Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, yesterday February 15, 2012 announced the holding of a referendum on the new draft constitution on February 26, the BBC quoted state media as saying. The announcement came amid reports of the explosion of a fuel pipeline in the central city of Homs.
The document drops the article giving the ruling Baath Party enormous privileges. Last Sunday, President Assad received a copy of the proposed new constitution that took a national committee four months to produce. Committee members said the document guarantees the dignity and basic rights of Syrian citizens and could make the country an example to follow in terms of public freedoms and political plurality, the state news agency Sana, quoted them as saying.
Meanwhile, President Assad has expressed hope that when the new constitution is approved, Syria will have passed the most important stage of laying down the foundation for a modern nation. Officials said the draft constitution states that the President can hold office only for a maximum of two seven-year terms.
However, new political parties are not allowed to be based on religion, profession, or regional interests, the BBC quoted government officials as saying. Observers say this could prevent the Muslim Brotherhood and Kurdish groups in the north-west from establishing parties. Anas al-Abdah of the main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council, dismissed both the draft constitution and the plan to hold a referendum, saying it was a diversionary tactic, the BBC said.
In a separate development, France's Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe has said negotiations are on with Russia for a new UN Security Council resolution on Syria, France Info Radio said. Juppe also said France wanted to discuss the possibility of creating humanitarian corridors in Syria to reach combat zones.
Last April, President Assad scrapped emergency laws that had effectively suspended most constitutional provisions since the Baath Party came to power in a military coup in 1962. Since the announcement, human rights activists have claimed that more than 7,000 people have been killed by security forces in demonstrations. Assad, who succeeded his late father, Hafez, has been in power since 2000.
