Qui veut la paix prépare la guerre !

Who wants peace prepares for war !

ANP parade

Algeria celebrated the 60th anniversary of independence with the pomp due to the event, which consecrated the emancipation of an entire people from the colonial yoke after 132 years of tyranny and collective murders and, above all, after seven and a half years of a War of Liberation that finally got the better of the 5th world military power. The National Liberation Army (ALN), which led this fierce fight joined by the entire people, became, with that of Vietnam, the first free army in the world, a revolutionary symbol of emancipation. This fight was marked by emblematic figures such as Larbi Ben M’hidi, Didouche Mourad and Zohra Drif, whose sacrifices continue to inspire current generations.
Hence a great military parade which actualized, for Algeria, the Algerians and the other nations of the world, through the National Popular Army (ANP), unforgettable moments of glory that the ALN and the entire Algerian people had then paid for at the price of hundreds of thousands of martyrs.
This parade was not only a commemoration, but a reaffirmation of regained dignity and national pride. It was also a reminder of Algeria’s commitment to the principles of freedom and justice, principles for which so many lives were sacrificed.
Parade symbolizing these moments of history when the Algerian epic had moved the whole world, but also a parade in flesh and tanks, in men and weapons, in cannons and planes, which was intended to be a scathing demonstration of the striking power of the ANP. This defensive army, prepared for the defense of the territorial integrity of the land of Algeria watered by the blood of millions of martyrs, is ready to counter any threat, wherever it comes from, from its many border strips spread over thousands of kilometers. An army strong in the cohesion of all its corps, which has equipped itself with the highest technologies, cutting-edge weaponry, by modernizing and opening up to diversity.
The ANP integrates women, including in the special forces, who very early on, before many armies in the world, fought and made the ultimate sacrifice within the glorious ALN. This inclusion underlines the progressive evolution of the ANP and its adaptation to modern realities, while remaining faithful to its fundamental values. Why this show of force and this sign of deployment in a context of peace? Isn’t it said that we must prepare for war to guarantee peace? This is a rhetorical question that answers the first, especially since it is a message speaking to those who are mistaken about the true vocation of the ANP, lending it political tentacles, a pretext to plead, wrongly, for a civil and not a military Republic. The ANP, through this parade, reaffirms its exclusively defensive role and its clear separation from political power, which remains civil and democratically elected. This message is all the more crucial at a time when asymmetric threats and regional tensions persist, requiring a military ready and capable of protecting national sovereignty.
If political power is indeed civil, guaranteed through the democratic alternation conferred upon it by the ballot box, the military authority, instead of being a power, as an institution, is rather a force, an armed force which gives itself the means for a defense policy with primordial stakes.
These issues are nothing other than the preservation and sustainability of peace, the stability of the country and its territorial integrity. In addition, the ANP plays a key role in the fight against terrorism and the maintenance of internal security, thus contributing to a stable environment conducive to economic and social development.
By parading on the country’s Independence Day, displaying the attributes of its strength and power, the extent of its cohesion, the rigor of its discipline and the greatness of its loyalty, the ANP demonstrates its highly republican character, its professional dimension and its defensive vocation. This is far from the assumptions of those who see in it hands that guide political power and others that stir in the economic sphere. The presence of the ANP in humanitarian and relief operations in the event of natural disasters further strengthens its image as an institution at the service of the people, ready to intervene for the common good beyond its strictly military missions.
Thus, through this grand parade, Algeria has not only celebrated its glorious past, but has also sent a clear message about its determination to defend its future with the same ardor and dedication that marked its struggle for independence. A message that is far from expressing any belligerent will, rather a dissuasive demonstration of power that spares and promotes peace.
Ahmed Rehani