HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA

Democracy is not just constitutional and legislative rules; it is a culture and practice and adhering by the law and respecting international human rights principles.

If people have done something wrong then they should be held accountable.

You cannot transpose the U.S. system on Turkey, and the Turkish system on France etc. You have to understand the people and their culture. That's leadership.

We have evidence that a number of Bahrainis who oppose our government are being trained in Syria. I have seen the files and we have notified the Syrian authorities, but they deny any involvement.

Bahrainis are better off than many other Arabs. We have a welfare state, everybody gets a salary whether they have a job or not. Electricity and food are subsidized; school and healthcare are free. And we don't differentiate between Bahrainis and foreigners. We are very proud of that.

Any government that has a sincere desire for reform and progress should understand the benefit of objective and constructive criticism.

If somebody gives me his hand, I will not look at him with suspicion.

In establishing democracy, we have to be sensitive to the regional and national context. Democracy also means to guarantee the rights of the minorities. That's my job as a king. We have for example a Jewish ambassador in the US and a Christian in the UK.

The Bahraini people are eager to obtain facts to enable them to shape a comprehensive national opinion without division among its people. We confirm to all journalists and media personnel in the kingdom of Bahrain that their freedom is preserved and their rights are safeguarded.

Societies cannot move forward without law, and our constitution is the cornerstone of the law and our National Assembly is its umbrella and fortress.

The decision to open up Bahrain to embrace all people indiscriminately was fostered in me ever since I was a child.

Reform is the mission from which we shall not digress; it is an expression of belief and determination between us and our people. With the help of Allah, we will proceed forward in this promising national process within the natural progress of the life cycle and the development of people and nation.

There is no ethnic cleansing in Bahrain, no mass genocide, no policy of killing innocent people.

May Allah guide us to the good of the kingdom of Bahrain and its loyal people.

No king should rule absolutely, like a dictator.

The reform process began with the historic consensus on the Charter of National Action, in which the Bahraini people decided on a new chapter of their history.

In a sense there is no 'opposition' in Bahrain, as the phrase implies one unified block 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 ok.

Bahrain 's margin of freedom is growing day after day as we head into the future with steady steps.

I don't order laws, I propose them.

By being friends with all, we are not alone.

We are a constitutional monarchy. I don't order laws, I propose them. Article 35 of our constitution states that the king can only refuse a law of parliament once, then he has to sign it - if the same law is then supported by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.

There are no 'political prisoners' as such in Bahrain. People are not arrested because they express their views, we only have criminals.

If you like your brother and he's prospering, you'll be pleased for him.

I care about Bahrain. Bahrain is very dear to me. I will not allow people to play around with our laws.

We invite American companies looking to raise capital to list on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. The region has a liquidity oversupply approximating $1 trillion and this pool of capital can be tapped into by creative American companies. The next Facebook may very well get funded on the BSE.