Tourism chief defends Attorney General appointment

Solomon Shamah, Panama’s tourism manager has stepped forward to defend the appointment of a prosecutor who served the military dictatorship.

Shamah, who is close to President Ricardo Martinelli, has become increasingly prominent as as an apologist or spokesman for the government since the departure of former Minister of the Presidency,Jimmy Papademitriu. He spoke out on Thursday December 20 on TVN about the widespread criticism of the appointment of Ana Belfon, as Attorney General. Belfon is current Secretary of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of the Presidency and former prosecutor during the military dictatorship. Shamah said Belfon entered the presidency, after Martinelli won the 2009 elections. He said she was not part of the political campaign and indeed, "the President did not know Ana Belfon". He said Belfon was recommended by the governor of Panama, Mayín Correa, who named her as a trustworthy person. . According to Shamah, it is a natural designation: " it is not political." He recalled that Belfon has 15 years in the Public Ministry (MP) and has an "impressive resume". In all this time she has been characterized by an unblemished career, he said