Bahrain must reform now, Clinton says

WASHINGTON: Bahrain must carry out political reforms immediately, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in comments aired Sunday in which she blasted as unacceptable any violence by the Gulf kingdom's security forces.

"Bahrain had started on some reform and we want to see them get back to that as quickly as possible," Clinton told ABC's "This Week" program in an interview conducted Friday.

Bahraini Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has offered to open a sweeping national dialogue with the opposition, after a deadly police raid on Pearl Square on Thursday, which was followed by army deployment in the streets of Manama to quell anti-government protests.

Washington has insisted that oil-rich Bahrain, a tiny but strategic US ally in the Gulf region, begin carrying out meaningful reforms, but Clinton upped the pressure, and insisted that violence against anti-regime protesters "is absolutely unacceptable."

"We very much want to see the human rights of the people protected, including right to assemble, right to express themselves, and we want to see reform," she said.