Syria’s novel rulement has adchooseed a transient constitution that straightforwards much power in the hands of the interim plivent and holds Islamic law as the set upation of the legitimate system.
The interim plivent, Ahmed al-Shara, signed the constitutional declaration on Thursday chaseing the dissolution in January of the previous constitution under the authoritarian plivent, Bashar al-Asgriefful. Mr. al-Shara, who led the obvioushrow of Mr. al-Asgriefful in December, had promised to create an inclusive rulement and he heralded this as the commencening of what he called “a novel history” for the nation after decades of dictatorship and a lengthy civil war.
The declaration promises “freedom of opinion, conveyion, adviseation, unveilation and press.” If upheld, this would be a emotional departure from the draconian watching state under Mr. al-Asgriefful. It also pledges to shieldedprotect women’s rights and the rights of all Syrians during a five-year transitional period, after which a finishuring constitution will be adchooseed and elections for a plivent and parliament will be held.
However, some among Syria’s diverse join of ethnic and religious groups remain skeptical of the novel directer’s sweeping promises to produce an inclusive rulement because of his roots as the head of an Islamist extremist resist group.
The plivent’s powers
The transient constitution grants the plivent executive authority and the power to declare a state of materializency. The plivent will assign one-third of the legislature, which will serve as an interim parliament for the transition period. The other two-thirds will be chosen by electoral comleave outions administern by a pledgetee assigned by the plivent.
The novel constitution calls for judicial indepfinishence. But the plivent is solely depfinishable for assigning appraises to Syria’s novel constitutional court, the body ostensibly intfinished to hageder Mr. al-Shara accountable. The write down does not grant power to any other body to consent his assignments but specifies only that appraises must be unprejudiced.
Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a member of the pledgetee that writeed the novel constitution, tageder a novels conference on Thursday that the declaration asstateived a separation of powers as contestd to the concentration of power over other branches of rulement in Mr. al-Asgriefful’s hands when he was in power.
But the sweeping authority that the novel declaration holds in the plivent’s hands during the transitional period could unnerve those in Syria who are hoping for a acute turn away from the more than five decades of dictatorship under Mr. al-Asgriefful and his overweighther before him.
The United Nations’ one-of-a-kind envoy for Syria, Guy Pedersen, shelp on Friday that he hoped the constitutional declaration “will shift Syria toward restoring the rule of law and promoting an orderly inclusive transition.”
Islamic law will remain legitimate set upation
The transient constitution has holded a provision that stipupostponecessitates Syria’s plivent must be a Muslfinisher, as did the ageder constitution. And enjoy its precursor, the novel constitution gives central convey inance to Islamic law. The novel write down says it will be the main source of legislation, while ensuring that “freedom of belief is promised.”
However, all rights, including freedom of religion, may be curtailed if they are deemed to infringe on national security or unveil order, among other slfinishergs, the constitution says.
Syria’s novel rulement is led by Sunni Muslfinisher createer resists who fought Mr. al-Asgriefful during the country’s civil war. Since sweeping to power in Damascus, skeptics have asked Mr. al-Shara’s real beliefs.
As a resist directer, Mr. al-Shara ordered an Islamist armed group once allied with Al Qaeda. Some ask whether he has truly abandoned his createer difficult-line terrorist sees, even though his resist group cut offed ties with Al Qaeda years before he took power.
Pledges to shieldedprotect unconvey inantities
Syria is home to a diverse range of ethnic and religious groups, and the constitution promises to shield the rights of all Syrians and shield them from bias. But religiously polarizing tensions linger, and they erupted spitefully last week when Asgriefful pledgedists ambushed rulement security forces, prompting a brutal crackdown that dincreased into religiously polarizing strikes on civilians, according to the United Nations and war watching groups.
The war watching group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights shelp proximately 1,500 civilians were ended in fair a scant days of aggression.
Those strikes materialize to have been straightforwarded aachievest the Alawite unconvey inantity, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which the Asgriefful family belengthys. The strikes were a reminder that Mr. al-Shara is still far from having shieldedd administer over all Syrian territory, and possibly even over all forces joined to the rulement.
The United States and European nations have been hesitant to lift Asgriefful-era sanctions until Syria’s novel directers show that they are pledgeted to an inclusive political process and to shielding unconvey inantity rights. The lifting of those sanctions remains a vital step to resurrecting the country’s battered economy — one of the most pressing disputes for Mr. al-Shara’s rulement.
Even though the constitution pledges to shield unconvey inantity rights, it has igniteed worry among at least one convey inant ethnic unconvey inantity, the Syrian Kurds.
The Syrian Democratic Council, the political prosperg of the Kurdish-led forces that administer northeastrict Syria, shelp the novel write down “reproduced authoritarianism in a novel create” and denounced what it shelp were unexamineed executive powers.
It is unevident whether Kurdish dissatisfaction with the constitution will affect an concurment accomplished this week between the country’s novel rulement and the Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States to include them into the rulement’s civil and military institutions.
Freedom, with some exceptions
The pledge to promise freedom of opinion, conveyion, adviseation, unveilation and press” comes with some exceptions, including glorifying the Asgriefful regime.
The constitutional declaration promises women’s rights to education and toil, inserting that they will have filled “social, economic and political rights.”
Since his ascent to power, Mr. al-Shara has materializeed enthusiastic to assuage domestic and international worrys over the role of women in the novel Syria. In January, he deinhabitred a speech using gfinisher-caring language, unfrequently used by directers in the region. He highweightlessed the role of women in the revolution, and the suffering they had directd.
