Syrian opposition calls for referendum boycott

A main opposition group on Wednesday called on Syrians to boycott an upcoming referendum on a new constitution, saying it was an attempt by President Bashar al-Assad to cover up a crackdown.

"The regime is using this proposal to cover up for its massacres. A constitution cannot be prepared unless all political powers and societal groups in Syria participate in drafting it through an elected assembly," the Local Coordination Committees said in a statement.

Assad has called the referendum for next Sunday and if passed, multi-party elections will be held within 90 days.

Russia earlier said that it was working with the Syrian authorities, the opposition and regional powers to secure safe passage of humanitarian convoys.   

Russia has asked the United Nations to request the Secretary-General send a representative to liase with all sides in Syria on the safe passage of humanitarian convoys, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters.   

"Our initiative is aimed at providing safety of humanitarian cargo deliveries, we are actively working with Syria and (countries) around it," he said.   

"We are working in this area with the Syrian leadership and representatives of the opposition, with the International Red Cross," he said.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) also said on Wednesday that it was coming to the view that military intervention was the only solution to the nearly year-old crisis that has killed thousands in Syria.
  
"We are really close to seeing this military intervention as the only solution. There are two evils, military intervention or protracted civil war," Basma Kodmani, a senior SNC official, told a press conference in Paris.
   

Kodmani said the SNC was also proposing that Russia, which has vetoed action against the Syrian government in the U.N. Security Council, help persuade Damascus to guarantee safe passage to humanitarian convoys ferrying aid to civilians.

"In order to not militarise, the idea is to ask Russia to exert pressure on the regime not to target humanitarian corridors," she said. Kodmani said the SNC proposed setting up corridors from Lebanon to the besieged city of Homs, from Turkey to Idlib and from Jordan to Deraa.
   
The SNC will also urge Egypt, at a Friends of Syria meeting due to be held in Tunis on Friday, to restrict access to the Suez Canal to any ships carrying weapons to the Syrian regime.

Reuters