TURKEY: The Syrian National Council says the constitutional referendum held by President Bashar al-Assad is a 'comedy staged by the regime'

Record ID: 280310

  • Title: TURKEY: The Syrian National Council says the constitutional referendum held by President Bashar al-Assad is a 'comedy staged by the regime'
  • Date: 28th February 2012
  • Summary: HATAY, TURKEY (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BOYNUYOGUN REFUGEE CAMP
  • Embargoed: 14th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEVKA8YMBWYA6XCOP6JV4JZ3ST
  • Story Text: Syrian National Council (SNC) on Monday (February 27, 2012) described Sunday's constitution referendum as, "a real farce, comedy staged by this regime".
    Syrians approved a new constitution, proposed by Assad, in the referendum, state television said on Monday.
    Constitutional reforms are aimed at quelling the growing rebellion against the Assad family's 42 years in power, but Assad's opponents and the West have the dismissed the reforms and the referendum as a sham.
    "Many people did not participate in this. But we are not discussing this, because even if they participated, they were forced to participate and they were forced to say 'yes' for the constitution. But, we are talking about a bigger idea. The idea of regime itself. The regime has lost its legitimacy from the beginning of the revolution after shooting so many people, after destroying so many houses and fortunately what we are seeing in Syria now is worst than what happen in 1982," said SNC member Bassam Imadi ,speaking in Istanbul Turkey and referring to an earlier crackdown by Bashar's father, Hafez al-Assad, on a rebellion in the city of Hama in 1982 in which, rights groups say, thousands of people were killed.
    "In the beginning of the revolution people were against intervention, because they wanted things to be peaceful. But, with this regime involving Iran, Russia, Hezbollah in these atrocities, now people of Syria have nowhere to go other than ask the international community to save them from this regime," Imadi added.
    The Syrian National Council has been the most prominent group representing disparate groups opposed to Assad, but has been under mounting pressure from within the country for not overtly backed armed resistance, which is being led by the Free Syria Army.
    On Sunday (February 26) some prominent members of the SNC formed a splinter organisation, calling themselves the Syrian Patriotic Group, exposing a serious rift among Assad opponents.
    Turnout in the Syrian referendum was 57.4 percent, state television said.
    Rights groups say up to 7,000 people have been killed in the unrest against Assad which began last March.
    The Syrian government says about 2,000 security personnel have been killed in fighting which it blames on "armed terrorist groups".
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