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Who is hiding behind the DP's accusations that "Edi Rama owns a watch worth 1.4 million euros". The connection with Belind Këlliçi

2025-04-04 18:23:03Politikë SHKRUAR NGA VLADIMIR KARAJ
Who is hiding behind the DP's accusations that "Edi Rama owns a watch
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A Dubai-based watch dealer and an Albanian-American blogger known for spreading conspiracy theories, linked to a senior Democratic Party official, are the source of the accusations against the Albanian prime minister, BIRN research reveals.

A March 27 post on the 'X' platform - formerly 'Twitter' - by an anonymous account called 'Live Monitor' (@amlivemon), claiming that Prime Minister Edi Rama had the most expensive watch among NATO leaders, worth 1.4 million euros, produced a wave of accusations in Tirana from the Democratic Party, as the country was flexing its muscles for the electoral campaign for the May 11 parliamentary elections.

Through a Facebook post, the head of the communications department at the Democratic Party, Alfred Lela, retweeted the 'Live Monitor' post, and taking it for granted, cast doubt on the wealth of the head of government and raised questions about the source of his income.

“NATO leaders and their watches… Tell me: how is it possible that the socialist leader of Albania, who makes less than 200 thousand USD per year, can buy a watch that costs 1.4 million USD?” Lela wrote.

The Socialist Party and the prime minister have not reacted to the DP's accusation about the watch. However, BIRN's research revealed that the post that Edi Rama owned the expensive watch, made by the Pirro jeweler in Tirana, was posted on Instagram by a Middle Eastern merchant account and then reposted by the 'Live Monitor' account on 'X'.

Behind this account is Albert Marko, an Albanian-American blogger connected to Democratic Party officials, who lives in Florida and presents himself as an expert on geopolitics and international trade, accused in the US of spreading conspiracy theories.

In an email response, Marko told BIRN that he had not verified the veracity of the claim that Rama was the owner of the expensive watch.

“I simply reposted the images, I did not produce them or research them,” Marko told BIRN via email, referring to the blog link on Instagram.

Even the DP's communications director, Alfred Lela, who deleted the Facebook post shortly after publication, said that he had posed the 'accusation' against Rama in the form of a question.

"This is a question and there are no wrong questions," said Lela. It seemed like a good question to me. I don't know the person in question," said Lela, referring to Marko, whom she follows on the X network.

Meanwhile, Alba Ruço, the daughter of the jeweler Pirro Ruço who produced the watch, told BIRN that they were concerned and shocked by the political accusations, which she underlined are baseless.

"The time is ours and the post is baseless and without facts," she said.

Unique Albanian clock

On May 11, Albania will hold parliamentary elections, with Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Socialist Party seeking an unprecedented fourth term at the helm of the Albanian government. The Socialists' main challenger is the coalition led by the Democratic Party and led by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Berisha, 80, is seeking a third term in office after being declared 'persona non grata' by the US and accused by SPAK of corruption, adopting the policies of US President Donald Trump, promising to make Albania 'great'. To this end, the Democratic Party has also hired one of the strategists of the successful Republican presidential campaign in the US, Chris LaCivita.

The “Pirro” goldsmith in Tirana is known for creating refined jewelry, medals, coin reliefs, figurines, miniature sculptures, and handmade filigree works that preserve the spirit and tradition of Albanian culture.

The 'Primordial Passion' watch by Pirro became famous as the first high-value Albanian watch, after it entered the Grand Prix des Horloges in Geneva. Its red and black dial, set with Murano glass stones, features 12 gold-worked dancers representing the provinces of Albania.

After the competition, jeweler Pirro Ruço was also invited to Prime Minister Edi Rama's video podcast, but his daughter emphasizes that Rama has never seen the watch, which is a unique piece of jewelry.

“You know this mishmash of portals here,” she said, referring to the allegations. “We were shocked, we are also concerned,” she added.

Ruço told BIRN that the initial claim that the watch belonged to Rama was first made on an Instagram page known as @iflwatches_ae, which made the first post on March 27 about the NATO leaders’ watches. The Instagram page belongs to a Dubai-based watch dealer named Karar Aimer. Aimer could not be reached for comment on his post about the NATO leaders’ watches.

His page's post was retrieved a few hours later by Albanian-American Albert Marko, who shared it on the 'X' platform, then shared on Facebook by Alfred Lela and made news on Syri.net and the Democratic Party's online portal, RDNews.al. The post was then shared by a number of DP figures, including MP Edi Paloka.

Lela told BIRN that Rama's extravagance justifies the speculation, while adding a new list of accusations about the Albanian prime minister's luxurious life.

"Even if it wasn't true, it belonged. Edi Rama is known for elaborate extravagances: Brioni suits, Yamamoto shorts, a villa in the suburbs, expensive Romanee Conti wine. So, in fact, why did the allusion coincide with the profile of Rama's character," he said.

Ruço said that after the media publications, she and her father were worried, as they were inadvertently involved in a political campaign, and they say they feel insulted.

