Syria reform plans ‘a gimmick’

Damascus – A promise by the Syrian Government to end half a century of one-party rule has been dismissed by opposition leaders as a gimmick.

State media announced reform proposals yesterday that would end the monopoly on power of President Bashar al-assad’s Baath Party. The Government said that a national referendum on a new constitution would take place on February 26, to be followed by elections within 90 days.

The announcement came as opposition groups said that regime forces had launched several new assaults on protesters. The UN has reported at least 6000 deaths since the start of anti-government demonstrations 11 months ago. There were reports of security sweeps, arrests and deaths in the cities of Hama and Zabadani, while clashes with armed rebels were reported by Syrian state media in the northern city of AlAtareb. The opposition Local Coordination Committee said that 13 people were killed across the country.

In Homs, where hundreds have been reported killed in a 12-day bombardment, an oil pipeline was set ablaze, sending a vast column of smoke into the sky. Both sides blamed each other.

The Sana state news agency quoted Assad as saying that the

‘‘It’s actually quite laughable. It makes a mockery of the Syrian revolution.’’ Jay Carney

revised constitution would usher in a new era for Syria.

State media reports said that Article 8 of the current Syrian Constitution would be removed. It enshrines Assad’s Baath Party as the ‘‘leader of the state and society’’. The new constitution would include the ‘‘sacred right’’ to freedom and a multi-party system in which ‘‘the people will govern the people’’ through elections.

The draft constitution, drawn up by a committee announced by Assad in October, would also include a maximum of two sevenyear terms for the president. Assad has held power for 12 years. His father held power continuously for the preceding 30.

Though constitutional reform was an early call of the Syrian protesters, leaders of the opposition said that the proposals were merely a tactical ploy. ‘‘This is one attempt to split Syrian society and to show its allies, especially the Russians, they are doing something about reforms,’’ Anas AlAbdah, a leader of the Syrian National Council, said. ‘‘On the day of this referendum I predict there will be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Syrians marching for the downfall of the regime rather than bothering with this referendum.’’

The US also dismissed the proposed reforms. ‘‘It’s actually quite laughable. It makes a mockery of the Syrian revolution,’’ White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, expressed support for the proposed referendum. ‘‘A new constitution to end oneparty rule in Syria is a step forward,’’ he said. ‘‘It is coming late, unfortunately, but better late than never.’’