Ansamed

(ANSAmed) - PERUGIA, AUGUST 22 - A first draft of what is to become the new constitution of post-Gaddafi Libya is already doing the rounds. The document has been outlined in an interview with the Umbria 24 website by Salem Bunuara, a Libyan dissident and intellectual living in Perugia.

Bunuara says that he has been invited to a meeting in Dubai of intellectuals, experts and important Libyan dissidents, where "the first draft of Libya's constitution" will be considered.

"It has 43 articles and sets out the terms for the transitional phase in the country, up until the constituent assembly and the final approval of the Constitution itself. The document will obviously be examined by a democratically elected assembly but the basic principles, decided by the main players in the Libyan liberation, are clearly stated and will show the path that needs to be followed," Bunuara says.

"Article one is as follows.'Libya is a civil and independent nation, the Libyan people are part of the Arab nation and Arab unity is an objective of the Libyan people'. The second states: 'The nation will apply a democratic system based on political pluralism, with the aim of guaranteeing peaceful political alternation of power. The people are sovereign and are the source of laws'. The third states: 'Islam is the religion of the nation'. Inspiration is taken from the principles of Sharia.

Article 13 confirms a system based on several parties, while article 12 speaks of personal freedom, which it defines as 'sacred'. No individual can be arrested or searched without the express decision of a judge in a democratic court". (ANSAmed).