The Split Pride 2012 parade began in the southern Adriatic city under tight police security at 3 pm on Saturday with, according to police estimates, about 450 participants, including ministers Vesna Pusic, Ranko Ostojic, Predrag Matic, Arsen Bauk and Ivan Vrdoljak, as well as many public figures.
The coordinator of the Domina association, Mirjana Kucer, said participants had also come from other Croatian towns as well as from Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany and the US.
The coordinator of the lesbian group Kontra, Sanja Juras, said it was "very positive" that government ministers were in the parade. "We expect them to change the Family Act by introducing regulations that do not discriminate against same-sex unions in Croatia," she said, adding that the gay pride parades had made Split a symbol of the fight for human rights.
This is the second gay pride parade taking place in Split. The first one was held in 2011 and was marred by violence.
Participants are carrying banners which say "My partner is my family", "Equal before the law", "Different loves, same rights", "Faggots are workers too", "We pay taxes too", "The time has come for girls to wed" etc.
