LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Portuguese military personnel and police protesting about a freeze on promotions have joined annual parades marking the country’s 1974 Carnation Revolution, which toppled a dictatorship.
The protesters were not in uniform but carried banners with demands and shouted slogans, giving the celebratory event Wednesday an edge.
The center-left Socialist government has placed a freeze on promotions to save money but promised to end the measure this year. Labor groups say they are tired of waiting.
The April 25 Revolution which ended a dictatorship established in the 1930s is marked by a public holiday, with large parades taking place in the capital Lisbon and Portugal’s second-largest city Porto.
Junior army officers unhappy with wars aimed at maintaining Portugal’s African colonies were behind the military coup 44 years ago.
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