Today is the 47th anniversary of Algeria’s independence.
In a referendum held on July 1, 1962 Algerians voted en masse (over 91%) for independence. The results were announced on July 3, but the Algerian government retained July 5 as independence day to match July 5, 1830 when Algiers fell to the invading French troops. In recent years the celebration of this anniversary has been rather subdued. The most notable announcement this year is that Algeria now has its first female general. On Saturday, Fatma-Zohra Ardjoun, department head at the military hospital in Ain Naadja has been promoted to the rank of general.
Google celebrated the event with a special Google doodle on its Google.dz site:
In Algeria, the opening of the Panafrican festival was the main event. According to news reports(in French), the Algerian president missed the opening ceremony. This follows his canceling of the traditional independence day speech that was scheduled at the ministry of defense on Saturday(report in French).
Some videos, courtesy of lekabyle45:
The opening ceremony:
Cesaria Evora, the headliner on this first evening:
And a reading by the French-Algerian actress Isabelle Adjani:
