Syrians started voting yesterday in a referendum on a new constitution to introduce political pluralism after almost a year of violence between pro-reform protesters and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Voting was held at 14,185 polling stations across the country, according to state television, which aired live footage of people waiting to cast ballots.
As voting proceeded, the Syrian army continued shelling the northern city of Idlib and the flashpoint Baba Amro area in Homs, according to al-Jazeera television. Sixteen civilians and 14 members of the army and security forces were killed across Syria yesterday, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said by telephone.
Al-Assad promised constitutional changes last year as he sought to placate opponents by freeing some political prisoners, changing the Cabinet and lifting a 48-year-old emergency law. The measures failed to end protests and about 8,500 people have been killed in the government’s crackdown, according to the Arab Organization for Human Rights. Opposition groups said they are boycotting the vote.
The new constitution promises democratic elections, while limiting presidents to two seven-year terms, according to a draft published by the official Syrian Arab News Agency. Al-Assad’s Baath Party has had a monopoly on politics since seizing power in a 1963 coup.
“Participation is low in many areas,” Abdel Rahman said. “Participating in this referendum is like taking part and giving legitimacy for the Syrian regime in the killings. The boycott is meant to send a message to the regime that the people do not want these reforms while you are killing them.”
Syria’s army has intensified attacks since a resolution supported by the Arab League aimed at installing a transitional government, to be followed by elections, was vetoed at the UN Security Council by Russia and China on Feb. 4. Al-Jazeera put Saturday’s death toll at 107.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have urged arming the Syrian opposition, raising the prospect of a widening conflict after the “Friends of Syria” group met in Tunis on Friday to pressure al-Assad to step down.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
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HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
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