Libya to take Turkey’s Constitution as model

TRIPOLI

Libyan interim Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali has said Turkey’s constitution would serve as a model for Libya.

“Libya would take Muslim countries like Turkey and Malaysia as a model while preparing its new constitution. We evaluate this process with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and several ministers in Turkey and Libya,” Abdelali said. Abdelali thanked Turkish people and the government for the support they extended to Libya during its transition process and said they were exerting efforts to bring a democratic structure to Libya during its reconstruction process.

Meanwhile, Libya’s transitional government said Dec. 25 that it will begin registering fighters next month who helped to topple Moammar Gadhafi, hoping to integrate them within the security services. Planning Minister Issa al-Tuijer said the plan calls for all former rebels, many of whom are still organized in disparate militias, to register and make clear if they want to join the national security forces.

Thousands of civilians left their jobs or their studies to fight against Gadhafi when the popular uprising against his dictatorship morphed into a civil war. Since the Gadhafi regime collapsed and the long-serving leader was killed in October, many of those armed civilian fighters are exercising informal control in parts of Libya.

Abdelali said “the program is not a reward” for those who helped to topple Gadhafi. “We have large gaps at the Interior Ministry and the needs cannot be filled without integrating the thwarts.”