There are many lobbyists who do honest day’s work for their clients. Then there are those with destructive agenda. The latter, like Anna Gomes, destroyed people’s lives in many nations; and they are proud of their accomplishments.

The Government of Ethiopia, for all practical purposes did the right thing in offering pardon to the convicted felons of CUD, including their leader Eng. Hailu Shawel. Barely four hours after his release from Kaliti Prison, Eng. Hailu claimed that he signed the letter asking for pardon under duress. In my opinion, Eng. Hailu signed the letter because he is a coward, just like his ex-boss Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam. As they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Eng. Hailu has broken the agreement under which he was released from prison; therefore, he can’t have his cake and eat it too. He has also squandered all of the hard work that Prof. Ephrem and the other Ethiopian elders, who had invested their precious time in obtaining the release of the CUD convicts. The Pardon Commission was also hoodwinked into believing the signatories of the letter of apology to the Ethiopian people. Anna Gomes, the CUD lobbyist, has her work cut out. She won’t be able to save Eng. Hailu Showel from serving his deserved life sentence.

The EPRDF government must renew its effort to extradite Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam from Zimbabwe; so that he too may start serving his life sentence in his homeland. Thus, Col. Mengistu and Eng. Hailu can keep each other company at Kaliti Prison for the remaining part of their miserable lives.