The office for LGBTIQ persons, which functions within the Secretariat for Social Welfare of the Capital City, two years after its establishment, could lose the support of the city administration, after the Democratic Front (DF) demanded that the funds for its work be diverted to the account of another service.
Activists for LGBTIQ rights say this is direct discrimination.
The club of councilors of the DF (New Serbian Democracy, True Montenegro and Free Montenegro) submitted amendments to the Proposal for a Decision on the Budget of the Capital City for 2024 in the Assembly of the Capital City.
With one of them, they propose that instead of 173.000, 158.000 should be allocated to the Secretariat for Social Welfare for "other transfers to institutions".
In the explanation, in the proposal signed by the president of the Club of Councilors, Mitar Šušić, they state that the amount was "too high, unrealistic and unproductive" determined.
"From the explanation of the decision, it is established that under this account, among other things, a transfer in the amount of 15.000 euros is foreseen for the 'action plan for LGBT', in which way one social group is unjustifiably favored, which essentially discriminates against all other groups, which due to some of their identity characteristics are not entitled to subsidies from the capital city's budget," the amendments state.
The DF proposes that these funds be transferred to the Citizen Service.
"Which service would use for intervention assistance to citizens who are in a state of real help and need support and assistance, which represents a much more responsible and concrete way of using these funds," they state in the amendments.
Vladislav Dajković, president of Free Montenegro, heads the Service for citizens of the Capital City.
According to data from the Draft Decision on the Budget of the Capital City for 2024, 190.800 euros have been earmarked for Citizen Services, for salaries, expenditure on materials, services and other expenses. Other expenses are, as stated, work contracts. There is no account intended for assistance for citizens.
Commenting on the DF amendment, the executive director of the Umbrella Association for the Equal Rights of LGBTIQ Persons for the Western Balkans and Turkey ERA, Danijel Kalezić, told "Vijesta" that taking away funds for the work of the Office for LGBTIQ would "completely disable the work of that city service".
"Which has significant results in the field of protecting the rights of LGBTIQ citizens. In just a few years of existence and with very little financial resources, this Office has done a lot to promote and protect the human rights of our community in Podgorica, but also for the capital city itself, which has important international title of the Rainbow City," Kalezić said.
The fact that the DF did not propose the withdrawal of funds for any other office for other social groups, as he said, "shows a clear intention that the constituents of this political alliance want to directly discriminate against LGBTIQ people".
"And by their actions gradually lead to the abolition of the achieved rights and freedoms of our community. Even now that they act in a changed guise, this shows, they do not give up their backward and actions similar to those that were designed and implemented as a concept of gradual abolition of rights of LGBTIQ persons in Russia. I expect that the mayor Olivera Injac and the president of the Assembly of the Capital City Jelena Borovinić Bojović, as well as the councilors will not allow this intention to be realized and that they will defend our rights by strongly opposing this intention," Kalezić told "Vijesta".
In 2019, during the discussion on the Law on Social and Child Protection, they were from the DF part, because they were bothered by the wording that the family, among other things, consists of "partners in a community of the same sex and children supported by the partners in accordance with the law which regulates the life partnership of persons of the same sex", said that it was "an announcement of a biological war against our people and against the Orthodox faith".
Jovan Vučurović (DF), the president of the parliamentary committee for human rights, said at the time that it was "an attack on the sacred, in this case on the family".
The office for LGBTIQ persons was formed in 2022. The activities of the office are aimed at improving the position of LGBTIQ people in the field of education, culture, social and health care, creating conditions for employment, access to services and support services and social acceptance of LGBTIQ people, improving social acceptance of LGBTIQ people, inclusion of LGBTIQ people in all spheres of social life , promoting tolerance and social equality and promoting tolerance and non-violence towards LGBTIQ persons among the school population.
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