As if to mock fate itself, the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has committed the unforced error of members abusing working representatives of the media, just at the time that journalists around the world were reporting dastardly attacks on press freedom.

Can anyone explain what is happening to the PNP of today? Older journalists can recall when the media-friendly PNP was the darling of the press – a situation that has gradually deteriorated to this Monday’s fiasco at the party’s St Andrew headquarters.

And, while we welcome the full-throated apology by the party leadership and, in particular, its deputy General Secretary Mr Dexroy Martin, we wish to advise the PNP that sorry doesn’t always make it right.

An apology is no consolation to a traumatised woman journalist who is threatened with rape for doing nothing more than the time-honoured business of covering a newsworthy activity at a place where it is assumed that the media is always welcomed.

The PNP culprit must be identified and appropriately disciplined in a way that satisfies the right-thinking public. It must not be swept under the carpet, as we are accustomed to, by the mere promise of an investigation.

Moreover, the PNP should clothe itself in sackcloth and ashes over the recognition that the ugly, mindless tribal politics in which people were beaten and maimed for wearing green for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and orange for the PNP, is still alive. In 2023, news teams cannot be worrying about what colours to wear to Old Hope Road or Belmont Road.

It is not possible to dismiss this as an outlier because the confrontation with journalists about wearing green to PNP headquarters was led by no less than an official of the party, Mr Martin. Again, this cannot be corrected by a mere apology.

The party leadership has correctly dissociated itself “from Mr Martin’s behaviour”, and said it “would like to take this opportunity to reassure the media that such behaviour will not be tolerated within our party. We value the role of the media in a democratic society and recognise that the media has an important role to play in holding public officials accountable”.

The media will, of course, be holding the PNP to its pledge to “take all necessary steps to ensure that our members understand the importance of this commitment and that such incidents do not recur”.

Without verifiable action, these apologies are nothing more than words. It is better not to make an insincere apology and face the consequences by showing people who you are, as was the case with the Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke over the “massa” comment regarding Mr Mark Golding.

At the same time, we in this space take no comfort from the grandstanding by the Jamaica Labour Party’s spokesman, Mr Robert Nesta Morgan, over the PNP’s missteps, until that party finds the courage to deal with Mr Everald Warmington for his many rude and uncouth encounters with media representatives.

As a country, we are still fortunate that these local attacks have not yet mushroomed into violence, unlike many other countries highlighted during World Press Freedom Day on May 3. We must ensure that never happens here.