Syria to open 'dialogue' with opposition absent

DAMASCUS: Syria was to open a "national dialogue" on Sunday that it has touted as a key step towards reform but its credibility was on the line in the face of an opposition boycott.

Vice President Faruq al-Shara was to deliver the opening address to delegates to the dialogue, which was announced in a keynote speech by President Bashar al-Assad on June 20, only his third since unprecedented protests against his rule erupted in mid-March.

Delegates were expected to include some independent MPs as well as members of the ruling Baath party, in power since 1963.

But opposition figures said they would boycott the meeting in protest at the government's continued deadly crackdown on dissent.

A Facebook call for nationwide demonstrations against participation in the dialogue brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets on Friday.

The government said that delegates to the two-day meeting would be invited to discuss a whole raft of reforms, including amending Clause Eight of the constitution which enshrines the leading role of the Baath party in Syrian political life.

Security forces killed at least 15 people and arrested more than 200 during Friday's demonstrations against the dialogue, activists said.

Since the protests first broke out, they have killed more than 1,300 civilians and arrested at least 12,000, human rights groups say.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011