Thursday 31 March 2011

A story that places Wales democracy in doubt ...

... where civil servants are employed to prevent real change to the way we are governed ...

... and in Syria the craven dictator, hereditary President Bashar al-Assad, has spoken on the state run TV, he said of the government action  "This is a test for our unity", what he didn't say was "......  that hundreds of people chanting "freedom" had taken to the streets of Latakia," he didn't assure the supporters of his despotic regime that ".... troops had fired warning shots in an attempt to get them to disperse."

The dictators government is reported to be studying the liberalisation of laws on media and political parties as well as anti-corruption measures, the easing of restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom.  The operative word is studying, nothing new then, but from human rights activist Aktham Nuaisse he believes the country stood "at a crossroads".  he is reported as saying "Either the president takes immediate, drastic reform measures, or the country descends into one of several ugly scenarios. If he is willing to lead Syria into a real democratic transformation, he will be met halfway by the Syrian people."

The people of Syria should seize democracy not listen to this son of a dictator, look to other countries in the region, use these examples to topple Bashar, there is everything to play for, in the west we call it freedom.

In Wales our civil servants are trying to prevent the submission of the proposed amendment to the GOWA, it reads ....


We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to petition the UK government to modify the Government of Wales Act 2006 to include the following Legislative Recall and Referendum option.

Where a Bill has been passed by the Welsh Assembly, one-third of the members of the Welsh Assembly may, within five weekdays from the final passing of the Bill, request of the Plenary Chair that the Bill be submitted to a referendum. Such request shall be made in writing and signed by the members making the request.


At the referendum votes shall be cast for or against the Bill. For the Bill to be rejected, a majority of the electors who vote, and not less than thirty per cent of all persons who are entitled to vote, shall have voted against the Bill.


Finance Bills, Salaries and Pensions Bills, Taxation (Direct and Indirect) Bills, UK and European Union government Bills, as well as Bills for the purpose of discharging existing treaty obligations shall not be submitted to decision by referendum.
... it would make law making more inclusive, no-matter what flavour of politics, the government of the day would be obliged to consider everyone, not just reflect on party politics, good for democratic accountability, the death-knell of partisan politics.

Would you support such a bill, currently the "badger cull" bill might be the subject of the Legislative Recall and Referendum option I am proposing, as might the "presumed consent" for the organ transplant bill, but nothing is certain, Assembly politicians after due deliberation could pass the laws with such a majority that the laws could not be subjected to recall.

While I consider the importance of giving politicians tools to strengthen democracy, in Syria its dictator murders citizens .....

Libya is falling apart and Yemen is changing .... is Saudi listening to the winds of change blowing from the dunes ........

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