DAMASCUS, (SANA)- President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday received a copy of the new draft constitution from the head of the National Committee charged with drafting a new constitution for the Syrian Arab Republic, during a meeting with the Committee's members.

President al-Assad is to review the draft constitution before putting it to referendum.

The Committee's members stressed their determination, since the Committee's first meeting after the presidential decree on forming it, to prepare an integrated formula of a constitution that guarantees the dignity of the Syrian citizen and secures his basic rights.

They reiterated their keenness on a constitution that allows to turn Syria into an example to follow in terms of public freedoms and political plurality in a way to lay the foundation for a new stage that will enrich Syria's cultural history.

The members briefed President al-Assad on the standards and mechanisms they have adopted to reach this end starting with the national principles, transparency and the peculiarity of the Syrian reality, along with preserving the achievements made over the past stage.

President al-Assad expressed appreciation of the Committee members' efforts to carry out this national task, calling upon them to shoulder their responsibility as a Committee charged with preparing the draft constitution to explain its articles to the citizens with all possible means so that the citizen is the one to have the final decision to approve the constitution.

"When the new constitution is approved, Syria will have passed the most important stage of laying down the constitutional and legal structure through the reforms and laws that have already been issued to take the country to a new era in cooperation with all spectrums of the Syrian people to achieve what we all aspire for in terms of developing our country to draw a brilliant future for next generations," said President al-Assad.

On October, 16th, 2011, President al-Assad issued a presidential decision to form a national committee to prepare a draft constitution for Syria within a period of four months starting of the date of issuing the decree

R. Raslan/H. Said