Assad’s reform initiative "far too late"?

Facing growing international pressure, Syrian President Bashar Assad made a step toward reforming the country’s political system, but British political analyst Nabila Ramdani says the reform initiative is too little too late.

“There are several problems with his [Bashar Assad’s] offering,” Ramdani told RT. “First of all, is he offering that the tens of thousands of people who are largely peacefully protesting against his regime, and whom he is killing and imprisoning, can now be allowed to be members of opposition political parties? Is he offering free and fair elections or the kind of rigged contest which he has organized to date?” “It’s very clear that he himself and his bloodthirsty lieutenants are criminals and they should be dealt with as such,” Ramdani declared. The initiative comes as the UN Security Council condemned the escalating violence in Syria, demanded an end to the bloodshed and called for internal political dialogue.The situation in Syria is deteriorating dramatically, with conflicting reports saying at least 100 people were killed during the last few days of clashes after the opposition stronghold of Hama was overrun by government forces.