Montenegro Pride marches through Podgorica for the 14th time: “The real enemies are not LGBT people”

The 14th Montenegro Pride took place in Podgorica on Saturday, 3 October, under the slogan “We will live, for the sake of living!”. The march was organised by Queer Montenegro, the country’s main LGBTIQ rights group, and police estimated that around 350 people took part.

Participants gathered at around 3 p.m. outside the Government building on Stanka Dragojevića Boulevard and walked through the city centre to Argentina Square, where speeches and a music programme followed. Montenegro’s ombudsman, Siniša Bjeković, and European Union officials were among those attending.

Montenegro’s Police Directorate said the event, which ended at around 8 p.m., passed off peacefully and without incident. Several central streets were closed to traffic for the afternoon.

“Pride exists so people can finally live their own lives”

Staša Baštrica, executive director of Queer Montenegro, told the crowd that horrors had been “piling up for decades” in the region, from the wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia to a transition that left people impoverished and divided, but that even in the darkest times part of society had kept alive the idea of peace, freedom and solidarity.

She criticised a political system in which, she said, court verdicts are disputed and condolences are offered to the families of war criminals, while laws of vital importance to citizens are delayed or blocked.

“The real enemies are not gay men, lesbians, bisexual and trans people, nor is any struggle for equality and acceptance of difference,” Baštrica said. “Montenegro Pride exists so that people can finally live as themselves and live their own lives, without hiding who they love or who they are.”

“Nobody should have to be brave just to live an ordinary life”

Ali Erdogan of Queer Montenegro noted that years of organising had brought legal recognition of same-sex partnerships in Montenegro, which passed a Life Partnership Act in 2020, but that those rights were still not fully realised in everyday life.

“We want to hold our partners’ hands on the way home. We want to be able to talk about our families at work. We want to get the healthcare we deserve,” he said, calling for full implementation of partnership rights and for trans people’s identities to be recognised without forced medical procedures.

Institutions voice support

The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights said protecting the rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, remained one of its priorities, but stressed that better laws must be matched by consistent enforcement and a sustained fight against homophobia, transphobia and hate speech.

The Clinical Centre of Montenegro, the country’s main hospital, also sent a message of support, warning that discrimination and stigma can harm LGBT people’s physical and mental health and that every patient is entitled to safe and dignified care.

Source: rtcg.me, vijesti.me, danas.rs. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.