Another 31 Syrians were killed today, as the siege of Homs continues, and other parts of the country voted on a new Constitution.
Egypt attempted to start the trial of the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, 15 other Americans, and 27 others charged with illegal political activities by unlicensed foreigners in that country. Still no word from the White House on the Marine who faces execution in Iran.
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Judge Mahmoud Mohammed Shoukry presided over a chaotic opening session Sunday, before adjourning the trial until April 26. Television reporters crowded around the judge while an Interior Ministry official threatened to expel journalists from the rowdy Cairo chamber.
The defendants have been barred from leaving Egypt. Some others left the country before the travel ban was imposed. Still others have taken refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo.
The 43 activists include Sam LaHood – son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. They are accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad, carrying out political activities unrelated to their civil society work, and failing to get the necessary operating licenses.
The groups say they have long sought to register in Egypt. The U.S. State Department has said the groups were there to help with elections. It says the Americans are completely unbiased and do not support or raise money for any individual political candidates.
Washington has warned that it could cut $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Egypt if the trial goes ahead. U.S. officials are holding intense discussions with Egypt to resolve the issue.
Along with 16 Americans and 16 Egyptians, the defendants include Germans, Palestinians, Serbs and Jordanians.
The United States is trying to establish better ties with the military council that took power last year following the ouster of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. U.S. legislators and Egyptian activists say the trial is politically motivated. Rights groups have sharply criticized the investigation, saying it is part of an orchestrated effort by authorities to silence groups critical of the military's handling of the country's democratic transition.
Egyptian officials say the trial has nothing to do with the government and is in the hands of the judiciary.
Also Sunday, Egypt's military rulers called on the newly elected parliament to convene March 3 to elect a 100-member assembly to write the country's first constitution since Mr. Mubarak's overthrow.
A power struggle over the future document is rapidly developing between Egypt's army-backed executive and the Islamist-dominated parliament, which wants to curb broad presidential powers.
Political groups, led by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, already have begun talks on the make-up of the constituent assembly. The panel is expected to include legal experts as well as legislators.
At least 31 Syrian civilians and soldiers were killed in more violence Sunday while voters were casting ballots for a new constitution that the Syrian opposition and Western governments call a farce.
The constitution would create a multi-party system in Syria, which has been governed solely by the Baath Party since 1963. But even if it passes, President Bashar al-Assad still would be hugely powerful.
The opposition boycotted Sunday's vote. It says the only acceptable solution for Syria is Mr. Assad's ouster. His brutal military crackdown against a nearly year-long anti-government uprising has killed thousands of civilians. Syria calls the rebels foreign-backed terrorists.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday said Syrian troops who still back Mr. Assad are dishonoring themselves. She said those who turn their backs on violence are heroes.
But she also cautioned foreign governments against arming Syrian rebels. She said the terrorist groups al-Qaida and Hamas both support the rebels. Secretary Clinton said that unlike Libya, where she knew who was behind efforts to oust Moammar Gadhafi, it is unclear who is leading the Syrian fighters. She said no one knows where the guns and weapons would end up.
If approved, the constitutional referendum would drop an article making the ruling Baath party the leader of state and society. It would allow political pluralism and enact a presidential limit of two seven-year terms. But the limit would not be retroactive, meaning that Mr. Assad, already in power 11 years, could serve another two terms after his current one expires in 2014.
In areas like Homs, where government shelling has left hundreds dead, or in rebel strongholds in the northwest and south, voter turnout is likely to be low. Activists in Homs said no voting appeared to be taking place, and Internet video showed some people dropping ballots into the trash.
But in the capital, Damascus, where Mr. Assad retains support among religious minorities and the business class, many said they were eager to vote.
U.N.-appointed investigators estimate the death toll from the uprising at 6,400 civilians and 1,680 army defectors. Syrian government officials have said they only took military action when under armed attack from “terrorists.”
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