The Veliaj/Altin Basha file is an example of how those who sold the Theater were recruited

From whatever angle you look at it, the Veliaj dossier brings to light new scandals. The latest are not financial ones, nor Ajola Xoxa's vanity in spending 800 thousand euros on dresses, underwear and bras, but the way in which public money has corrupted society, recruited artists and actors, and served as a fire extinguisher to extinguish criticism and protest.

In a scrupulous article, as investigative as it is reflective, journalist Elsa Demo has described in “Landscapes of the Word” the degradation of the artistic scene through municipal funds. Through Ajola Xoxa’s associations, Erion Veliaj has found a way to reward those who betrayed the protest against the demolition of the National Theater, those who were engaged in electoral campaigns for him, those who became part of the manipulated spectacle of planting trees. The names of Artan Imami, Marsela Çibukaj, Ardit Gjebresë, Ilir Shaqiri appear in the voluminous text.

But a flagrant case is that of the former director of the National Theater, Altin Basha, and his wife, Ilirjana, who have benefited from only 9 projects, nearly 320 thousand euros, three times what the annual budget of the entire National Theater provides, emphasizes journalist Demo.

In December of this year, the couple Altin and Iliriana Basha fell prey to the investigative show "Piranhas", as unscrupulous abusers of the funds of the National Theater's performances. Basha was accused of having employed his wife Iliriana Basha as the director of this institution, in a conflict of interest, giving her free rein over the funds of a performance with a budget of 12 million lek, for costumes and scenography. After this scandal, he was forced to resign in shame from the director's position, even with as much shame as he took that position, in exchange for the betrayal he made to the protest against the demolition of the Theater.

This director and official accused of being a thief is the typical stereotype of the man Erion Veliaj chose to serve his propaganda and goals. The court file, which journalist Elsa Demo has analyzed, shows, one by one, the benefits that the Basha couple received through the “Bash-Art” association. There are also details about the manipulation of financial invoices that served Ajola Xoxa's manipulations, in exchange for the promise: you will never have problems with the municipality.

As can be seen in the table below, taken from the Veliaj file, it is clear that the funding for the Basha couple's association coincides with the period after the collapse of the Theater, although "Bash-Art" was created four years earlier.

This table is enough to reinforce the suspicion that Veliaj used public money to buy off those he recruited to betray civic causes, whom he then used unscrupulously for their own interests.

Altin Basha became one of the symbols of this phenomenon. And this was seen on December 3, 2020 when he was appointed to the position of director of the Experimental Theater, replacing Kiço Londo. To get here, he was forced to swallow a lot.

He became one of three artists who betrayed their protesting colleagues and met with Veliaj in July 2018 at a propaganda show, the day before parliament urgently approved the now-rejected special law for the demolition of the National Theater.

He was then accused by other actors of not having a mandate for such a meeting, which simply served the political interests of the day. The photo of the director together with actors Arben Derhemi and Alfred Trebicka went viral on the internet.

Unlike the other two who had a little bit of nerve and refused to speak publicly about that event, Basha put his chest up and attacked the protesters with the arguments of Rilindja, claiming that they had betrayed him by turning into a pro-DP movement.

Altin Basha finds the courage to reappear in public. Of course, for a new service

But it doesn't end there. In May 2020, just one day before the demolition of the National Theater, Altin Basha, along with a number of heads of state institutions and actors from Portokallia, launched a petition demanding the demolition of the National Theater and the construction of a new theater.

Altin Basha served as an alibi for Erion Veliaj even later, when the government and the municipality realized that they had been discredited so much that they had to give up cooperation with the private company “Fusha SHPK” for the 200 million-dollar tower construction affair. Then Veliaj publicly announced that he had been the representative of the artist community that had made such strong demands on “Fusha” that the company that was able to fulfill the whims of one of the best architects in the world, Bjarke Ingels, could not satisfy Altin Basha’s demands.

Even more disgusting was the role of the director who once insisted that the theater should not be demolished, the day after it was mined. In an interview with 'Report TV' he compared the now-dilapidated building, whose demolition the newspaper "Le Monde" labeled a "barbaric act", to a "chicken coop".

But the spoonful of rotten soup he had swallowed would not easily satisfy him. Two years after making him director of the Experimental Theater, the party would promote him in December 2022, to head of the National Theater.

In addition to these rewards, highlighting those parts of the file that highlight the corruption of our artistic scene, journalist Elsa Demo is telling us that in addition to public positions, the Basha couple was also rewarded with 320 thousand euros for their association, "Bash-Art".

And this reflective investigation, worthy of applause, is strong evidence to understand, not only how the artists' protest for the protection of the theater was bought and destroyed, but also to learn what colossal amounts of money motivate those cowards who claim to protect a corruptor of Veliaj's caliber to flaunt before SPAK./ Lapsi.al