Algeria has marked her 60 years of independence marked by a nation wide ceremonies, pardon for prisoners and it’s first military parade in years.
The Independence on Tuesday was marked with celebration all over the country as some people got gifts that are considered more valuable than stuffs from the gift shop which was the release of some prisoners.
The celebration is considered perculiar because Algeria witnessed her first independence day military parade in years which was abandoned by Former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, as part of the events marking the day authorized the release of 14,000 prisoners.
Although, It was not immediately clear whether political prisoners, including those involved in the Hirak protest movement, would be among the people freed.
The pardon decree was signed on Monday by the president announcing the pardon for thousands of prisoners.
The decree orders inmates suffering medical problems to be released or have their sentences commuted.
The events mark the country’s official declaration of independence on July 5, 1962, after a brutal seven-year war which ended 132 years of colonial rule. The war, which killed at least 1.5 million people, remains a point of tension in relations between Algeria and France.
“A day of glory for a new era” is the official slogan of the celebration, which includes concerts, sports events, lectures and photo exhibits retracing the horrors of the war.
City workers hung Algerian flags and portraits of the war’s heroes, and loudspeakers in public squares are broadcasting patriotic songs.
The military show of force is taking place amid growing tensions between Algeria and Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara region.
Tebboune is expected to address consultations with political leaders he’s been holding in recent months. Opposition figures and those involved in 2019 pro-democracy protests that helped overthrow Bouteflika were not invited to the consultations.
