The welcoming back to Ethiopia of opposition groups previously labelled “terrorist” by the government extended to more than just Professor Berhanu’s “Patriotic Ginbot 7” – it also included the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and its leader, Dawud Ibsa, who had been in exile for 20 years and would arrive back in Addis on Saturday 15^th September. The rioting and violence we experienced on the Thursday and Friday before his arrival was a conflict over flags – Oromo people, especially bands of youths, wanted to raise the OLF flag in Addis Ababa in place of the Ethiopian flags that had sprung up everywhere to welcome Prof Berhanu the previous week. Violence ensued, and it was about to worsen significantly.