Referendum in Syria on New Constitution

Syrians have voted on a new draft constitution aimed at quelling the country’s uprising by ending the ruling Baath Party’s five-decade domination of power, but the Opposition announced a boycott and clashes were reported across the country. The move could keep President Bashar al-Assad in power until 2028. The result is viewed as a foregone conclusion.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued a strong warning to the West against military intervention in Syria, its longtime ally, but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made clear there was no enthusiasm in Washington for war.
The International Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent were still negotiating with Syrian authorities and the opposition in an effort to get aid into strife-torn areas of the embattled city of Homs, where conditions were said to be grim.
The country has 14.6 million eligible voters who were asked to cast ballots on whether they approve or reject the recently drafted constitution in more than 14,000 polling stations around the country.
In regions like the restive central city of Homs, where shelling by government forces has left hundreds dead, or the northwestern province of Idlib and the southern region of Daraa where rebels clash frequently with the security forces, turnout is likely to be minimal.
Antigovernment Protests
More than 5000 people have been killed in Syria's violent crackdown against protesters, the UN rights chief has told the Security Council, recommending that the regime of President Al-Assad be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
Foreign journalists were taken by the Information Ministry to the Damascus neighborhood of Rukneddine and the Damascus suburb of Barzeh that witnessed antigovernment protests in the past months. Few voters were at the polling stations in either area.
Earlier this month, President Al-Assad called for a referendum on the new constitution — which allows for at least a theoretical opening of the country’s political system — as an effort to placate critics and end the 11-month uprising against his rule.
Creating Multiparty System
The new charter would create a multiparty system in Syria, which has been ruled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party since a 1963 coup. It also states that the president, who has been a member of the Assad family since 1970, can only be in office for a maximum of two seven-year terms.
Such changes were unthinkable a year ago, but after the uprising began in March and Assad’s crackdown that killed thousands of people, the vast majority of opposition groups say they accept nothing less than Assad abandoning power.
The two main umbrella opposition groups, the Syrian National Council and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, have called for a boycott. Some groups have also called for a general strike to coincide with the referendum.
In the capital Damascus, where Assad retains support among religious minorities and the business class, many said they were eager to vote.
Party Pluralism
According to a civil servant, “This is a good constitution. It calls for party pluralism and the president can only hold the post for two terms. These did not exist in the past.”
In Barzeh, which recently witnessed intense antigovernment protests, about 20 percent of the shops were closed, apparently in compliance with the calls for a strike. Turnout was very low at a polling station in the area, with a person coming every few minutes to cast a ballot. In Rukneddine, turnout was also low. People cast ballots as they arrived with no need to stand in line.
UN Resolution
The UN General Assembly has already voted 137 to 12 to approve a resolution calling for an immediate halt to President Al-Assad's violent crackdown on dissent.
China, Russia and Iran were among the nations that opposed the text put forward by Egypt and other Arab states that condemned "widespread and systematic violations of human rights" in Syria.
Seventeen UN member states abstained from voting on the resolution, which came just days after Russia and China joined forces to use their veto power to derail a similar text in the UN Security Council.
The International Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent were still negotiating with Syrian authorities and the opposition in an effort to get aid into strife-torn areas of the embattled city of Homs, where conditions were said to be grim.
Assessment
The only way to resolve the situation in Syria is through a Syrian-led political process, and that means dialog. The Western nations instead switch gears and turn into regime change mode, discouraging dialog, discouraging dialogue within Syria, discouraging dialog between the Arab League and Syria. This is very dangerous.
In fact they make no secret of the fact that they want regime change. In numerous statements you can trace their policy, which cannot be conducive to a political process.
No one wants to see a repeat of Libya in Syria, or of the war in Iraq, which went against a decision by the UN Security Council. Any decision on Syria will require the support and shared responsibility of Moscow to make it legitimate. One suggestion is for Russia to guarantee the interests and security of the minorities in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, who fear reprisals by the Sunni majority if Al-Assad government (a privileged minority) were to fall. This would be a way for Russia to take a morally correct and a politically promising stance.

Haiti Likely To Become New Source of Chaos in Central America

An earthquake has killed more than 20 million people in Haiti. In addition Port au Prince where we still witness that peacekeeping forces are trying to maintain law and order, the rest of the region is in a lawlessness state. After the United States sent approximately 10,000 troops to Haiti, the European Union has given rise to doubts and France even criticized the United States for using the name of providing disaster relief and assistance to Haiti to cover its intention to occupy Haiti. It seems that the political fight for power between Europe and the United States in Haiti has begun earlier than one can expect.

