Republican prisoners walking free from the Maze Prison yesterday said they were "unbowed and unbroken" but ready to extend the "hand of friendship" to everyone wanting to build a better future for all people in the North.
As the 46 IRA prisoners emerged from the jail in small groups just before midday, their spokesman and IRA commanding officer in the Maze, Jim McVeigh, said republicans would continue to strive for a democratic socialist Ireland.
"As republicans, who have experienced suffering, we understand well the hurt of others. We offer a sincere hand of friendship to everyone who is prepared to help build a new future for all of our people. The Ireland we seek is a more equal and democratic one, an Ireland that cherishes all of its children equally", he said.
The IRA inmates were met by the Sinn Fein MLA, Mr Gerry Kelly, who escaped from the Maze in 1983. Mr Kelly insisted that the released prisoners did not present a threat to the community. "I was in jail and I am no threat to anybody", he said.
Mr Kelly insisted that he was mindful of the sensitivities of the victims of the Troubles, but pointed out that those in jail had been victims also. If the Maze was to become a monument, it had to be a double-sided monument: "A monument to man's inhumanity to man, but also a monument to people who found themselves naked and alone but kept their spirit."
Earlier, six prisoners from the Irish National Liberation Army were released and welcomed by supporters waving Tricolours and the Starry Plough republican flag.
Mr Willie Gallagher, a spokesman for the Irish Republican Socialist Party, which is linked to the INLA, called for the release of all remaining political prisoners in Britain and in the Republic, saying: "We are conscious of those who are not coming home today, the hunger-strikers and all who died in prison in the course of this conflict."
The IRSP did not believe that the Belfast Agreement would resolve the conflict. "Maybe it is a stepping stone towards a united Ireland, but we don't believe that at this moment", he added.