The Algerian community in Switzerland marked the 25th anniversary of the Berber Spring with a huge concert organized by the two major Algerian associations operating in Switzerland, the Kabyles of Switzerland Association and the Aldjazair Association. Liberte Algerie reports that the concert, held in the city of Vevey (about 70 kilometers of Geneva) hosted a number of popular Berber singers including Nour Kabylie, Ahmed Awras, Rachid Lamari and Hand Ouabas, who 'ignited the large public' that came from all over Switzerland to participate in the event.
The "Berber Spring" is celebrated to commemorate the events which took place in March 1980, when Algerian police prevented writer Mouloud Mammeri from entering Tizi Ouzou to give a lecture on ancient Berber poetry. Berber students went to the streets in Kabylie region and later in Algiers until security forces stormed Tizi Ouzou University.
