Dear Mr. Blake,

I am once again writing to you regarding your biased and one-sided view on the killing of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Just yesterday on January 9th, 2007, I reviewed your statement on civilian killing and it is clear that the only time you come swinging with so-called condemnation is when the majority of the country’s Sinhalese civilians are killed.

In your latest statement on January 9, 2007 you claimed, “Attacks that deliberately target civilians are clear acts of terrorism. The United States extends its deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.”

It was sad that not a single condemnation was made in the recent air force bombings of civilian targets in Mannar on January 5, 2007 where by innocent children lost their lives. Your representation of the American people’s value of life is quite tarnished when you take sides with civilian killing in this part of the world. While death does not discriminate you have decided to discriminate death itself.

In your statement you continue:

“We reiterate that there can be no military solution to this conflict. 25 years of terrorism has not improved the lives of the Tamil people. Similarly, the on going violence in Vakarai has caused significant hardship for Sri Lankans living in that area. The solution in our view lies in a negotiated settlement that meets the aspirations of all of Sri Lanka’s communities – Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim. The current APRC process and the SLFP-UNP agreement to cooperate on the peace process mark a significant opportunity to develop a power sharing proposal that can form the basis for renewed peace talks.”

1) While you give lip service that there cannot be a military solution, you continue to arm and train Sri Lankan military forces under the pretext of counter terrorism help and thereby continue the killing saga of Tamil civilians.

2) While claiming violence hardship in Vakarai, you fall short of giving food for starving Tamils in Vakarai; once again, it is not the lip service but the action that speaks much louder and the duplicity of your political statements do not give any food for starving Tamils in Vakari.

3) While you claim 25 years of terrorism has gone anywhere, you fail to mention that 25 years of power sharing attempts and non implementation of accords by the successful racist Sinhala government did not go anywhere either. While you continue to request the acceleration of power sharing with the Tamils by the Sinhala racists and extend to give all the opportunity in the world to share power, you fail to give that opportunity to continue the struggle for self determination and freedom for the minority Tamils; this is quite biased and immoral in the view of the American people.

All in all, it is about time your actions reflect your political statements, your statements alone will not resolve conflict of more than 25 years. Help the starving Tamils in Vakari. Ask all civilian killings to be stopped; yes, Tamils do live in Sri Lanka, too.

Sincerely,

Professor Aaron Rajah
San Diego, California
The United States of America.

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Profile : Robert O. Blake

Robert O. Blake arrived in Sri Lanka on September 8, 2006 to take up his duties as Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives.  Ambassador Blake is a career Foreign Service Officer.  He entered the Foreign Service in 1985.  He has served at the American Embassies in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt.  He also has held a number of positions at the State Department in Washington.  Most recently, Ambassador Blake served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 – 2006.

Ambassador Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984.  He is married to Sofia Blake.  They have three daughters.