'This is the true face of Montenegro,' he told Reuters.
Dozens of extremists shouting 'Kill the gays' attacked gay activists during their first march in Montenegro. Montenegro police officers arrest a man in Budva on Wednesday. Zdravko Cimbaljevic, one of the march organizers and the first person to have come out as gay in Montenegro, said he had not expected such a violent reaction, which forced the marchers to shorten the route to avoid further clashes. Protesters chanted 'Kill the gays' and carried banners that read 'Only healthy Montenegro', a Reuters reporter on the scene said. BUDVA, Montenegro - Police clashed with anti-gay protesters in Montenegro on Wednesday as they tried to disrupt the first gay pride parade to be held in the Balkan country, which is in talks to join the European Union bloc.Īround 200 demonstrators in the coastal town of Budva hurled stones, bottles and flares at policemen who were keeping them separate from around 40 marchers wearing shirts bearing the colors of the rainbow, the symbol of the gay rights movement.Īt least ten demonstrators were arrested and several marchers were slightly injured, according to police.
