Emir Prekić, the head of the Pljevlja City Tambura Orchestra, responded to remarks made by Mayor Dario Vraneš, featured in local newspapers and the Vijesti portal under the headline “The Municipality of Pljevlja (will) not support the festival”.

Prekić informed Vraneš that the Tambura Music Festival will indeed take place in Pljevlja this August, with or without municipal backing.

We present his full reaction below.

“Dear Mr. Vraneš, we frequently hear you declare in the media that the Municipality’s doors are ‘open to everyone’. However, when it concerns the City Tamburitza Orchestra and our Festival, that sentiment appears selective. This isn’t merely about us or your associates who participated in last year’s meeting you organized, but primarily for the citizens of Pljevlja and the long-time supporters of the Tamburitza Music Festival, which has been a staple for 18 years. We wish to highlight some points that underscore our concerns:

On the eve of last year’s Festival, you convened a meeting in July 2024, despite our earlier request — which apparently ‘wandered’ between the Cultural Center and the Municipality for months through unofficial channels. Regrettably, we find ourselves in a similar predicament this year. You mentioned during that meeting that the Municipality cannot fund the NGO sector, yet publicly accessible information indicates that approximately €50,000 was allocated to NGOs from the current budget reserve last year. This raises the question: do these rules apply uniformly?

After that same meeting, you went public stating, ‘The Municipality of Pljevlja will support the festival, and it will be organized by the Municipality with a budget allocated for next year.’ Nonetheless, there is no mention of the festival in the 2025 Municipal Budget. Has your stance changed since then? We have been reaching out since last December because of your invitations to discuss projects, which followed last July’s meeting. It’s precisely due to those informal invitations that we continued to seek dialogue. We believe it is not fitting to place the blame on the Secretary for Culture and Social Affairs, with whom we have a productive working relationship. We are not looking for a scapegoat and aren’t diving into personal matters; our sole aim has been to foster open communication and express genuine concern for preserving our city’s cultural heritage. We hoped to quickly resolve any outstanding issues in a brief meeting and continue nurturing what you have recognized as worthwhile. The festival will undoubtedly go on, and it is your choice whether the Municipality of Pljevlja will be involved.

Lastly, we would like to remind you of your remarks from last year: ‘The Tambura Music Festival is essential. The Tambura tradition arrived in our city with the Austro-Hungarians in the late 19th century, was embraced by our people, and is now part of Pljevlja’s intangible cultural heritage. This festival is also affiliated with the European and World Association of Tambura Festivals, representing our Municipality on a global stage.’

PS We won’t elaborate on the numerous accolades and achievements the City Tamburitza Orchestra has garnered over the past two years from international festivals in this context, but we must point out that these accomplishments have also not received the attention or recognition from your administration.

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