Algeria celebrated 50 years of independence on Thursday with musicals and razzamatazz. But there were no official events to mark the anniversary of the end of the Algerian war in France where bitterness over the defeat lasts to this day.
Algeriaâ??s celebrations were kicked off when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attended a historical musical The Hero at the seaside resort of Sidi Fredj, the site of the landing that started the French invasion in 1830.
That was followed by fireworks, organised by a Chinese company, across the country.
But, while there was consensus on honouring the dead of the independence struggle, feelings were more mixed about the state of the country today or its history since independence.
From a revolutionary peopleâ??s republic that was the focus of the hopes of anti-colonial and anti-racist movements worldwide, Algeria has passed through military dictatorship, Berber uprising, Islamist insurgency, limited democracy and economic crisis (see timelines).
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