Editorial: A telling moment?

Friday, July 29, 2005 | 8:51 a.m.

On Thursday the Irish Republican Army announced that it was renouncing violence against Britain and would disarm itself. If the IRA makes good on this pledge, it could be a signal moment in the history of British-ruled Northern Ireland. The 35-year terrorism campaign by the IRA, whose stated purpose was to unify Northern Ireland with the Irish Republic, has killed about 1,800 people and injured thousands of others. A peace accord was reached in 1998, one of whose chief aims was to result in a power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland, which had been wracked by bitter Catholic-Protestant divisions. But that agreement was suspended in 2002 because the IRA had refused to take concrete steps to disarm itself.

In response to the IRA's announcement, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this "may be the day on which, finally, after all these false dawns and dashed hopes, peace replaced war, politics replaces terror on the island of Ireland." Protestant leaders in Northern Ireland were more reserved, however, saying it would take at least several months to see if the IRA's deeds match its words.

The distrust of the IRA won't go away soon. People have become particularly leery since the IRA has previously made promises of peace, only to later renege on them. It is up to the IRA to quickly take meaningful steps to disarm itself. Hopefully, this time, the IRA's talk of peace is the real deal.