Syria 'deleting' Assad from Google

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Anti-government activists in Syria are now removing President Bashar al-Assad from the world map - literally.

The Washington Post reported that groups are using 'a Google crowd-sourcing program, Map Maker' to rename streets, landmarks and more in the country. They're now being named after important figures from the 11-month-old uprising

Activists claim the step is to wipe out evidence of Assad's 40-year rule from the country and to help future generations remember 'the heroes of the rebellion in Syria'.

“They have the right to be remembered by the Syrians,” the Post quoted Rwadan Ziadeh, a representative of the Syrian National Council, an exile group, as saying.

“They are making new history.”

Move to placate the West

Syria's president, meanwhile, has called a referendum on a new constitution that would effectively end nearly five decades of single party rule, state media said on Wednesday, as troops reportedly stormed protest hubs.

A day after flatly rejecting UN allegations of crimes against humanity, Bashar al-Assad called the national vote for February 26, in a move clearly aimed at placating growing global outrage over the bloodshed.

Under the newly drafted charter, freedom is 'a sacred right' and 'the people will govern the people' in a multi-party democratic system, state television said.

The new constitution also states that Islamic case law will be used as a source for legislation and that the president must be Muslim and older than 40. It also prohibits parties based on religion.

Assad, who in April lifted a state of emergency in force since 1963, when his Baath Party took power, has made repeated promises of reforms that have failed to materialise since a popular uprising erupted on March 15.

The embattled president, who succeeded his late father Hafez in 2000, has said the constitution would usher in a 'new era' for Syria, SANA state news agency reported.