McAleese slams publication of cartoons

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese has condemned the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that have given rise to violent protests throughout the Islamic world.

She was speaking at a news conference in Saudi Arabia at the start of her week-long visit to the Middle East.

"We abhor the publication of those provocative cartoons. They were designed to provoke, they were designed to be rude and they were designed to enflame. They did all of those things," she said.