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Independent Algeria turns 60, but colonial-era wounds remain
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In this file photo taken on July 6, 1962, Young Algerians hangs a national flag on a wall in the Casbah of Algiers, a dau after the proclamation of the independence of his country. Algeria marks 60 years of independence from France on July 5, but rival narratives over atrocities committed during over a century of colonial rule continue to trigger bitter diplomatic tensions. The North African country won its independence following a grueling eight-year war which ended with the signing in March 1962 of the Evian Accords (AFP /Files)
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lgeria marks 60 years of independence from France on Tuesday, but rival narratives over atrocities committed during more than a century of colonial rule still trigger bitter diplomatic tensions.
The North African country won its independence following a grueling eight-year war which ended with the signing in March 1962 of the Evian Accords.
On July 5 of the same year, days after 99.72 percent voted for independence in a referendum, Algeria finally broke free from colonial rule -- but memories of the 132-year occupation continue to mar its ties with France.
The country's authorities are planning to mark the anniversary with pomp and ceremony, capped by a vast military parade in Algiers, the first of its kind in 33 years.
A show is also planned at the capital's opera house that "retraces the long history of Algeria", said the minister for independence fighters, Laid Rebiga.
The government has even commissioned a logo -- a circle of 60 stars containing military figures and equipment -- to mark "a glorious history and a new era".
Algeria's war of independence left hundreds of thousands of dead and, despite a string of gestures by French President Emmanuel Macron, a crisis late last year underlined how spiky the issue remains six decades on.
