Syria held a referendum Feb. 26 to vote on a new constitution. The gesture towards the opposition by President Bashar al-Assad has widely been seen as an empty one, with much of the international community calling it a "sham." The vote comes just one day after 89 people were reportedly killed in Homs, the center of the opposition. The proposed constitution will impose term limits on the president as well as provide for a multi-party system. However, the term limits will theoretically begin once the constitution passes, meaning Assad's previous time in office will not be counted against the term limits.

Leaders of Hamas turned against their long-time ally President Bashar Assad of Syria on Feb. 24, throwing their support behind the rebellion aimed at overturning his dynastic rule. The policy shift—announced in Hamas speeches at Friday prayers in Cairo and a rally in the Gaza Strip—deprives Assad of one of his few remaining Sunni supporters in the Arab world and deepens his international isolation. "I salute all the nations of the Arab Spring and I salute the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told thousands at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque. "We are marching towards Syria, with millions of martyrs," chanted worshipers at al-Azhar. The move means a break between Hamas and its longtime de facto ally Hezbollah, which staunchly supports Assad. (Reuters, Feb. 28)

Yemeni electoral officials on Feb. 21 hailed a 60% turnout in single-candidate elections that officially ended President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule, despite boycott calls in the south where violence marred polling. The separatist Southern Movement announced a day of "civil disobedience" to mark the vote. A leader of the movement, Abdulhamid Shokri, said four civilians—including a child—were killed in Aden during street clashes with security forces. Authorities said two soldiers were also killed in the south. Turnout was significantly lower in Aden and the south. There was no polling at all in southern towns controlled by Islamist militants. In the far north, Shi'ite rebels also boycotted the vote. In the US, where Saleh is receiving treatment for wounds sustained in the bombing of his Sanaa compound last June, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the vote was "another important step forward in their [Yemen's] democratic transition process." The only person on the ballot was Vice President Abdurabu Mansur Hadi, who became acting president in November as the result of a power transfer brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council after months of protests. (Middle East Online, BBC News, CNN, Feb. 22)

The High Administrative Court of Egypt ruled Feb. 20 that the voting system used in the recent parliamentary election was unconstitutional. The election was held over three stages from late November to January, and its the elaborate voting system apportioned parliamentary seats between political parties and individuals, with two thirds of the seats going to political parties. Judge Magdy el-Agaty determined the ratio to be in violation of the constitution, that half of the seats should have been held for individuals. Additionally, Agaty stated that political parties should not have been permitted to field candidates for the seats reserved for individuals. During the elections the political parties reported haggled over how many candidates they would field for those seats. It is not clear whether the ruling will lead courts to invalidate the results of the elections, widely viewed as Egypt's freest vote in decades. Agaty has referred parts of the election law to the Supreme Constitutional Court for a final judgment.

The UN General Assembly voted on Feb. 16 to condemn Syria through a non-binding resolution. The resolution supports a plan advanced by the Arab League that aims to bring the situation in Syria to a close as quickly as possible by encouraging President Bashar al-Assad to step down. There were 12 votes against the resolution including Russia, China, Iran and Bolivia.

Security forces in Bahrain fired tear-gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades at protesters gathered on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of pro-democracy demonstrations Feb. 13. Protesters tried to gain control of the Pearl Roundabout in the capital, Manama—the focal point of last year's movement. Riot police pushed them back at a perimeter some two kilometers from the square. Thousands of riot police and other security forces have been deployed across the kingdom. At least 60 people have been killed in protests over the last year. (BBC News, Feb. 13)

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Feb. 10 reiterated its call for international action to protect civilians in Syria, calling for Syrian officials suspected of crimes against humanity to be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC). High Commissioner Navi Pillay is now scheduled to address the UN General Assembly next week regarding the latest humanitarian developments in Syria, where the ongoing uprising challenging the autocratic rule of President Bashar Assad has resulted in a bloody government crackdown that has seen more than 5,000 people killed since March. Reports of increased violence in recent days prompted Pillay earlier this week to urge international intervention on behalf of the Syrian people.

What's utterly maddening about this is the complete hypocrisy of reactions in the West—both from the establishment, which purports to support democracy and secularism in the Middle East while continuing to arm and underwrite the Saudi regime, and from the "left," which correctly opposes the rise of Christian fundamentalist rule at home while (as have have bemoaned before) it is so caught up in the mutual demonization among rival branches of the Abrahamic tradition that it seems incapable of recognizing the threat of Islamic fundamentalism. Is it only going to be neocons who will rally to the defense of Hamza Kashgari? That would be really depressing. From Global Post, Feb. 10: