PODGORICA -- Hundreds of LGBT supporters marched without apparent incident in the 10th annual Pride event in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, amid opposition from supporters of the Orthodox Church.
Holding flags and signs bearing slogans such as "No more homophobia" and "Our freedom is also your freedom," participants marched through the closed streets of the city center on October 8, with police monitoring the gathering with the use of drones flying overhead.
Pride organizers said hatred for the LGBT community was still spreading but that supporters were now standing up for their rights in the conservative Balkan nation of 620,000 people.
"We gathered here for the 10th time to show we are human beings of flesh and blood, hopes, and dreams, but we are rejected and trampled upon because of love," said Stasa Bastrica of the Kvir Montenegra group.
"[Opponents] incite our fellow citizens to hate us. Death to fascism, death to religious extremism," Bastrica added.
SEE ALSO: Serbia's Conservatives Seek Textbook Ban Over 'LGBT Ideology'Activist Danijel Kalezic said that "we have seen decision-makers who are against Pride. There are more of us than those who want to deny us our rights. They cannot defeat us in any way."
The government of Montenegro was represented at the event by Human and Minority Rights Minister Fatmir Djeka, Urban Planning Minister Ana Novakovic Djurovic, and Economy Minister Goran Djurovic.
Foreign diplomats, members of parliament, activists from other organizations, Podgorica Mayor Ivan Vukovic, and Montenegro's top tennis player, Danka Kovinic, also attended.
On October 7, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro held a rally in the capital to protest against the Pride event.
About 1,000 supporters gathered in front of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ to pray "for the sanctity of marriage and the preservation of the family."
A proclamation deplored the "the depraved values that propagate mock Christian traditions, undermining the family, the people, and the state."
The first Pride parade in Montenegro was held in Budva on July 24, 2013, amid fierce clashes between LGBT supporters and opponents.
Several hundred protesters shouting "Kill the gays!" threw stones, bottles, and other objects at police and several dozen activists marching in support of gay rights in the coastal town.
Violence also disrupted a second march in Podgorica later that year, but processions have been held in mostly peaceful conditions in subsequent years.
Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and has long sought membership in the European Union.