It is clearly no coincidence that the second act of IRA decommissioning has taken place on the eve of the calling of the general election in the Republic where Sinn Féin hopes to increase its number of Dáil seats three-fold, at a minimum.
It may be no coincidence that the unilateral act of putting "a varied and substantial quantity of ammunition, arms and explosive material" beyond use is described by the IRA as "a leadership initiative" this time.
But, whatever the motives behind the latest decommissioning development, it should be welcomed in its own right as a further consolidation of the peace process.
It is a measure of the bedding-down of the Belfast Agreement - on the fourth anniversary of its signing tomorrow - that the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning witnessed this second tranche of IRA arms without the months and years of political pressure which precipitated the first arms gesture last October. It was apparently a voluntary act. That is not to say, however, that it was not designed to distract attention from the arrests of the Colombia Three for allegedly training FARC rebels last August and the IRA's suspected involvement in the break-in to Castlereagh police station last month.
The president of Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams, denied that he or any of Sinn Féin's negotiators had secured further disarmament as a quid pro quo for the lifting of outstanding warrants against republican fugitives from justice. In other words, he implied strongly that there was no trade-off between this act on arms and a deal on OTRs. He also stated that the arms issue was too deadly serious to become a election stunt.
For all of the cynicism which could surround yesterday's action, the confirmation that a second substantial move on decommissioning had taken place was welcomed in most pro-Agreement quarters. The First Minister, Mr Trimble, viewed it as a vindication of his position to work in government with Sinn Féin. The SDLP 's response was also positive.
The Taoiseach suggested that there should now be no doubt that the goal of the Belfast Agreement of putting all paramilitary arms beyond use was, indeed, fully achievable, although this would require meaningful engagement with the IICD by loyalist paramilitary groups as well.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Noonan, pointed out that the resolution of the decommissioning issue was an indispensable part of the peace process. The Labour leader, Mr Quinn, thought that it might well be that this particular act had been timed to try to revive Sinn Féin's flagging election campaign in the Republic. For all of that, it is progress of the right kind. It remains to be seen whether such acts can become regular, with a completion date in mind.