Others believe the violence could cement a crucial role for the military in political affairs and stability even as the generals have taken a back seat in the country's reforms.
He was first elected in West Belfast 1983 - the same year he became Sinn Fein's president - but has never taken his seat at Westminster, as it would mean swearing allegiance to the Queen.
After a stint as press officer for one of the first opposition parties to pop up in East Germany as communism crumbled, then as spokesman for East Germany's first freely elected government, she won a seat for the Christian Democrats in united Germany's first general election, in 1990, and was taken under Mr Kohl's wing.