citizens but with Trump, that has disconnected the prime minister from the Albanian reality. That is why he now claims that organized crime is behind the protests. Even though the citizens, even the most socialist militants, are clear that organized crime in Albania has historically merged with power and not with civic protest.  

Organized crime is very happy with Rama's development model of elite towers and resorts, because that is where they launder money. Therefore, citizen protests against this model pose a real threat to the strongmen, drug traffickers, and organized crime that launder money and legalize the stolen lands in Rama's elite resort projects. 

Otherwise, we would have to believe that behind the youth revolt and social protests lies Artur Shehu, who is legalizing properties with the Zvërnec project, Tan Lepri, Ergys Agasi, or the organized crime of Elbasan that has so far produced deputies for Rama. 

In fact, there is nothing surprising in the increasingly absurd fable of the prime minister. The greater the political degradation, the more it is projected onto the opponent. No one has criticized the lack of democracy and freedom in the West more than Enver Hoxha. No one has denounced the authoritarianism of the Socialist Party more than Sali Berisha.

Today it is Edi Rama's turn to denounce the civic revolt for its links to organized crime, terrorism and drug trafficking. Don't be surprised if they soon start denouncing the civic protest as an institution where money laundering takes place and the cult of the individual is produced.    

Written especially for Lapsi.al by Blendi Kajsiu