Orellana resigns as Guatemalan Foreign Minister

In early January, Belize’s Foreign Minister, Assad Shoman, is scheduled to meet in Washington with his Guatemalan counterpart to chart a way forward for an eventual settlement of the Guatemalan claim. But when the two officials sit down at the O.A.S., the man on the other side of the table will not be a familiar face. Word from Guatemala City is that Foreign Minister Gabriel Orellana has resigned effective this coming Monday. In a press conference on Thursday, Orellana cited unspecified personal reasons for his decision and it is believed that he will be seeking a high level job in one of several international organisations. Replacing Orellana is Edgar Gutierrez. Gutierrez, a close friend of President Alfonso Portillo, had been serving in a Cabinet level position as Portillo’s head of strategic analysis. Press reports indicate that while Gutierrez enjoys the President’s full confidence, the appointment was not well received by the leaders of the ruling F.R.G. party, for whom Gutierrez may be too ideologically liberal. Prior to his Cabinet appointment, Gutierrez was charged with the task of detailing abuses by the army and guerrillas during the long Guatemalan civil war. It is not known if the unpopularity of the Ramphal-Reichler proposals in Guatemala had anything to do with Orellana’s resignation or that of his deputy, Ramiro Ordonez, but the shake up in the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry is not seen as a major setback to a facilitation process that was already on life support. Ironically, if initial assessments are accurate, it would seem that Edgar Gutierrez and Assad Shoman may find they have much in common. Both are respected independent thinkers with strong international reputations and not much in the way of local constituencies …except, that is, a very tight relationship with their respective heads of government. The meeting is Washington is scheduled for January seventh.