State_SCA, Twitter, 18 April 2012 - Have a question on U.S. relations with South Asia? #India #Nepal #SriLanka #Maldives #Bangladesh A/S Blake will take q's via #AskSCA on April 18th @8am EST. We encourage you to submit your questions early, we only have Assistant Secretary Blake for approx 30 minutes. Send to #AskSCA

AP, WASHINGTON, 13 March 2012 - Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, said that accountability and reconciliation was in Sri Lanka's best interests, so "they really can achieve peace and security and not sow anger in their own community that could give rise to new violence." "Experience in many civil conflicts around the world has shown that countries that don't take adequate measures to address reconciliation and accountability frequently experience a regeneration of the insurgency that they faced," he told The Associated Press. "We could see very much that similar situation in Sri Lanka."

US Embassy for Sri Lanka & Maldives, February 13, 2012 - Transcript of Press Conference by Under Secretary Maria Otero and Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake, Jr. in Colombo - I confirmed that the United States will support a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council in March that provides an opportunity for the government of Sri Lanka to describe what it intends to do to implement the LLRC’s recommendations and advance reconciliation as well as address accountability, human rights, and democracy concerns. Ultimately the government should address the needs of all communities in Sri Lanka by creating independent mechanisms that support reconciliation, democracy and accountability for serious human rights abuses. It is critical to ensure the rule of law to foster lasting reconciliation. We strongly encourage the government of Sri Lanka to work with international bodies including the United Nations to address these matters.

Tamils for Obama, January 06, 2012 - Tamils for Obama wrote a letter to Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake in which they recognized his role in forcing the GOSL to create an investigating body—the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission—and asked him to denounce the commission’s final report as biased and inadequate, and to call for an international tribunal to investigate the war crimes committed during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war.

Assistant Secretary Blake: I talked with all of the senior government officials about the need for the government of Sri Lanka to engage positively with the UN Human Rights Council. I know there’s already a delegation that is there right now led by Mahinda Samarasinghe. I hope that delegation can have the opportunity to brief members of the council, not only on the plans with regard to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, but also on the wider range of steps that the government is taking with respect to important matters such as its dialogue with the Tamil National Alliance and many of the other important issues of concern to Tamils here on the island.

Colombo, 14 September 2011 - "It is important to deploy Tamil police in the north so the military no longer needs to perform these functions", Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said today at the conclusion of a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 24, 2011- Ahead of the reported visit to Colombo of Ambassador Robert Blake, Tamils for Obama urged him to understand the enormous suffering of Tamil civilians over the years. Most recently was the UN-reported killing of 40,000 Tamil civilians near the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, and the widespread and on-going rape of Tamil women by Sri Lankan Army personnel, which also has been reported by the UN.

Read out on Secretary of State Clinton's Trip to India

Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary

Washington, DC
July 22, 2011

1:30 P.M. EDT

MODERATOR: Good afternoon and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. We’re very pleased to have Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Robert Blake with us again at the Foreign Press Center. He’s going to give us a readout of Secretary Clinton’s recent trip to India, and without further ado, Assistant Secretary Blake

Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs - The United States has continually expressed to the Government of Sri Lanka the importance of implementing a credible and independent process to ensure accountability. Domestic authorities have responsibility to ensure that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law are held accountable. International mechanisms can become appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations.

So I think there are a great many issues that still need to be addressed, and from what I heard today the Government is committed to doing that and is committed to a sincere dialogue with the TNA. But again, the proof will be in results, not in promises. So we very much hope, again, that this will result in concrete progress towards the issues that I just discussed and the others that are of concern to the Tamils. So this will remain a very high priority for the United States and I hope for the Government as well.

I am encouraged that External Affairs Minister Peiris will communicate soon with the UN Secretary General and by his statement that Sri Lanka wants cordial relations with the Secretary General and his team. The UN report underscores the importance of a durable political solution that can forge a prosperous, democratic and united Sri Lanka, but also the importance of dialogue between the UN and the Government of Sri Lanka.