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| Africa North |
| Cyrenaican tribes call for restoration of 1951 constitution |
| 2015-06-04 |
| [Libya Herald] A meeting of eastern tribes in Gandula south of Beida yesterday demanded the 1951 constitution be re-instated. It also called for the army to given all the equipment and support it needs. Accepting that that the House of Representatives (HoR) was the only body that could question or sack the government, the meeting expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s about it, particularly allegation of corruption from the Audit Commission. Delegates also complained about the Constitution Drafting Assembly. It was working too slowly and what it had produced so far, they said, was unacceptable. Instead, there was a near unanimous demand that the 1951 constitution under which Libya became an independent federal state, be revived. The meeting looked at the situation beyond 21 October, widely believed to be the date when the HoR's mandate expires. Fearing that there would then be a political vacuum in the country, delegates called on the HoR to produce a road map for the post-21 October period. It should be ready by July at the latest, they insisted. The meeting issued seven recommendations: 1. The government should answer questions about its performance and these be reported in the media; 2. Full support had to be given to the army and the police; 3. The HoR had to have full control over state institutions including the Central Bank of Libya; 4. A return of the 1951 Constitution; 5. The HoR to pass an amnesty law (which would effectively nullify the Political Isolation Law and forgive those involved with the former regime); 6. and The establishment of a committee comprising of representatives from the country's municipal councils and of community elders which would work to ensure the other recommendations were implemented. Hosted by the prominent eastern Barasa tribe, the meeting is seen as a response to the one that finally took place last week in Cairo but which many Libyan tribes boycotted. Although the gathering was supported to draw representatives from the whole country, there was none from the south or east. This was largely because of dangers of travelling from one part of Libya to another, although a lack of sympathy among some tribes in the south and west linked to Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... and with little sympathy for those in the east supporting the HoR may also have played a part. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I have a copy of the 1951 Constitution and it is a pretty good one. It was a big surprise, given how conservative and old fashioned old King Idris was. Freedom of Religion, women's rights, etc., seems Idris recognized that in order to have international trade you had to play by international rules and have a ex-pat population that might want to go to church and wives that might want to drive a car and go for a swim at the beach. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2015-06-04 23:54 |