Political Unrest
There are many reasons why the United States wants to bring such a parade of troops to Haiti. First, the earthquake has toppled the whole system of the Haitian Government and it has also provided an excellent opportunity for the anti-US forces to intervene the US influence in Haiti. Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and other neighboring countries have begun to smolder Haiti, which is considered the "back yard of the United States."
According to the US intelligence, the anti-US group led by Venezuela and Cuba, have in recent years deployed its influence and carried out activities in Haiti using the name "peasant revolution". In a "call to arms" declaration filled with revolution phrases, armed peasants claimed that they had declared war on the Haitian Government and intended to take over Port au Prince. Before this anti-US force launches attack on Port an Prince, the United States must control the Haitian military establishment, including the Port au Prince airport and navy port as well as fully responsible for the control of air traffic.
Second, the anti-US forces, the left-wing elements that used to be quiet in Central and South American countries during the last few years finally found a breakthrough when the poor Haitians became unhappy with current situation. Once again, these left-wing forces begin to challenge the Haitian Government's adjusted economic policy. Poverty remains the greatest threat to democracy. Within the Central and South Americans, the relatively more stable countries like Venezuela and Colombia, their democratic systems have also at one time attacked by the military coup. Until today, the political environment in these countries remains restless. As such whether these countries whose democratic system are basically weak can overcome poverty, sustain economic growth, and democracy will have to depend on the crucial factor of whether the situation in Haiti can become stabilize within short period of time
After years of political unrest, those countries in Central America that are popularly known as the "backyard" of the United States have gradually moved on well with their democratic reforms and economic development and shown economic prosperity. If these countries continue to do well, this region can become a potential growth region in the world. After President Barack Obama took office, his Central American policy is not as tough as during the former Bush administration. For Central American countries to walk away from historical shadow and move along with economic development, the key factor will depend on where these countries can curb the unrest factors that exist in their respective society. Their success in overcoming social unrest will provide a better future for the Caribbean region in this Pacific century.
Several factors can affect the future of the Central American countries. First, in handling situation in Haiti, the United States can no longer fall into the similar quagmire as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is likely that President Obama might involve former US President Bill Clinton as the intermediary and continue to support the reelection of Rene Preval as Haiti's national leader in order to stabilize the situation in Haiti first.
Haiti's Political Future

Like many Central American countries, Haiti is still in a position of not able to shake off the shadow of past hatred and political fight. The right-wing assassination groups are still active in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although Haiti's civil war ended in 2000, Haiti's political parties are still in a row over how they should share power fairly. In addition, two years ago, Haiti almost walked back to the old path of dictatorship. UN observers claim that the Haitian Government has violated human rights. They claimed that the corruption in the Haitian Government was rampant. Of special note is that whether the opposition force led by former Prime Minister Edward can return to Haiti and take part in the general elections, which will also pose critical challenge to Haiti's political future. Moreover, the decision of the precarious Guatemala and El Salvador to choose opening up and reform or continue to raise high the socialism banner can also affect the future development of Haiti and the Caribbean region.
Moreover, the international affairs observers do not have good impression about Haitian leader René Préval. Overall, they criticized his action in 2009 in the closure of the Parliament and court with the support of the military as dictatorial act. They said he was able to hold on to his power with the US support. In the past year, the United Nations urged the international community to contribute to the rebuilding of Haiti, but the response has been poor. The main reason was that many countries could not trust the Haitian Government led by Preval. After the massive earthquake hit Haiti, the humanitarian assistance that poured into Haiti was not channeled to the Preval Government but was directly channeled to the International Red Cross or the peacekeeping units. These are clear indication to show that the UN has lost confidence in the Haitian Government led by Preval.

Policies for Economic Development
In addition, while economic liberalization, corporate privatization, and fiscal consolidation and other economic adjustment policies have become the mainstream policies for economic development, but following such an economic development path can also contribute to wider gap between the rich and the poor.
US President Obama's goal is to integrate the economy of the Central and Southern American countries into the North American Free Trade Agreement. As such under the psychological pressure of trying to join the bandwagon, all countries in central and southern America are speeding up the pace of integration. All these are not what the corrupt Haitian Government led by Preval can bear. This is another thorny problem faced by Haiti in the coming days.