Syria says new constitution approved as more die and EU imposes sanctions

[EmperorScorpious]

[QUOTE](CNN) -- Syria's new draft constitution received overwhelming approval, the nation's interior minister said Monday, as the European Union imposed new sanctions on the country amid ongoing bloodshed.

Across Syria, 33 people were killed Monday, including three defected soldiers, three women and three children. Of those, 22 died in the opposition stronghold city of Homs, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists.

Explosions rocked Homs once again Monday, and government shelling was taking place in the city's Baba Amr neighborhood, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group. Twenty people were wounded when a large shell struck an anti-government gathering in Homs, the group said.

On Sunday, nearly half of the 55 people killed across Syria were in Homs, opposition activists said.

[B]Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar announced some 89.4% of voters approved the draft constitution, and 57.4% of eligible voters cast ballots. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has touted the constitutional referendum as a move toward reform.[/B]

"We would like to say congratulations to Syria and to the Syrian people, who expressed their legitimate right" to vote, al-Shaar told reporters.
Aid efforts were under way in the midst of the violence.

The Syrian Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the province of Hama on Monday to provide aid to civilians, said Simon Schorno, spokesman for the ICRC. A one-month supply of food, along with blankets and hygiene kits, was distributed to 12,000 people, he said.

The operation was conducted with the permission of the Syrian government and rebel groups, Schorno said.

The ICRC continues to seek access to Baba Amr to provide aid to civilians, but agreement with the government and opposition groups has not been reached, he said.

CNN and other media outlets cannot independently verify opposition or government reports because Syria has severely limited access to the country by foreign journalists. But the vast majority of reports from the ground indicate government forces are massacring citizens in an attempt to wipe out civilians seeking al-Assad's ouster.

So far, no attempts at getting al-Assad to stop his regime's crackdown on dissidents have stopped the onslaught.

The Council of the European Union agreed Monday on new sanctions regarding Syria after foreign ministers met in Brussels, Belgium, said spokeswoman Susanne Kiefer.

Seven ministers of the al-Assad regime will have their EU assets frozen and will be denied entry into the EU, Kiefer said. In addition, assets of the Syrian Central Bank in the EU will be frozen. Legitimate trade will be allowed to continue, she said, but must be authorized first.

In addition, cargo flights operated by Syrian carriers will have no access to EU airports, although mixed flights with passengers can still land there, Kiefer said. And trade involving precious metals and diamonds with the Syrian government and public bodies, including the Syrian Central Banks, is prohibited.

"[B]Today's decisions will put further pressure on those who are responsible for the ruthless campaign of repression in Syria," Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, said in a statement. "The measures target the regime and its ability to conduct the appalling violence against civilians. As long as the repression continues, the EU will keep imposing sanctions."[/B]

"We need to get the regime, Assad, to stop killing the population, and we need to find ways in which, for the right reasons, that comes about as swiftly as possible," Ashton told reporters. "... In our perspective, it's very straightforward -- you cannot lead your people, murder them and remain in leadership."Elsewhere in Syria on Monday, two people were killed and eight wounded by government shelling on the village of Sarmeen in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The shelling began Sunday night, and Syrian troops have entered Sarmeen, said Abu Mustafa al-Sayed, a Syrian opposition and community leader in the town of Binnish, also in Idlib province. The Syrian army has Sarmeen surrounded from all sides, and communications with the residents of Sarmeen have been cut off, he said, though he didn't have a casualty estimate.

Shelling was also occurring in Binnish, mostly on its southeast outskirts, al-Sayed said.

Fighters in Binnish were on high alert, al-Sayed said, and ready to face a military raid. Al-Sayed said he fears such a raid might happen Tuesday.

And in Damascus, security forces fired on mourners at a funeral, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Clashes were also occurring in Deir Ezzor, the group said, and 14 students were arrested during a protest at Aleppo University.

The group estimates about 9,000 people have been killed since the government launched its crackdown last March.

The Syrian government says more than 2,000 members of its security forces have been killed by "terrorists" during that period, including seven "martyrs" who were buried Sunday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

An "armed terrorist group" shelled a military educational complex in Homs with mortars on Monday, SANA said, killing two and injuring 12.

Asked Monday whether Syria would be referred to the International Criminal Court, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, "I hope the international community reflects on the conditions of referral. ... It's a difficult issue. Syria is not a participating state, so it's up to the Security Council to address this question. They must therefore continue to gather the elements that would permit an eventual referral."

Syria announced the referendum amid intense international cries to stop the bloodshed and open up its regime to reforms. But analysts and protesters widely describe the effort as a farce, a superficial attempt to pacify al-Assad's critics.

Sectarian strife has been an underlying theme in the Syrian conflict. The al-Assad regime is dominated by the Alawite minority, to which al-Assad belongs; the majority of Syrians are Sunni, as are many of the protesters.

The opposition Syrian National Council urged Syria's Alawite community to join the revolt and promised their rights would be protected in a post-Assad Syria.

The opposition council acknowledged that the revolt has been tinged with sectarian conflicts, but it blamed that on al-Assad's "brutal violence, which has led to an increase in sectarianism."

"However, it is important to emphasize that the first step in halting sectarian strife in Syria is to overthrow the regime," it said.

The fractures in the opposition became more apparent Monday with the announcement of the Syrian Revolutionary Patriotic Group, an offshoot of the Syrian National Council.

"We do not have Muslim Brotherhood members amongst us, and we are still part of the Syrian National Council," said Walid al-Buni, a Cairo-based member of the new group. "Yet we object (to SNC Chairman) Burhan Ghalioun's mild approach -- obvious in his speech in Tunis -- where he neglected to mention the important of arming the FSA," the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Al-Buni said the Syrian Revolutionary Patriotic Group, which has about 40 members, will "concentrate fully on the support of the FSA and revolutionaries on the ground as the only party to carry weapons in their fight against Assad's regime and will work on supporting them in all matters, including weapons."[/QUOTE]

Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2[/url]

[Mythman]

45% of the Syrian people voted for the new constitution (90% of 50%).

I am pretty sure it is a bias referendum; Assad probably had military guys outside the polling stations.

[smurfy]

[QUOTE=Mythman;34895641]45% of the Syrian people voted for the new constitution (90% of 50%).

I am pretty sure it is a bias referendum; Assad probably had military guys outside the polling stations.[/QUOTE]

It's completely irrelevant anyway. Here are some excerpts from the [url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/sy00000_.html]current Syrian constitution[/url]

[quote]Freedom is a sacred right. The state protects the personal freedom of the citizens and safeguards their dignity and security.
Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final judicial decision.
No one may be kept under surveillance or detained except in accordance with the law.
No one may be tortured physically or mentally or be treated in a humiliating manner. The law defines the punishment of whoever commits such an act.[/quote]

Doesn't matter what Assad does to the constitution, not only is he not going to follow it, but he's not even following it now. Even as people went to vote on this constitution his military was still assaulting Homs and killing dozens of Syrian civilians in the process.

[Kendra]

Constituions have kind of lost their meaning in the past decades, really.
Just look at all the amendments which are loop-holed through on occassions in the US.

[inconspicious]

[QUOTE=Kendra;34899519]Constituions have kind of lost their meaning in the past decades, really.
Just look at all the amendments which are loop-holed through on occassions in the US.[/QUOTE]

Look at all the amendments which are just flat out ignored in the US.

[mac338]

[QUOTE=Mythman;34895641]45% of the Syrian people voted for the new constitution (90% of 50%).[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44722719/ASSad.jpg[/IMG]