‘A STUPID ACT’

A FORMER Jamaican ambassador says the diplomatic corps is likely to be “disturbed” by the dishonouring of two former prime ministers in a controversial post that appeared on the Instagram page of Alando Terrelonge, state minister in the foreign affairs ministry.

Ambassador Curtis Ward, who served as deputy permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations between January 2000 and December 2001, said the minister dishonoured former prime ministers Portia Simpson Miller and P. J. Patterson when his job was to represent the entire country.

He said the country’s two former leaders hold stellar reputations internationally, and, undoubtedly, Terrelonge’s action is likely to attract scrutiny.

“But apart from that, the local diplomatic corps in Kingston does monitor the social media pages of the purveyors of Jamaica’s foreign policy. I think they would probably look at this as a stupid act,” said Ward.

He said he hoped the junior minister’s response was truthful though outraged Jamaicans have said that it amounts to blame-shifting.

Late Tuesday night, a photo was posted of Terrelonge in conversation with journalist Nadine White at the Jamaican High Commission in London. In the background of the picture, two Jamaican flag emojis were used to cover Simpson Miller and Patterson’s faces.

Simpson Miller and Patterson are former leaders of the opposition People’s National Party (PNP).

The faces of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and former prime ministers Edward Seaga and Bruce Golding remained visible.

Holness, the leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was preceded as JLP leader by Golding and Seaga.

The post was captioned: “Big tings happening in Jamaica. Taking the message to the diaspora! See you in Kingston, June 16-19.”

The date is in reference to the Jamaica Diaspora Conference, a biennial global forum that connects persons of Jamaican descent living across the globe, with the aim of strengthening linkages and building alliances that will fuel the island’s growth and development on the global stage.

On Wednesday, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, said during a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House that Terrelonge was engaged in Europe in the conference’s virtual satellite launches and would be in Miami today for the Florida launch.

She, however, did not address the matter that has incensed many Jamaicans, including members of the PNP.

APOLOGY FROM TERRELONGE

Terrelonge blamed one of his team members for the post that was made to his personal page.

In an X post, which was accompanied by a photograph of him and Simpson Miller embracing, Terrelonge said he was advised of posts made by one of his team members with access to his social media.

He said the posts were not in keeping with his style.

Terrelonge said the team member was instructed to remove the posts, which had been up for hours, immediately.

“I have since removed him from access to all my social media accounts. The stories posted are regretted, and as stated, do not reflect my approach over the years,” the state minister said.

However, Ward said Terrelonge must accept blame for the posts, asserting that the staff member had been acting on his behalf with his authority.

“I think we do find that junior ministers do make silly mistakes from time to time. I can only hope that Mr Terrelonge learns from this. I thought it a little bit mystifying that a junior minister is so busy that he allowed staff member access to his personal social media platform,” said Ward.

He said better care must be taken in managing the pages.

Raymond Pryce, the PNP’s constituency representative for St Catherine East Central, where Terrelonge is the member of parliament, on Wednesday criticised him for the posts.

Pryce argued that Terrelonge’s “half-baked apology” did not do away with the damage caused.

“This adds insult to injury even if the explanation that a junior officer in his staff had made the initial post is true - the cursory use of a photograph with the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller is not an acceptable statement of culpability,” Pryce told The Gleaner.

He continued: “The state minister needs to understand that his office operates at a high level of diplomacy, so he should have had a system in place to ensure only acceptable posts are published.”

He said the viral images can only be described as inflammatory, unintentional or otherwise, and nothing short of genuine contrition is required.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com