Oysters and bottles were thrown at the first Pride Parade in Montenegro, the crowd was protected by hundreds of policemen, so that in the years that followed, Pride grew into a peaceful and cheerful gathering of citizens, without incidents.
This shows that a change in the consciousness of citizens is possible, but the still present hate speech, threats and attacks are a constant reminder that Montenegrin society is not yet a society of equals, the executive director of the NGO "Kvir Montenegro" assessed for "Vijesti". Miloš Knežević in anticipation of the eleventh Pride Parade, scheduled for October 21.
The first Montenegrin Pride Parade was held on July 24, 2013 in Budva. At that time, the gathering organized by the LGBT Forum Progresa was secured by around 400 policemen, and hundreds of opponents of the parade tried to prevent it with stones, bottles and other dangerous objects...
In the same year, on October 20, the second Pride was held in Podgorica, organized by "Kvira". The walk passed peacefully, but several incidents were recorded outside the protected zone caused by hooligans, who pelted the then "Vijesti" newsroom with stones...
Last year, at the tenth Pride, ministers, diplomats, MPs, activists... attended, but the day before the walk, the Serbian Orthodox Church held a religious gathering - "a prayer for the sanctity of marriage and the preservation of the family", as a sign of protest against its holding.
A decade of change
Knežević says that a lot has changed since the first Pride, but emphasizes that it must be taken into account that it is a decade of work on changes.
"In 2013, it was certainly not easy to talk about LGBTIQ issues in public discourse. It seemed as if the Montenegrin society was not yet ready for a dialogue about our issues and our problems. Unfortunately, that's how it turned out. Detonations echoed through the city. However, at the Parade itself, the feeling of fear and pride were the two primary feelings that led us to persevere in our fight for equality", said Knežević.
Bearing in mind that last year's Pride was the most visited, Knežević noted that "every year the number of police officers who make sure that the Parade passes peacefully is decreasing".
According to the executive director of "Kvira", the security assessments for the peaceful organization of Pride Week and Montenegro Pride are very positive, and the number of community members who visit them is increasing.
"Thus, it is not necessary to have the same level of security as at the first Montenegro Pride. In the last few years, Montenegrin society has shown a greater degree of tolerance towards our community. Of course, certain incidents, such as hate speech, threats, attacks on our premises and our activists, constantly remind us that our society is not yet a society of equals and that we must persevere in this goal," said Knežević.
Success depends on accepting differences
The degree of success of the Montenegrin Pride, according to the interlocutor of "Vijesti", is not particularly different from any other Pride Parade, be it organized in the European Union or elsewhere.
"In my opinion, the success of organizing a Pride, wherever it is held, shows the level of development of a civil society, a society that accepts any 'differences' and a society that respects the universality of human rights. Everything that is happening in our country happened in the European Union as well", Knežević said.
He believes that the main problem of Montenegrin society is that "changes come late".
"We are a small society that has been in various transitions for more than 30 years that have harmed us more in terms of respect for human rights, and we can see the results of those transitions in the last few years. Changes are slow, one would say, but they are achievable", explained the executive director of Kvira.
The parade raises awareness
At the beginning of this year, we witnessed numerous attacks on members of the LGBT community, which "Vijesti" previously wrote about.
The LGBT Forum Progresa announced that by September, they had submitted a total of 114 reports to the Police Directorate for hate speech addressed to LGBT people in the "online space".
The executive director of "Kvira" recalled that the parade can be a useful event for raising awareness and demanding changes in society, but that, as he says, "it cannot reflect all aspects of the rights of LGBTIQ+ people".
"Evaluating the rights of LGBTIQ+ people in a society requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account legislation, access to services and many other factors. As I mentioned earlier, Montenegro lags behind modern societies precisely in that part of the legislation - because passing certain laws that regulate our rights are not enough for our lives to run smoothly in Montenegrin society. Only when we have full and proper implementation of legal solutions can we start a dialogue about whether LGBTIQ+ can live a safe life in Montenegro", said Knežević.
He assessed that it is necessary to improve the Montenegrin education system and give more space to LGBTIQ+ topics, which, as he says, "are not sufficiently represented in textbooks".
"Numerous studies of textbooks, as well as teaching programs, show that LGBTIQ+ topics are not represented in them. With adequate processing and accurate and verified information that would be found in the educational system, we will develop among young people a sense of respect for human rights and diversity on any basis. The lack of civic education as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools in Montenegro has repeatedly hit us on the head. Research shows that young people in our society are increasingly intolerant, that they have a great social distance towards LGBTIQ+ people, and unfortunately they are the ones who have been the main perpetrators of certain acts against our community in the last period", said Knežević.
Institutions respond inadequately to violence
He also states that the weak penal policy has led to an "escalation in the number of violence against both LGBTIQ+ persons and women".
"All this indicates that we have an inadequate reaction from the institutions, and this is precisely what leads to the situation where violence is tolerated. Hate speech, which often comes from representatives of political parties, who also go unpunished, gives a clear assumption that it is allowed and acceptable - and precisely such behavior leads to greater divisions and radicalization of society".
The problems of the community, as he told "Vijesti", remain the same, and the biggest one, he believes, is respect for and adherence to laws, by-laws and other acts that would protect the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.
"Here I am primarily referring to the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, as well as the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. Improving the education system that is inclusive, that develops the spirit of respect for human rights among young people is one of the key problems. In addition, Montenegrin institutions will soon face another test of respect for human rights, tolerance and openness to acceptance - and that is the adoption of the Law on Legal Recognition Based on Self-Determination. Despite the existence of numerous legal and other solutions that recognize gender identity outside of the binary concept of division into male and female, such as the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination and the Law on Gender Equality, the human rights of transgender people in Montenegro are violated at every step," said Knežević. .
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