Syria's president signs temporary constitution amid ongoing conflict

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - DAMASCUS — Syria's president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under his group's rule while promising to protect the rights of all Syrians for five years during a transitional phase.

The nation's rulers came to power when the former Islamist insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, overthrew longtime President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive last December. Since then, they have struggled to exert authority across much of Syria, which remains territorially divided and riven by violence.

Former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country's president. His appointment was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that joined the overthrow of al-Assad, who also agreed to repeal and replace the country's old constitution.

While many Syrians are happy to see an end to the al-Assad family's 50-plus-year dynastic dictatorship, the country's religious and ethnic minorities have so far been skeptical of the new leaders, and are reluctant to allow them to take full control of the national government.

Abdulhamid Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert and one of the seven members of the committee al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a news conference on Thursday that the document holds over some provisions from the previous constitution, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim and the primacy of Islamic law.

But Al-Awak also said that the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the media, and will "balance between social security and freedom" while setting up an "absolute and rigid separation" between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

The text of the temporary constitution sets up a People's Committee which will serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections held. Two-thirds of its members will be appointed by a committee selected by the president and one-third by al-Sharaa himself.

The document, published late on Thursday evening, says the Syrian state is "committed to combating all forms of violent extremism while respecting rights and freedoms" and that "citizens are equal before the law in rights and duties, without discrimination based on race, religion, gender or lineage."

It also makes clear that the army is a "professional national institution", that arms outside of its control are prohibited, and that "glorifying the former al-Assad regime" is now a crime.

A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it remains unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria's political, religious and ethnic groups than the current arrangement.

In what may be a sign of things to come, al-Sharaa has struck a landmark deal with the US-backed and Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, establishing a ceasefire and merging the insurgent armed forces into the central government's security services.

The pact was sealed after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to al-Assad.

Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which al-Assad himself belongs, were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions involved in the counteroffensive.

A key goal of the interim constitution was to provide a timeline for the country's political transition into a permanent arrangement. Al-Sharaa said in December that it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria's constitution and up to five years to organize and hold full elections.

He appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after a "national dialogue conference" last month. Critics said that the hastily-organised conference wasn't inclusive of Syria's different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.

The US and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during al-Assad's rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities.

Al-Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, given the risk of further instability during a time of deep economic strife. — Euronews