Montenegro PM supports gay parade

Montenegro’s Prime Minister Igor Luksic has voiced support for a Gay Pride parade in the capital Podgorica.

The parade had been suggested by members of the Montenegrin rights group LGBT Forum Progres.
Luksic said Montenegro needed to show the world that it was a society that was ready to accept diversity.

“Whether we personally accept them or not, whether we personally have one opinion or another, let that remain our personal thoughts,” Luksic said.

“But we must face the fact that there are differences in the society, that those issues are a part of the human rights corpus. Let the people take a walk and we will show that we are civilised.”

LGBT Forum Progress, the Balkan nation’s first organisation for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, was registered at the Montenegrin Ministry of Internal Affairs earlier this year.

In 2010 the Montenegrin Parliament passed a non-discrimination law that included sexual orientation and gender identity, in line with requirements the country had to meet in preparation for joining the European Union.

The inaugural Podgorica Pride will be held on May 31.