Yusuf al Faisal, a member of the Central Command of Syria's Progressive National Front, the ruling political coalition in Syria was quoted as saying Tuesday that a new convention was agreed upon and it will replace the charter written in 1972.
He said regional and internal changes have prompted the need to compose this new draft.
Faisal added that the new document calls on replacing the current one party system with a multiparty system.
The new draft cancels the "three noes" regarding Israel, i.e. - no recognition, no compromise and no negotiations; instead calling for negotiations based on international resolutions, land for peace and Madrid understandings.
Faisal added that this was an initial draft presented to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to receive his comments, according to the London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat.
He further said that the idea that some other parties will join the ruling coalition was rejected. Moreover, he disclosed that Zuhair Masharqa, Syria's Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the Progressive National Front met with representatives of certain parties who expressed their desire to join the coalition, but he concluded they hadn't met specific conditions for this.
Meanwhile, according to a report in an Omani newspaper, Syrian Vice Presidents Abd el Halim Khaddam will quit his post in the coming months.
72-year-old Khaddam accompanied President Hafez Assad for many years and helped President Bashar al-Assad in the first stages of his term. In recent years, Khaddam's role within the Syrian regime has become largely ceremonial, partly due to poor health condition. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
