'Clear Words are Important' in Northern Ireland
A string of killings in Northern Ireland could have derailed the country's fragile peace yet again. But political leaders seem united -- and cooler heads seem to be prevailing. German commentators see a silver lining in the cloud of the past few days.
A series of attacks on police and British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland, a semi-autonomous part of the United Kingdom, has brought the fragile peace process in the country into the spotlight once more.
On Monday, two British soldiers were slain outside a military base in Antrim, near Belfast, in a highly orchestrated attack involving pizza delivery. And on Tuesday, a police officer was shot in the back of the head in the embattled town of Craigavon, southeast of the country's capital.
In a sign that the region's peace may be a lasting phenomenon, prominent Northern Irish politicians -- many of whom are bitter enemies -- have come out to condemn the shootings. "Last night's attack was an attack on the peace process," Sinn Fein head Gerry Adams said after the Antrim killings. "It was wrong and counter productive."
German papers see the unity as a promising sign that the peace process in Northern Ireland might be lasting, but caution that the wounds of the past will take more than words to heal.
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:
"A company director was sent a bullet in the mail, threatened with death, because he was of the wrong religion. A renter was beaten because he took the risk of moving into the wrong neighborhood. A police officer was shot because he made the mistake of answering a distress call. It's the story of Northern Ireland. Sometimes the perpetrators are from the Catholic, Republican side, sometimes from the Unionist, Protestant side."
"These incidents aren't from the time of the 'troubles' -- they all happened in the last three years in the town of Craigavon, southeast of Belfast. They didn't make it into the international media, though, because no one was killed. That's peace, Northern Ireland style."
"But in the last few days the world's attention has been directed back at the troublesome country. A 48-year-old police officer was killed with a shot to the head -- in Craigavon. It's the second murder in three days. Over the weekend, another incident brought up painful memories. Two British soldiers, waiting to be sent off to Afghanistan's Helmand province -- arguably the world's most dangerous place -- were gunned down in what they thought was the safety of Belfast."
"Still, Northern Ireland's political leadership has learned from the past. Government head Peter Robinson and his counterpart Martin McGuinness haven't let themselves be provoked. They've shown unity and condemned the murders. Even Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein's president and a former member of the IRA, has encouraged his followers to cooperate with the police."
"Such clear words are important right now. The condemnation of the murderers gives hope that the country can be an example for other crisis regions in the world."
Business daily Handelsblatt writes:
"If terrorism can be fought with rhetoric, then Northern Ireland's politicians are off to a good start: After days of crisis, these archenemies are still standing shoulder to shoulder in front of Northern Ireland's parliament -- and robbing the terrorists of their last bits of legitimacy in the process."
"That it took so long before government head Peter Robinson and his Sinn Fein counterpart Martin McGuinness found the right words shows what a fragile structure the peace process remains. Sinn Fein's hesitation to call murder murder can be seen as a tacit approval of the act. They presented the acts as a reaction to the Northern Ireland police chief's request for help from the 'unwelcome' British Army in fighting growing danger from terrorists."
"The peace process will transform old differences through new, democratic processes. Prosperity and economic growth will help too. And political tactics are important. But the only effective weapon against 'criminal psychopaths,' as the police chief called the perpetrators of these murders, is good and speedy police work. And for that the unlimited support of everyone is needed -- within the population, and also among its politicians."
Finally, the conservative Die Welt writes:
Since May of last year, when a peace process created a government out of Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic factions, the country has been close to peace. But it is not yet been completely peace with itself -- 30 years of civil war have left wounds too deep for that. Still, mutually negotiated peace still seems to be the best bulwark against a retreat into the terrorism of the past."
"That spectre has reared its head again, though. The goals of the terrorists are familiar. British soldiers and a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland: These are exactly the groups that the underground has zeroed in on. The hated military of the 'occupiers' and their henchmen in charge of keeping order."
"What's behind this comeback of discredited methods? Firstly, self-interest typical of splinter groups who history has passed by. Even this history has to be criminally mocked."
"The second point touches on 'the enemy' and the moment of the attacks: It was cleverly chosen and only deepens the sense of helplessness that Brits are already feeling over the finance and banking crisis. What the terrorists in Ulster have in common with those in Iraq and the latest perpetrators in Pakistan is their knowledge of how to use the instability of the present to their own advantage."
"Last, but not least, the criminal underground hopes to poison the delicate relationships that have been built between partners in the Belfast government. Therein lies the greatest danger and the greatest challenge to Northern Ireland's society: To not let themselves be divided by new mistrust and new hate."
