Algeria marks 60 years of independence with military parade

ALGERIA celebrated 60 years of independence from France on Tuesday with nationwide ceremonies, a pardon of 14,000 prisoners and its first military parade in decades.

Opposition figures and pro-democracy activists called the elaborate celebrations an effort to distract attention from Algeria’s economic and political troubles by glorifying the army, and called for the release of political prisoners.

The events mark the country’s official declaration of independence on July 5, 1962, after a brutal seven-year war that ended 132 years of colonial rule. The war, which Algerian officials say killed around 1.5 million people, remains a point of tension in relations between Algeria and France.

Russian-made warplanes whizzed overhead, armored vehicles rolled through central Algiers, and warships were decked out in the city harbor. Algerian flags flew from buildings across the country, and patriotic songs rang out from loudspeakers.

“A day of glory for a new era” was the official slogan