Prince Charles' meeting with Bahraini ruler criticized

Dec 13, 2011, 17:28 GMT

London - A meeting in London between Prince Charles and King Hamad Al-Khalifa of Bahrain Tuesday was criticized by campaigners who accused Britain's heir to the throne of 'hypocrisy' over human rights issues.

Anti-monarchy group Republic said Charles was guilty of 'double standards' by holding discussions with the Bahraini king following a violent clampdown on protestors in the Gulf kingdom earlier this year.

A spokesman for Prince Charles said the two men had discussed 'issues of mutual interest' during the private meeting.

In April, the crown prince of Bahrain withdrew from an invitation to take part in the wedding of Prince William, Charles's son, and Catherine Middleton, to avoid diplomatic embarrassment over the protests in Bahrain.

King Hamad, who also had talks with Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit, accused Syria and Iran of 'stirring up our people' in an interview with the Daily Telegraph Tuesday.

He would implement wide-ranging reforms that would lead to a 'kingdom of tolerance' in the Gulf state, said the king.

He said that the protests earlier this year, which were criticized by an independent inquiry, had been 'mishandled' by individuals among the security forces, rather than the government.

'It is not the policy of the Ministry of Interior to go and kill people on the roads,' said King Hamad. 'There is no ethnic cleansing in Bahrain, no mass genocide, no policy of killing innocent people.'

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