New Syrian constitution accepted

The new Syrian constitution put to public vote in a referendum has been accepted.

The constitution pledging to make an end of the monopoly of the Baath party has been accepted by 89.4 percent.

Although the new constitution grants Bashar Al Assad two consecutive 7 year terms of office, it will pave the way for multi-party elections in the next three months.

With the privilige of remaining in office for two more consecutive terms granted to Al Assad by the new constitution , the Syrian leader none of whose powers have been curtailed by the constitution will be at the helm of Syria until 2028.

Meanwhile, the US has qualified the referendum on the new Syrian constitution held on Sunday as complete shamelessness.

The US State Department said the referendum held on Sunday while innocent people continued to be killed with the Assad regime raining down shells on them was nothing other than sheer shamelessness.

Incidents of violence in Syria are continuing unabated. The death toll from the last acts of violence has risen to 124.

The Red Cross which has succeeded in entering Hama for the first time in a long time has delivered relief to 12 thousand people.

Its initiatives to evacuate the injured from Homs are also underway.

A team from the Syrian Red Crescent Society is reported to have arrived in Baba Amr last night in order to hand out medical aid to the people in the region and to have the injured carried to hospitals.

Aid organizations have not been able to enter Baba Amr since Friday when 27 injured were evacuated.

In the meantime, the western diplomatic sources in Damascus have said the bargaining conducted for the evacuation of foreign journalists trapped in Baba Amr has been inconclusive.

The international community is also following the developments in Syria with great attention.

The EU Foreign Ministers have decided to impose new sanctions on Damascus.

The Union has said it is not going to import any precious metals from Syria and Syria’s cargo companies will not be allowed to fly to Europe.

The assets of the Syrian Central Bank have also been frozen as part of the sanctions.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamed Bin Casim Al Sani has said his country is in favour of arms being supplied to the opposition in Syria.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned once again that military force against Syria should not be used.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the Syria’s Friends meeting in Tunis will not be conducive to the settlement of the problem.