For more than 11 months, the Syrian Revolution has been calling for dignity, freedom, and citizenship. The Revolution has been calling for Syrians’ constitutional right to peaceful assembly, demonstration, strike, dialogue, and public meetings in the new Syria. The Syrian Revolution has made a full break from the regime, which is based on the personality cult of its leader. The Revolution aspires to a new social contract among equal citizens, under which those who govern are accountable to their people, following decades of stifling dictatorship.
In the midst of the Revolution for dignity, and while the regime is committing crimes against humanity against Syrian citizens, the head of the regime formed a committee to draft a new constitution. The committee met for a few short weeks, behind closed doors and with no opportunity for public comment, to produce a new draft constitution that was no more than an amendment to Syria’s notorious constitution of 1973. The committee delivered the draft constitution to the head of the regime, who accepted the draft and suggested no additional changes. He then called for a “yes” or “no” vote in a referendum to be held in the near future. The results are already known.
One can expect nothing from a regime that refuses to stop its killing machine, even while drafting a constitution or while calling for a referendum. The regime is using the draft constitution to cover its continued massacres throughout Syrian cities and towns and avoid accountability for its crimes.
The constitution is a fundamental document that governs day-to-day life, and cannot be drafted in the absence of peaceful conditions. The Syrian constitution must be drafted in an environment in which all political parties and representatives meet in an elected constituent assembly that represents all segments of Syrian society, and from which a temporary government is elected to govern during the transitional phase.
Each principle in the constitution must be the product of a deliberative process. All major constitutional policies and options must be open for public debate, such that every Syrian is able to feel that he or she has been afforded the opportunity to express his or her opinion in an inclusive discussion. The Revolution did not start simply to reform the constitution; it started so as to rebuild it and ensure that citizens participate in its formulation.
The regime continues to commit atrocities against Syrians in the face of their peaceful demands for freedom and dignity. The regime has also chosen to hide, shamefully, behind a draft constitution that is flawed both in its development process and content. Therefore, the Local Coordinating Committees in Syria (LCC) calls on all Syrians to boycott the referendum on February 26, 2012, to prevent the regime from hiding its crimes and to thwart its attempts to manipulate the future of our country. The LCC also calls for a general strike throughout Syria on that day.