A human rights group in Syria hopes to accelerate the pace of domestic reform by submitting a petition to Syrian President Bashar Assad next month calling for the scrapping of the 40-year-old Emergency Law and the release of political prisoners.
| Sounds like a good way to get themselves jugged... |
But Syrian officials argue that reforms are being implemented gradually, citing imminent changes in the ruling Baath Party structure although the Emergency Law is likely to stay in place as long as the country is in a state of war with Israel.
| That's a synonym for "forever." |
âWe, the signatories, herein demand the Syrian authorities lift the state of emergency and annul all associated measures,â read the petition. The petition said that the Emergency Law, which was established in 1963 when the Baath Party assumed power, had âshackled the activity of society and curbed its capabilities.â
| An "emergency law" in effect for 41 years... |
The petition also called for the right to form political parties and the return of self-exiled Syrians  estimated by activists at around 20,000  who fled the country to avoid detention, mainly in the 1980s. The Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria plans to submit the petition to Assad on March 8, marking the 41st anniversary of the Baath Partyâs ascension to power. Michel Kilo, a human rights activist, said that the petition had been in circulation for over three years and almost all the 1,000 signatures so far collected had been from people living in Syria rather than exiles. An earlier version of the petition, which called for a national conference comprising all Syrian figures and political forces, was submitted to Assad in May last year, when the signatories numbered 287. âWe have heard nothing from them (the Syrian authorities) since,â Kilo said.
| Takes awhile to arrest 247 people. They'll be contacting you soon... |
Political freedoms were given a boost when Assad took office in July 2000. Prisoners were freed and political discussion forums flourished. But a crackdown followed and several prominent human rights activists and MPs were jailed. Since then, the Syrian government has placed its emphasis on civil and economic reform before opening up the political system. Last week, four committees, consisting of intellectuals, former government officials and military officers, were established to examine ways of modernizing the Baath Party.
| I'd recommend abolition as step one... |
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