Algeria celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence
After nearly eight years of war between Algerian insurgents and the French army, Algeria won its independence from France in 1962.
A military parade of unprecedented scale celebrated the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence.
AFP
Algeria celebrated Tuesday with great fanfare, with a military parade of unprecedented scale, the 60th anniversary of its independence following 132 years of French colonization, the memory of which still strains its relations with Paris.
After laying a wreath at the Martyrs’ Sanctuary in Algiers, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune standing in a car with an open roof in the company of the army chief of staff, General Saïd Chanegriha, reviewed units from several security services before kicking off the military parade.
At the same time, cannons fired sixty rounds to mark the occasion.
The nearly two-hour show began with an open flypast by a formation of six L-39 training jets, which painted the sky green, red and white, the colors of the Algerian flag. .
An Il-76 transport plane then carried out an in-flight refueling, escorted by two Su-30 fighters.
President Tebboune watched the parade from a podium surrounded by his government and several foreign guests, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Tunisian President Kais Saied.
“Tanks and Submarines”
The various units of the Algerian army, including horsemen from the Republican Guard, but also police and civil protection agents, then paced along the road adjoining the great mosque of Algiers to music and in quick step, followed by hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles.
Helicopters and planes – including Mig-25s and Su-24s – flew over the bay of Algiers.
A military parade of unprecedented scale celebrated the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence.
AFP
Russian S-300 and Pantsir S-1 air defense systems, modernized T-62 and T-90 tanks, as well as drones also participated in the parade.
At sea, several warships and two submarines, Ouancharis and Djudjura, which surfaced in the Bay of Algiers, also took part in the parade.
This military parade comes in a context of strong tensions with Morocco, with which Algiers broke diplomatic relations in August due to deep disagreements over the disputed territory of Western Sahara and the security rapprochement between Rabat and Israel.
Algeria wrested its independence from France following seven and a half years of war which left hundreds of thousands dead.
But 60 years following the end of colonization, the wounds remain raw in Algeria as France rules out any “repentance” or “apologies”, although French President Emmanuel Macron has endeavored since his election to soothe memories with a series of symbolic gestures.
“Reconciliation of Memories”
The bilateral relationship seemed to have reached its lowest level in October when Emmanuel Macron affirmed that Algeria had been built following its independence on “a memory rent”, maintained by “the politico-military system”, arousing the ire of ‘Alger.
On Monday evening, the French presidency announced that Emmanuel Macron had sent a letter to his Algerian counterpart on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of independence, in which he called for “strengthening the already strong ties” between the two countries.
“He reiterates, moreover, his commitment to continue his process of recognition of the truth and reconciliation of the memories of the Algerian and French peoples”, adds the Elysée, which specifies that a wreath will be deposited Tuesday in his name at the Memorial national of the Algerian war, in Paris, in homage to the victims of the massacre of Europeans in Oran, July 5, 1962.
Domestically, the government took advantage of the anniversary to try to ease tensions, three years following being shaken by the pro-democracy demonstrations of Hirak.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune indeed launched an initiative in May to break the political immobility by receiving in turn several leaders of political parties, including the opposition, and officials of trade union and employers’ organisations.
Posted today at 5:47 p.m.
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