Rifaat al-Assad calls for elections, amending the Syrian constitution
Syria, Politics, 4/2/2005

Rifaat al-Assad, brother of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad called for holding general elections in Syria and for the amendment of the constitution in order to face what he called challenges and risks which warn of converting Syria into a new place for aggression.

Rifaat al-Assad, who occupied the post of vice president in Syria, said in a statement undersigned by the "al-Tajamu' al-Qaoumi al-Muwahhad" (united national coalition) on Thursday "the world has changed around us at all levels and we are still in our place standstill, and repeat the same address until we became outside the confines of the age. Syria has become today the direct target for foreign ambitions. A matter which requires from all of us to realize the volume of responsibilities."

The statement called for amending the constitution in a way that complies with developments and to halt working with the emergency law and also to permit the freedom of forming parties, organizing general elections, free and transparent, ensuring the freedom of expression and issuance of newspapers and eliminating corruption.

Rifaat al-Assad, who lives in exile in Europe, called for abrogating special trials and ensuring the independence of the judiciary, protecting political and economic human rights and rejecting any attempt for rely on foreign sides and underlined the importance of preserving national independence.

By the end of January, Rifaat al-Assad called for the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon. Worthy mentioning that the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad exiled his younger brother in 1985 and issued a decision to solving Saraya al-Defa' (the contingent of defense) Rifaat had led, which played a central role in oppressing the Muslim Brothers group in Syria in 1982.

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