-- Andrew Curry, 13:20 p.m. CET
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,612670,00.html
Pics @ http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-40532.html#backToArticle=612670
A string of killings in Northern Ireland could have derailed the country's fragile peace yet again. But political leaders seem united -- and cooler heads seem to be prevailing. German commentators see a silver lining in the cloud of the past few days.
A series of attacks on police and British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland, a semi-autonomous part of the United Kingdom, has brought the fragile peace process in the country into the spotlight once more.
On Monday, two British soldiers were slain outside a military base in Antrim, near Belfast, in a highly orchestrated attack involving pizza delivery. And on Tuesday, a police officer was shot in the back of the head in the embattled town of Craigavon, southeast of the country's capital.
In a sign that the region's peace may be a lasting phenomenon, prominent Northern Irish politicians -- many of whom are bitter enemies -- have come out to condemn the shootings. "Last night's attack was an attack on the peace process," Sinn Fein head Gerry Adams said after the Antrim killings. "It was wrong and counter productive."
German papers see the unity as a promising sign that the peace process in Northern Ireland might be lasting, but caution that the wounds of the past will take more than words to heal.
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:
"A company director was sent a bullet in the mail, threatened with death, because he was of the wrong religion. A renter was beaten because he took the risk of moving into the wrong neighborhood. A police officer was shot because he made the mistake of answering a distress call. It's the story of Northern Ireland. Sometimes the perpetrators are from the Catholic, Republican side, sometimes from the Unionist, Protestant side."
"These incidents aren't from the time of the 'troubles' -- they all happened in the last three years in the town of Craigavon, southeast of Belfast. They didn't make it into the international media, though, because no one was killed. That's peace, Northern Ireland style."
"But in the last few days the world's attention has been directed back at the troublesome country. A 48-year-old police officer was killed with a shot to the head -- in Craigavon. It's the second murder in three days. Over the weekend, another incident brought up painful memories. Two British soldiers, waiting to be sent off to Afghanistan's Helmand province -- arguably the world's most dangerous place -- were gunned down in what they thought was the safety of Belfast."
"Still, Northern Ireland's political leadership has learned from the past. Government head Peter Robinson and his counterpart Martin McGuinness haven't let themselves be provoked. They've shown unity and condemned the murders. Even Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein's president and a former member of the IRA, has encouraged his followers to cooperate with the police."
"Such clear words are important right now. The condemnation of the murderers gives hope that the country can be an example for other crisis regions in the world."
Business daily Handelsblatt writes:
"If terrorism can be fought with rhetoric, then Northern Ireland's politicians are off to a good start: After days of crisis, these archenemies are still standing shoulder to shoulder in front of Northern Ireland's parliament -- and robbing the terrorists of their last bits of legitimacy in the process."
"That it took so long before government head Peter Robinson and his Sinn Fein counterpart Martin McGuinness found the right words shows what a fragile structure the peace process remains. Sinn Fein's hesitation to call murder murder can be seen as a tacit approval of the act. They presented the acts as a reaction to the Northern Ireland police chief's request for help from the 'unwelcome' British Army in fighting growing danger from terrorists."
"The peace process will transform old differences through new, democratic processes. Prosperity and economic growth will help too. And political tactics are important. But the only effective weapon against 'criminal psychopaths,' as the police chief called the perpetrators of these murders, is good and speedy police work. And for that the unlimited support of everyone is needed -- within the population, and also among its politicians."
Finally, the conservative Die Welt writes:
Since May of last year, when a peace process created a government out of Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic factions, the country has been close to peace. But it is not yet been completely peace with itself -- 30 years of civil war have left wounds too deep for that. Still, mutually negotiated peace still seems to be the best bulwark against a retreat into the terrorism of the past."
"That spectre has reared its head again, though. The goals of the terrorists are familiar. British soldiers and a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland: These are exactly the groups that the underground has zeroed in on. The hated military of the 'occupiers' and their henchmen in charge of keeping order."
"What's behind this comeback of discredited methods? Firstly, self-interest typical of splinter groups who history has passed by. Even this history has to be criminally mocked."
"The second point touches on 'the enemy' and the moment of the attacks: It was cleverly chosen and only deepens the sense of helplessness that Brits are already feeling over the finance and banking crisis. What the terrorists in Ulster have in common with those in Iraq and the latest perpetrators in Pakistan is their knowledge of how to use the instability of the present to their own advantage."
"Last, but not least, the criminal underground hopes to poison the delicate relationships that have been built between partners in the Belfast government. Therein lies the greatest danger and the greatest challenge to Northern Ireland's society: To not let themselves be divided by new mistrust and new hate."
-- Andrew Curry, 13:20 p.m. CET
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,612670,00.html
Pics @ http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-40532.html#backToArticle=612670
