ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tens of Thousands of Ethiopians gathered on Saturday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to welcome Dawud Ibsa, leader of the previously banned rebel group Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
Ibsa arrived in Addis Ababa after more than two decades in exile, amid sweeping political reforms that are being undertaken by the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed which assumed office in April.
OLF and two other rebel groups were delisted from a terror list in June by Ethiopian parliament, as the ruling coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democracy (EPRDF) pledge to reform the political space in the country.
Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of tens of thousands of supporters, Ibsa said his group is ready to help the ongoing political reform process of the Ahmed administration and vowed to play a constructive role in Ethiopia's economic and political development.
"OLF is prepared to work without precondition with any political parties and movements to ensure Ethiopians' human and democratic rights are respected," he said to a cheering crowd.
Speaking to Xinhua, Daniel Dendena, 50, a supporter of OLF, said the day was special as he has went through many tribulations including 15 years in year in prison for supporting the rebel movement.
"I hope this day symbolizes our freedom to express our political opinions, but also that Oromos can from now on be able to work with other Ethiopians regardless of political differences to build a greater Ethiopia," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, some 1,300 OLF fighters returned to Ethiopia from Eritrea where they had been based for close to two decades. OLF has since the 1970s been fighting for self-determination for ethnic Oromos who make up about a third of Ethiopia's estimated 100 million population.
The peaceful arrival of Ibsa to Addis Ababa allayed fears his homecoming could have set a stage for bloody confrontations in the multiethnic city.
Days of clashes between supporters of OLF and some residents of Addis Ababa earlier this week left several dozen people injured and unspecified amount of property damage.
Addis Ababa is a multiethnic city, but it is completely surrounded by Oromia regional state, the principal homeland of ethnic Oromos.
Some Oromos believe the capital, currently a chartered city, should be part of the region though the city is home to a range of ethnicities from across Ethiopia, Africa's second most-populous country.
