21/10/2013 Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Yesterday’s holding of a Pride march for the first time in Montenegro’s capital was an important step forward,” said Robert Biedroń (Poland, SOC), General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
“I congratulate the organisers of the event and I particularly welcome the participation of Suad Numanovic, Montenegro’s Minister for Human and Minority Rights, who marched along with the other participants. The public authorities’ support for the event testifies to their commitment to non-discrimination and freedom of expression. The police played an important role by guaranteeing the safety of participants. Over 2,000 policemen were deployed to protect the marchers and they actively defended the participants from violence. Regrettably, some officers were injured, as were some of the opponents.”
“I hope that the Montenegrin authorities’ resolve to make the Pride march possible will be a source of inspiration for the entire Balkan region, where the right of LGBT people to hold demonstrations has often been breached.”