On Thursday, leaders of the Irish Republican Army announced in Belfast that they would officially give up arms in the fight they had been leading against Britain for over three decades. In the eight years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the clandestine guerrilla and terrorist organization had largely given up using widespread violence in their struggle for Northern Ireland's independence from the UK, but the statement is the first formal call to surrender arms. Experts say it comes expected, as republican leadership had realized long ago that violent tactics were not the best way to reach their objectives. But by calling on all of its members to pursue the goal of a united Ireland via peaceful means, the IRA appears to be rejecting the violence, criminal activity, and authoritarian methods that were the hallmarks of a political struggle that claimed 1,800 lives, according to the BBC.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has welcomed the move, referring to it as a "step of unprecedented magnitude," and a spokesmen for Downing Street stated that the government is particularly pleased that the IRA will also end "all other activities" -- understood as criminal dealings like the massive bank heist they are suspected of pulling off in December 2004. Skeptics, such as Unionist leader Ian Paisley, have said however that the IRA should be judged by their actions, not words. Which is also the tack German commentators took when examining the news on Friday.

The conservative daily Die Welt welcomes the statement, saying that recourse to weapons had been contributing to lawlessness and criminal activity in places like the catholic neighborhoods of Belfast. The statement is, the paper says, "especially welcome in the context of the terrorist threat that is currently haunting Britain. But there is a reason for the expression 'the proof of the pudding lies in the eating'". The editorialist continues "This is about more than clearing away the arsenal, "this is about abandoning an entire mentality, which uses weapons to spread the everyday terror of intimidation in Belfast and elsewhere. Peace in Northern Ireland is a major goal. It's good that the IRA has taken a step in the right direction."

The left-leaning Frankfurter Rundschau also welcomes the IRA statement, saying that "until it can be proven otherwise we must give them credit. The statement sounds good, but it is more important that the IRA cooperates with the decommissioning process. The Northern Ireland peace talks will only gather momentum again if decommissioning can be controlled." The commentator goes on to say that the IRA statement was expected, but its timing is not random. "The London bombs have made it clear that the Republican movement must clearly distance itself from violence if it is to survive."

Munich's left-leaning daily Süddeutsche Zeitung calls the statement "the most important step towards peace in Northern Ireland since the 1998 Good Friday agreement." But it also points out that it was not completely voluntary. "The Republic and the North of Ireland are moving closer together. In ten or 20 years the catholics will be in the majority in the North. This prospect has helped speed up the renunciation of violence. Now the Unionists, afraid of the demographic change, must stop their hate-filled tirades against Sinn Fein. And the IRA must show proof of its decommissioning process." But it will take years to build trust in the country, the paper says. "There is currently less contact between catholics and protestants in Northern Ireland than between christians and muslims in London."

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung calls the step historic, but also says that the "conflict in the minds of the two sides of the Northern Irish divide is not over by a long stretch. The bullheadedness of the people involved can be seen in the apparently trivial details." The paper says that while "the Unionists understandably insist that it is important to check the decommissioning process ... Catholics however seriously fear that there will be a resurgence of resistance if photos are published of arms being destroyed. That means that the IRA cannot appear to have ended their 'war' with a capitulation." Speaking of the future of the conflict, the paper considers it "not surprising that protestant bigots like Ian Paisley will never declare anything the IRA says or does to be enough." Northern Ireland's problem is that the elections strengthened extremists on both sides. "The prediction that real peace in Northern Ireland will take a least a generation is not exaggerated."