In the next week republicans will attend meetings the length and breadth of the country, seeking to come to solid views to bring back to next week's reconvened Ard Fheis.

They would do well to consider the wisdom included in the message from the leadership of the IRA. The views contained in that statement echo the clear message from last week's Ard Fheis, that any settlement must involve self determination, that the Good Friday document does not therefore provide the basis for a lasting settlement but that the document could possibly present an opportunity for a transformation of the situation.

This is an historic moment for Sinn Féin and they must engage their tactical astuteness at this time. No-one who has listened to the ANC negotiators who have been speaking at Sinn Féin meetings since they arrived on Tuesday can fail to appreciate the challenge which faces those who are trying to create justice from injustice, democracy from inequality and a lasting peace from centuries of oppression.

The coming months will test those who are prepared to move us all out of conflict and into a genuine resolution. Republicans stand ready to face that challenge. They will do so with the same determination and energy which has guided this struggle over the last thirty years.

Political prisoners

The irony of the ANC going into address republican prisoners in Long Kesh and Portlaoise this week is not lost on republicans. 17 years ago this week Bobby Sands was in the final days of his hunger strike. At the same time Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government was calling the ANC terrorists.

The first hunger strike of 1980 had been announced with the words of Nelson Mandela and the prisoners have always taken inspiration from their South African comrades.

Today the ANC is the democratically elected government in South Africa. And Irish republicans are on the march to freedom.