"We must give the Iraqi people a chance to have their own say, to express themselves and decide their future and we must support them," said King Hamad.

He called for an end to international sanctions in place against Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

"The time has come to end the embargo," he said. "The people of Iraq have been the victims of the current war, which they did not choose, along with the Gulf War and the Iran-Iraq War."

"The Iraqi people's suffering must come to an end ... and the international community is called upon to listen to the Iraqi people so that they can succeed in installing their political system .. and maintaining their sovereignty and unity," said the king, in remarks carried by the official BNA news agency.

On the eve of the US-British attack on Iraq March 20, King Hamad offered Saddam exile as a way to avoid the war.

SPACE.WIRE