Former Prime Ministers PJ Patterson and Portia Simpson Miller’s faces were obscured by a Jamaican flag emoji in a series of tweets on Alando Terrelonge’s social media accounts. Terrelonge, a state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, expressed his apologies for the incident.
The former opposition leaders of the Peoples’ National Party were among those whose faces were hidden in the postings.
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Terrelonge, a member of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, stated that he “regretted” the tweet and that it did not accurately represent his attitude on X, the virtual platform formerly known as Twitter.
Terrelonge remarked, “The stories posted are indeed regretted, and as stated, do not reflect my approach over the years.”
Terrelonge went on to say that one of his team members had posted the aforementioned posts, but that person had now lost access to his social media accounts.
“I was advised of stories posted by one of my team members with access to my social media, not in keeping with my style of posting,” he noted.
“He was instructed to remove all stories posted to the account immediately, and I have since removed him from access to all my social media accounts,” Terrelonge further mentioned.
The People’s National Party youth organization, PNPYO, and other civil society actors criticized the posts as a careless disdain for the values of statesmanship and diplomacy before the state minister addressed the matter.
“Such behavior is not only irresponsible but also tribal and demeaning to the esteemed office that he holds. As representatives of the Jamaican people, our government officials should exemplify decorum and respect at all times, especially when engaging with matters of national importance and diplomacy,” In a recent statement, the youth arm indicated.
The PNPYO demanded that the state minister issue an apology right now and urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness to put the proposed social media regulation for government employees into effect as soon as possible.
At present, Terrelonge is in London, holding a series of polite meetings at the Jamaican High Commission with members of the Jamaican Diaspora.
