State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, has expressed regret about posts to his Instagram account in which emojis were used to block out the images of former prime ministers PJ Patterson and Portia Simpson-Miller.
Terrelonge said the now-deleted posts were made by a member of his social media team, who access to his social media accounts has since been removed.
The clarification comes hours after social media users condemned the act of blocking the images of the two former People’s National Party (PNP) leaders with Jamaica flag emojis, but the same was not done for present and past Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leaders.
For the most part, persons said the action was, among other things, “distasteful” and “disrespectful”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning, Terrelonge shared a photograph of himself and Simpson-Miller, and went on to clarify the issue.
“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 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,” said Terrelonge.
He added: “The stories posted are indeed regretted, and as stated, do not reflect my approach over the years.”
Some persons commended Terrelonge for his statement, while others continued to criticise him over the Instagram posts.
“Good….glad to see it wasn’t you or with your approval,” said a man on X.
“Good move Min(ister), I know that’s not your style and when I saw it I was concerned because I know that you put Jamaica 1st and you always represent Jamaica with dignity and honour. These things happen and the swift response/action is key,” a woman commented.
But, PNP candidate for St Mary Central, Omar Newell, disagreed with the action being swift.
“After being on your status (Instagram story) for over 14 hours. Hmmm. You (Terrelonge) deleted because of the backlash,” he wrote.
Said another X user: “You (Terrelonge) should also accept personal responsibility. It sounds like you’re just throwing somebody under the bus even if they acting alone without your approval.”
The People’s National Party Youth Organization (PNPYO) also quoted Terrelonge’s post on X with the following: “I’m not tribal and immature, I have a picture with Portia.”
In an earlier statement, the PNPYO vehemently condemned the state minister’s actions, describing it as irresponsible and distasteful.
While calling for an immediate apology from Terrelonge, the youth arm of the PNP urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness to swiftly implement the promised social media policy for government members.
