About 150 people participated in the first gay pride march held in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, on Sunday.
Violence threatened to mar activities as 1500 anti-gay protesters rioted, throwing rocks and firebombs at police officers who were attempting to keep the peace. Two thousand police officers were on duty for the march. Officers responded to the protesters with teargas and other means. About 60 officers and rioters were injured. No marchers were reported to have suffered any injuries.
Despite the show of opposition, march organizer Danijel Kalezic, head of Queer Montenegro, saw the gay pride march as a positive step. “We were up against enormous challenges but we did it,” Kalezic told Al Jazeera. “From this day we are no longer invisible. This was the first Pride and every year there will be more and more of us.”
The march was the second gay pride event to be held in the country. A previous march, held in the coastal town of Budva in July, was interrupted by violence and protesters yelling “kill the gays.” Anti-gay extremists also threatened a march organizer, posting fake death notices with the organizer’s name and photograph on public buildings. Violence forced organizers to shorten the route, but several marchers were injured.
