Many sources corroborate that Bashar al-Assad, 34 years old and second son of the late Syrian president Hafez Assad, succeeded his father as president in July 2000 (Europa World Year Book 2002 2002, 3817; People in Power 1 Jan. 2003; USCR 2001; HRW 2001; AI 2001).

On 10 June 2000, the day that president Hafez Assad died, the Syrian parliament (People's Assembly), with its Ba'th party majority, amended the Syrian constitution, reducing the mandatory minimum age of eligibility for the presidency from 40 to 34 years old, so that Bashar al-Assad would be eligible for the nomination (Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001; Election Watch 2002). At the Ba'th party congress, which started on 17 June 2000, the party declared Bashar head of its Regional (Syrian) Command and nominated him for the presidency (MEDEA Sept. 2000; Election Watch 2002). The Ba'th party proposal was presented to the Syrian parliament on 25 June 2000 (Arabic News.com 27 June 2000a; MEDEA Sept. 2000; US 13 Feb. 2003). The nomination was unanimously approved by Parliament two days later (MEDEA. Sept. 2000; US 13 Feb. 2003; Arabic News.com 27 June 2000a; ibid. 27 June 2001b).

Following the approval of Bashar's nomination, a referendum was held on 10 July 2000 allowing Syrian citizens the chance to confirm the parliament's choice of president (Europa World Year Book 2002 2002, 3817; HRW 2001; Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001; MEDEA Sept. 2000). Bashar, the only candidate running for the presidency, was elected with a reported 97.29 per cent of the vote (Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001; Country Reports 2001 4 March 2002; Europa World Year Book 2002 2002, 3817; HRW 2001).

The Europa World Year Book 2002 reports that Rifaat al-Assad, Bashar's uncle, "claimed that the assumed succession by Bashar was unconstitutional, and declared that he would challenge his nephew for the presidency. [But] the Syrian authorities reportedly issued a warrant for Rifaat's arrest should he attempt to enter the country from exile" (2002).

Both Country Reports 2000 and Country Reports 2001 indicate that Syrian citizens "do not have the right to change their government" (23 Feb. 2001; 4 March 2002, Sec. 3). Even though "smaller political parties are allowed"-which, along with the Ba'th party, make up the National Progressive Front (NPF)-Country Reports 2000 indicates that "the Constitution mandates that the Ba'th Party is the ruling party and is ensured a majority in all government and popular associations, such as workers' and women's groups (23 Feb. 2001, Sec.3). The report also states that the NPF was created "to give the appearance of a multiparty system, [but it] is dominated by the Ba'th party and does not change the essentially one-party character of the political system" (23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 3; Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 3). Nor is political opposition to the president allowed (Country Reports 2001 4 March 2002, Sec. 3; Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 3).

Information on whether security officers pressured businessmen and/or other influential people in the community to collect community member's identity cards for the use of the security officers in the 10 July referendum could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 2001. "Syria." Amnesty International Report 2001. http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webmepcountries/Syria?OpenDocument [Accessed 14 March 2003]

Arabic News.com. 27 June 2000a. "Syrian PA Committee Approves Bashar al-Assad's Nomination for Presidency". http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/000627/2000062718.html [Accessed 14 March 2003]

______. 27 June 2000b. "Syrian Parliament Extends to Today Discussions on Bashar's Nomination." http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/000627/2000062717.html [Accessed 14 March 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8298.htm [Accessed 14 March 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 23 February 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/nea/820.htm [Accessed 14 March 2003]

Election Watch. 2002. "Muslim World Election Watch. Syria - Election Date: 2002." http://www.election.salaam.co.uk/syria.html [Accessed 14 March 2003]

The Europa World Year Book 2002. 2002. 43rd ed. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications.

European Institute for Research on Mediterranean Euro-Arab Co-operation (MEDEA). September 2000. "Al-Assad, Bashar." http://www.medea.be/site.html?page=2&lang=en&doc=65 [Accessed 17 March 2003]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2001. Human Rights Watch World Report 2001. http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/syria.html [Accessed 14 March 2003]

People in Power. 1 January 2003. Release No. 94. Cambridge: Cambridge International Reference on Current Affairs (CIRCA).

United States (US). 13 February 2003. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "Syria." The World Factbook 2002. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sy.html [Accessed 14 March 2003]

U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR). 2001. "Country Report: Syria." http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/mideast/2001/syria.htm [Accessed 14 March 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International

Arabic News

CNN

Election Watch

Election World.com

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Infopeople.com

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

Reliefweb

Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC)

Search engines, including:

Google

Yahoo