Bahraini king urges Syrian president to listen to his people

Feb 12, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Berlin - Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, in an interview published in Germany on Sunday, called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to listen to his people.

'The best advice for him is to listen to the Syrian people,' the king was quoted as saying by Spiegel Online.

Like Syria, authorities in Bahrain are facing strong opposition, with regular anti-government demonstrations demanding reforms.

An independent inquiry commission, set up by the Bahraini monarch, accused police of using torture against the people detained in the pro-democracy protests that started in the small Gulf country last February

'I regret the events of last year,' Hamad bin Isa told Spiegel.

'In a sense, there is no 'opposition' in Bahrain, as the phrase implies one unified bloc with the same views. Such a phrase is not in our constitution, unlike say the United Kingdom. We only have people with different views and that's okay.'

More then 60 people have been killed in Bahrain since the protests broke out, according to the opposition.

The death toll includes at least four people who have died in police custody, say human rights advocates.

Read more about Bahrain