The seventh Gay Pride parade held in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica on Saturday passed without incident, with several hundred participants calling for the adoption of a law on same-sex partnership.

“We are together here today to say that we will not hang down our heads and that we have the same rights. We demand the adoption of a law on life partnership,” Danijel Kalezic of the Queer Montenegro organisation told the crowd.

Participants protested against violations of the human rights of LGBT persons and the spreading of hatred towards them by political parties and members of the national parliament.

In late July, parliament failed to pass the bill on the life partnership of same-sex couples because there was no quorum.

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said before the Pride march that his government would soon send the bill back to parliament so that it could be discussed during the autumn session.

No senior government officials attended the parade but instead sent their envoys. The event was addressed, among others, by US Deputy Ambassador Judy Kuo, who called for respecting differences regardless of whether they concerned sexual minorities, nationality or race.