Public has a 'duty' to support troops says Trimble

Ulster Unionist Leader David Trimble has said the pubic has "a duty" to support troops in Iraq.

Speaking at a news conference at Cunningham House in Belfast this morning, Mr Trimble said: "Hostilities have now commenced, thousands of servicemen and women are going into action, and that changes the situation enormously.

"I think our duty, as a society now, is to support those servicemen who are in action and to support their families here in Northern Ireland. What the families would like to see, is the community rallying to their support, rather than demonstrating against it.

"I would therefore call on those, who are organising or participating in demonstrations, to think again and to think about the thousands of families in Northern Ireland who are now intimately and directly connected with the operations in Iraq. We want to support them.

"There are thousands of Ulster folk now involved in this operation and they deserve our support."

Ulster Unionist Assembly member, Sir John Gorman, whose grandson is serving with the Irish Guards in Iraq, said: “I have talked to many soldiers and they would of course be discouraged if they thought that the public was not united behind them. Soldiers are very proud of their regiments and it is important that we all give the necessary support to our soldiers at this time.”

However, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has described the bombing of Iraq as "unjustified" and said that the only thing it would achieve was a "humanitarian crisis and further destabilise the Middle East".

Mr Adams said: "The Irish government has a strong role to play in this situation in seeking to bring an immediate end to the war and a return to diplomacy and dialogue. Granting permission for over-flights or landing at Shannon is no part of that.

"Sinn Féin is calling on people to mobilise against the war and join the protests which will be taking place in towns and cities throughout Ireland in the coming days."

(GMcG)