"We didn't react because it didn't seem important to us, even though it wasn't true," she said.

Erlis Çela, pedagog i komunikimit në Universitetin ‘Bedër’ në Tiranë i tha BIRN se rrjetet sociale janë kthyer në një hapësirë në të cilën aktorët politikë kërkojnë të ndikojnë publikun përmes dezinformimit, një hap që ai e sheh shqetësues për mjedisin politik në Shqipëri.

“Hapja e profileve anonime në rrjetet sociale dhe shënjestrimi i figurave politike duke përhapur lajme të rreme synon të keqorientojë publikun dhe në këndvështrimin tim, ka një impakt të konsiderueshëm”, tha Çela.

Një figurë në hije

Albert Marko është një shqiptaro-amerikan me banim në Florida, i lidhur me ekosistemin e medias së djathtë në SHBA dhe me Partinë Demokratike në Shqipëri. Sipas rastit, ai e përshkruan veten si një analist tregjesh dhe gjeopolitike dhe ka një podcast të quajtur “Cloak & Dagger” [Mantel dhe thikë], në bashkëpunim me Antony Nash, një tjetër analist politikash.

Marko u bë i famshëm në vitin 2020 në SHBA, pasi u akuzua nga media si një nga njerëzit e lidhur me publikimin e një dosje të dyshimtë mbi djalin e ish-presidentit, Joe Biden, gjatë fushatës presidenciale në SHBA. Dosja e titulluar “Typhoon Investigations” [Hetimi Tajfunit], pretendonte se Hunter Biden kishte lidhje me Partinë Komuniste Kineze, dhe u qarkullua gjerësisht nga zyrtarë të lidhur me Partinë Republikane, Steve Bannon, Newt Gingrich, dhe ‘Q’ – figura misterioze e lidhur me teorinë konspirative Qanon.

Hulumtimet e medias amerikane zbuluan se dosja me akuza i atribuhej një kompanie të rreme inteligjence dhe autori ishte po ashtu një person i sajuar me imazhe të prodhuara nga Inteligjenca Artificiale. Ajo shërbeu si ngritje sipari për një seri shkrimesh në gazetën tabloide New York Post në vitin 2020, që lidheshin me të dhëna të marra nga një kompjuter laptop që i përkishte djalit të ish-presidentit.

Njësoj si në postimin për orën Edi Ramës, Marko i tha BIRN se nuk kishte lidhje me prodhuesin e dosjes ‘Tajfun’ kundër Biden dhe as e njeh përmbajtjen e saj.

“Nuk e kam prodhuar unë dhe as nuk e di kush e bëri”, tha ai, ndërsa pretendoi se në atë rast u shenjestrua ai si mesazh-përcjellësi dhe jo informacioni.

Marko këmbënguli se falja që Joe Biden shpalli për të birin në ditët e fundit të Presidencës, tregon se ajo që u pa si “konspiracion” ndaj tij rezultoi e saktë.

Albert Marko i tha BIRN se babai i tij është me origjinë nga Shqipëria, kurse e ëma nga Mali i Zi. Ai tha se e kishte vizituar Shqipërinë dy herë, njëherë në vitin 1993, përpara se t’i vdiste gjyshi dhe dy-tre vjet më parë, për pushime në Jug.

Përtej origjinës, Marko ka shkruar një artikull në media amerikane në mbështetje të kreu të PD-së, Sali Berisha dhe është cituar në gazetën New York Post duke lavdëruar ish-deputetin dhe kandidatin për kryebashkiak të Partisë Demokratike në Tiranë, Belind Këlliçi.

Marko lists Këllici as one of the 5 leading anti-Sorosists in the world, alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Marko's writings or those where he is quoted regarding the situation in Albania, as well as the latest post, have been translated into Albanian and widely distributed by opposition media.

Këlliçi told BIRN that Marko was a friend of his, but stressed that he had no connection to the Democratic Party.

“Alberti is an American citizen, but of Albanian descent and origin,” he said. “He is a personal friend of mine and I met him in Washington DC through some mutual friends. Alberti has no connection to the DP by the way. He is simply a personal friend of mine,” Këlliçi emphasized.

On the social network 'X', Marko has posts in support of the Democratic Party and supports conspiracy theories about the influence of George Soros in Albanian politics, however he denied being affiliated with the DP. Marko often posts about Albania, mainly attacks on Prime Minister Edi Rama and the arrested mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, and their connections to Soros. Marko has also accused the administration of former President Joe Biden of protecting 'Rama's drug state' and has criticized Jared Kushner's investment projects in Albania.

“Personally, I am a staunch conservative/realist and my comments in support of Berisha (in reality there was no other alternative) are simply a way to oppose Rama and the socialists,” he said, while underlining that he has no connection to the Democratic Party.

“I often post against socialism in Latin America, Europe, and any attempt to implement it in the United States,” he explained.

“Belindi is simply a personal friend, with whom I have developed a relationship through ethnic Albanian activities in the US over the years, and I believe he is sincere in his concern for his constituents, more so than Veliaj was,” Marko concluded.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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