The municipality of Pljevlja will celebrate November 20 as the Municipal Day this year, even though the councilors of the parliamentary majority recently adopted October 27 as the new municipal holiday.
This was confirmed by the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja to the News Dario Vranes and the President of the Municipal Assembly Jovana Tošić, which scheduled the Solemn Session of the local parliament for Monday at 12 noon. The session will be held in the Hall of the Cultural Center.
Vraneš told Vijestima that they will celebrate November 20 because they still haven't received the Government's consent to the local parliament's decision to make the new municipal day October 27, which also coincides with the religious holiday of Holy Friday.
"We respect the law and will do everything according to the law and the Constitution. As long as the government does not approve the draft decision on the new day of the municipality, we will celebrate November 20," said the first man of the city.
Vraneš also said that on November 20, he will attend the laying of wreaths at the Monument to fallen fighters in the fight against fascism in Stražica.
The local parliament session will not be attended by councilors from Nova, DNP and Movement for Pljevlja, who have not attended the ceremonial sessions on November 20, Pljevlja Municipality Day for years.
"We will not attend the ceremonial session, because that day is not the day of the liberation of Pljevlja, but the day when one of the political armies participating in the Fraternal War occupied Pljevlja. "Pljevlja was liberated from the Germans on September 13, 1944, and since that date there have been no occupying soldiers in Pljevlja", said the councilor of Nova Bozidar Jelovac, explaining the reasons why members of Nova, the most numerous party in the local parliament, will not attend the ceremonial session.
The first man of the northernmost Montenegrin municipality expects that the new government, headed by Pljevljak, will Milojko Spajić, to approve the draft decision on the new day of the municipality, because the previous one did not decide on it.
"We expect a fair decision from the Government," Vraneš told Vijesta.
Earlier, he said that not giving consent to change the day of the municipality would be discrimination against the people of Pljevlja, because in many municipalities the day of the municipality coincides with a religious holiday.
Unlike the previous ones, November 20 this year will be more modestly celebrated, and there will be no events that were organized in the previous period to meet the municipal holiday.
This year, the November festivities were absent, during which, almost a month before the holiday, numerous cultural manifestations were organized.
The awarding of the municipal award on November 20, which was awarded every year on the occasion of the Day of the Municipality to prominent individuals, companies and institutions, will also be absent, after the councilors of the local parliament recently adopted a decision according to which the highest municipal recognition will be awarded every other year.
If the Government approves the decision to change the day of the municipality, the highest municipal award will be named October 27.
Award "20. November" was founded in 1973.
On September 28, members of the Municipal Assembly of Pljevlja supported with 19 votes the changes to the Statute declaring October 20 as the Municipal Day instead of November 27.
The amendments were supported by councilors of the New Serbian Democracy, the Democratic People's Party, the Movement for Pljevlja, United Montenegro, the only councilor of the SNP and three councilors from the Democrats.
One Democratic alderman, Milojica Tešović, he was reserved.
Councilors from the Democratic Party of Socialists, the Bosniak Party (BS) and the councilor from the URA were against, while the councilors from the Movement for Europe left the hall before the vote.
Previously, they requested that the decision be postponed and that a referendum be called, where the citizens would have their say on the day of the municipality.
Opposition parties, numerous non-governmental organizations, associations and individuals asked the Government not to approve the decision of the local parliament, which they said does not contribute to reconciliation, multi-ethnic and multi-religious harmony and violates the constitutional arrangement of Montenegro as a secular state.
Explaining his proposal to celebrate October 27 as the Day of the Municipality of Pljevlja, the President of the Municipality Dario Vraneš said that it is the most significant, historically grounded and glorious day for all citizens of Pljevlja, regardless of religious, national, political or other affiliation.
"On that day, Pljevlja was liberated twice from the occupiers, in 1912 from centuries-old Turkish slavery, and in 1918 from the Austro-Hungarian occupier. Without the intention of diminishing the importance of anyone's sacrifice or any other date, October 27 is the most significant and brightest day in our municipality, the day when the sun of freedom shone on all the citizens of Pljevlja. This is what historical data and the living memory of our fellow citizens tell us. Today, a historic decision is being made for our people and our city. Today we are in front of the court of our descendants and ancestors who gloriously gave their lives so that we could live in freedom today," said Vraneš.
Changing the day of the municipality was a pre-election promise of the former Democratic Front, of which Vraneš is a member, on the eve of the last local and parliamentary elections.
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