LGBT community still socially vulnerable
It has been exactly one year since the first Montenegrin Pride Parade which was held in Budva on July 24, 2013.
LGBTIQ zajednica i dalje društveno ugrožena!
Tačno je godinu dana od prve crnogorske Povorke ponosa koja je održana u Budvi 24. jula 2013. godine.
It is a historically important event for modern Montenegro which showed real capacities of the society and its structure to accept diversity. The event itself showed the existence of the political support and determination of the police to guarantee security. However, everyone else in the national system showed indifference to effectively cope with challenges of homophobia and problems of social non-acceptance of LGBT people.
On the first Montenegrin Pride clear requests have been made: consistent implementation and monitoring of nationalLGBT policy, substantial and visible integration of human rights and LGBT issues in public education and the establishment of a national dialogue, with the help of the government, between the LGBT community and sports clubsand fan associations.
One year after holding the first Pride Parade, despite clear and well-grounded requests, we are facing a complete absence of activities in the field of education which has a crucial importance in preventing and systematically influencing the reducing of homophobia and general nonacceptance of LGBT people in Montenegrin society. The requests of the LGBT Forum Progress that had been sent to the relevant minister to create an amendment plan of Montenegrintextbooks in order to purposefully include LGBT issues, were completely rejected.
Minors of primary and secondary schools are leading in violence towards LGBT people. This has been confirmed by an official judicial statistics and, for many years, the department of education have been without an adequate systematicand professional response.
This is an opportunity to recall the series of failures of the police. LGBTIQ Social Center, the only place for gathering and social life of LGBT people, since its opening, was attacked 23 times. The perpetrators haven’t been found in either ofthese cases and no other attack on leading figures of the LGBT community have been clarified.
It is not possible to prevent an extreme hatred and violence against LGBT people by ignoring problems and conductingmisdemeanor proceedings. Criminal legal protection for LGBT people must be improved. The willingness of the SupremePublic Prosecutor’s Office to develop a constructive dialogue and improve capacity for full protection of LGBT people is strongly encouraged.
On the proposal of 78 members, the initiative to promote the founder and the first executive director of LGBT ForumProgress Zdravko Cimbaljevic into an honorable president of this organization has been accepted, because of his contribution to the development of human rights and to the LGBT movement in Montenegro.
Cimbaljevic, who is the first publicly declared gay, by his coming out of the closet and his work for three years as apolitical and social representative of the LGBT community, has given a decisive contribution to the content andaccelerating the process of social inclusion of LGBT people. With many problems, obstructions and personal risks, Cimbaljevic, as a leader of the LGBT Forum Progress, and the only publicly declared gay, have made long-term social and mentality changes.
LGBT Forum Progress will send an initiative to make the February 18, the day when Cimbaljevic through daily newspapers “Vijesti” publicly declared himself as the first gay in Montenegro, within the implementation of the government’s LGBT policy, the Day of the LGBT visibility.
Also, an initiative was submitted to the Government of Montenegro to establish a consultative working body – Council of LGBT community, and to celebrate from now on the May 9 as the National Day of LGBT inclusion. It was the day when the Government of Montenegro adopted the first national LGBT policy.
The anniversary of the first Pride Parade is an opportunity for the LGBT Forum Progress, as its organizer, to thank once again to all the parade’s participants, who have showed an exceptional civic courage and solidarity and have offered a great contribution to the visibility of the LGBT community in Montenegro.
To je istorijski važan događaj za savremenu Crnu Goru koji je pokazao stvarne kapacitete društva i njegovih struktura da prihvate različitost. Sami događaj pokazao je postojanje političke podrške i riješenost policije da garantuje bezbjednost. Međutim, svi drugi u nacionalnom sistemu pokazali su priličnu nezainteresovanost da se efikasno nose sa izazovima homofobije i problemima društvenog neprihvatanja LGBT osoba.
S prve crnogorske Povorke ponosa saopšteni su jasni zahtjevi: dosljedna implementacija i monitoring nacionalne LGBT politike, sadržajno i vidljiva integracija ljudskih LGBT prava i pitanja u javno obrazovanje i uspostavljanje nacionalnog dijaloga, uz pomoć Vlade, između LGBT zajednice i sportskih kolektiva i navijačkih asocijacija.
Godinu dana od održavanja prve Povorke ponosa, i pored jasno i detaljno argumentovanih zahtjeva, suočavamo se sa potpunim odsustvom aktivnosti na polju obrazovanja koje je ključno kako bi se preventivno i sistemski djelovalo na smanjenje homofobije i opšte neprihvaćenosti LGBT osoba u crnogorskom društvu. Zahtjevi LGBT Foruma Progres upućeni resornom ministru, za kreiranje plana izmjena i dopuna crnogorskih udžbenika, kako bi se svrsishodno uključila LGBT tematika, potpuno su odbijeni.
Maloljetnici, učenici osnovnih i srednjih škola, prednjače u nasilju prema LGBT osobama. To potvrđuje zvanična pravosudna statistika a resor obrazovanja već duži niz godina je bez adekvatnog sistemskog i profesionalnog odgovora.
Prilika je da podsjetimo i na seriju propusta policije. LGBTIQ Socijalni Centar, jedino mjesto za okupljanje i društveni život LGBT osoba napadnut je, od otvaranja, 23 puta. Počinioci ni u jednom od ovih slučajeva nisu pronađeni a ostali su nerasvijetljeni napadi na vodeće ličnosti LGBT zajednice.
Ekstremnu mržnju i nasilje prema LGBT osobama nije moguće spriječiti ignorisanjem problema i vođenjem prekršajnih postupaka. Krivično pravna zaštita LGBT osoba mora biti unaprijeđena. Ohrabruje spremnost Vrhovnog državnog tužilaštva da se razvije konstruktivni dijalog i unaprijede kapaciteti za punu zaštitu LGBT osoba.
Na predlog 78 članova prihvaćena je inicijativa da se osnivač i prvi direktor LGBT Foruma Progres Zdravko Cimbaljevićpromoviše u počasnog predsjednika ove organizacije, zbog svog doprinosa razvoju ljudskih prava i LGBT pokreta u Crnoj Gori.
Cimbaljević, prvi javno deklarisani gej, svojim autovanjem i djelovanjem tokom tri godine, kao politički i društveni predstavnik LGBT zajednice, pružio je odlučujući doprinos sadržaju i ubrzanju procesa socijalne inkluzije LGBT osobe. Uz mnoge probleme, opstrukcije i lične rizike, Cimbaljević je, kao lider LGBT Foruma Progres,i jedini javno deklarisani gej, proizveo dugoročne društvene i mentalitetske promjene.
LGBT Forum Progres uputiće inicijativu da se 18. februar, dan kada se Cimbaljević, preko stranica dnevnika „Vijesti“, javno deklarisao kao prvi gej u Crnoj Gori, u sklopu implemetacije vladine LGBT politike, obilježava kao Dan LGBT vidljivosti.
Takođe, prema Vladi Crne Gore je podnijeta inicijativa da se uspostavi konsultativno radno tijelo – Savjet LGBT zajednice kao i da se 9. maj ubuduće, između ostalog, obilježava i kao nacionalni dan LGBT inkluzije. Tog dana Vlada Crne Gore je usvojila prvu nacionalnu LGBT politiku.
Godišnjica Prve povorke ponosa prilika da se LGBT Forum Progres, kao njen organizator, još jednom zahvali svim učesnicama povorke, koji su pokazali izuzetnu građansku hrabrost i solidarnost i pružili izuzetan doprinos vidljivosti LGBT zajednice u Crnoj Gori.
