Time for objective decisions
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.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/harp.gif)