Ask Ass. Sec. Robert Blake a question on Sri Lanka over Twitter

Image courtesy Colombo Page

Robert Blake is the Assistant Secretary, South And Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department and former Ambassador to Sri Lanka. The man likes cricket and our own Murali, and given his current portfolio, is a key figure in US-Sri Lanka relations post-war.

He is currently taking questions on Twitter on US relations with South Asia.

https://twitter.com/usembsl/status/192098700833726465

Through the hashtag #AskSCA, there are already a number of questions from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but very few from Sri Lanka. We have posed four, based on the US Senate’s Committee On Foreign Relations report on Sri Lanka (SRI LANKA: RECHARTING U.S. STRATEGY AFTER THE WAR), published in December 2009, which has a number of important recommendations we’ve not heard about since.

https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/192447985777520643

https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/192447995483140096

https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/192448006493192193

https://twitter.com/groundviews/status/192448015359934465

In addition to ours, @Apelankawe and @thrishantha have posed some interesting questions.

https://twitter.com/thrishantha/status/190067440342933506

https://twitter.com/apelankawe/status/191882256841846786

https://twitter.com/apelankawe/status/191883208256790531

Till now, not a single mainstream media Twitter account in Sri Lanka, or even full time journalist, has responded to the call to ask Amb. Blake questions pertinent to US – Sri Lanka relations, and particularly given the resolution in Geneva, what the US State Department really thinks will change in Sri Lanka over the coming year.

If you’re on Twitter, please make use of this opportunity to pose a question to Amb. Blake, who will only be on for around 30 minutes and given his official portfolio, will not only be responding to Sri Lankan issues. The earlier you pose a question, the better chance it has of a response.