Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a decree that allows citizens to form political parties. The decree comes as the death toll continues to rise in the government's crackdown on political dissent.
The state-run SANA news agency said Thursday the presidential decree gives citizens the right to establish and join political parties as long as certain conditions are met. The conditions include requirements for the parties to commit to the constitution and rule of law and to abstain from forming parties based along religious or tribal lines.
The decree is a departure from Syria's single-party system which has been dominated by the Assad family's Ba'ath party for decades. But London-based political analyst Nadhim Shehadah calls the new measure “tricks of the trade” designed to “confuse the international community.” Shehadah says most Syrians do not believe the measures are feasible.
In July, the government endorsed a draft of the measure, which is President Assad's latest conciliatory gesture to anti-government protesters seeking reforms.
On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council condemned Syria for attacks on civilians and widespread human rights violations.
Activists and witnesses say security forces killed at least six protesters late Wednesday as part of the crackdown on dissent. They say troops attacked anti-government demonstrators in the capital, Damascus, as well as in the central city of Palmyra.
Meanwhile, forces pushed into the central square in the city of Hama on Wednesday in what activists called the most direct offensive against the city in the country's four-month uprising.
A spokesman for the Arab Commission for Human Rights tells VOA the group has received reports of numerous deaths and injuries in Hama. Haytham Manna also says there is no word on the status of residents in some parts of the city because the government has cut all communications to the area.
Activists say more than 130 people have been killed across Syria in the last four days. They say most of the deaths have been in Hama, which has been under siege by government forces since Sunday.
The statement from the Security Council called for those responsible on “all sides” to be “held accountable” for the unrest. But it contained no enforceable demands or sanctions and does not seek a referral of Syrian leaders to the International Criminal Court, as opposition groups have demanded.
Rights groups say Syrian forces have killed at least 1,700 civilians since the uprising began in March. The government has blamed much of the violence on what it says are terrorists and militants.
