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 |  Subject: Middle East Hellholes: Countries Pledge Constitution Changes To Calm Protests  Thu Mar 10, 2011 7:06 am | |
| Leaders in Yemen and Morocco promised changes in their countries' constitutions giving more power to the people as they attempted to limit anti-government protests.
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Thursday he would draw up a new constitution to create a parliamentary system of government. An opposition spokesman swiftly rejected the proposal, and called for anti-government rallies to continue.
Yemen, a neighbor of oil giant Saudi Arabia and the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations against Saleh's autocratic administration.
Speaking to thousands of cheering supporters gathered in a soccer stadium, Saleh said he hoped his opponents would join a unity government to help put in place a new political system, but added that he doubted they would join forces with him.
"Firstly we will form a new constitution based on the separation of powers. A referendum on this new constitution will be held before the end of this year," he said.
"I'm already sure that this initiative won't be accepted by the opposition, but in order to do the right thing, I am offering this to the people and they will decide," he added.
An opposition spokesman said the proposals did not meet the protesters' demands.
"This initiative is too late. The demands on the street go beyond that and are bigger than that," said the spokesman, Mohammed Qahtan.
Saleh has governed Yemen for 32 years, but his rule has come under severe threat by nationwide demonstrations that have left almost 30 people dead.
The president has already made a number of concessions to his opponents, but has refused to bow to their central demand that he relinquish power immediately, saying he wanted to see out his term which expires in 2013.
Yemen is a presidential republic, where the head of state wields significant powers and the government has been dominated by his political allies.
Morocco Announces Reform
Morocco's King Mohamed announced a planned constitutional reform on Wednesday and appointed a committee to work with political parties, trade unions and civil society groups to draw up proposals by June.
The king, speaking in a televised address, said the reform would include plans for an independent judiciary, a stronger role for parliament and political parties and a regionalization program to devolve more powers to local officials.
The draft constitution that the committee proposes will be submitted to a referendum, the 47-year-old monarch added.
"The committee is encouraged to show resourcefulness and creativity in order to come up with an advanced constitutional system for Morocco, now and into the future," he said.
Emboldened by pro-democracy pressures sweeping the Arab world, thousands of Moroccans protested last month for constitutional reform and an independent judiciary. Morocco is officially a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament.
But the constitution empowers the king to dissolve the legislature, impose a state of emergency and have a key say in government appointments including the prime minister.
The monarch said the reform would make the judiciary independent, have a freely elected parliament with new powers, a government elected by parliament, a prime minister from the majority party and greater powers for political parties.
"The institutions concerned with good governance, human rights and protection of liberties" would be enshrined in the constitution, he said.
Critics Positive on Speech
Saeed Binjebli, an organizer of the youth-led movement for change, said the speech should limit protests in the short-term but social woes could fuel more protests.
"This was a very bold speech," he said.
"The king responded favorably to all our demands on the constitutional front." But it did not address protesters' criticisms of corruption or demands for release of political prisoners, he said.
Lahcen Daodi, a prominent deputy from main opposition Justice and Development Party, said: "With this speech Morocco has managed to pass with success the crisis that could have erupted from revolts in the Middle East." He said it was still unclear whether the prime minister would be able to appoint ministers for sensitive posts such as the interior ministry.
The constitution would also recognize the country's multi-ethnic identity, a reference to the indigenous Amazigh believed to represent the majority of Morocco's 32.6-million population.
Arabic is currently the only official national language. "I am ... deeply committed to giving strong momentum to the substantial reforms under way, of which a democratic constitution is both the basis and the essence," the king said.
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