Making his first visit to Sri Lanka since the release of a UN panel’s report on alleged human rights violations there, the Obama administration’s pointman for South and Central Asia Mr Robert Blake has said the US wants to take forward its ties with Colombo.
Mr Blake, who left on a five-day trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives on Friday, said he would keep his message to the Government in Colombo “private” till he actually delivers it.
“In general we want to move forward on our relations with Sri Lanka,” he told PTI before leaving for Colombo.
Mr Blake is the first top US official to visit Sri Lanka after the recent release of a UN advisory panel’s report on violations of human rights during the last phase of the LTTE war.
“Although everybody is very focused on the panel of experts report... I want to discuss full range of issues on our agenda,” he said, adding that he is very much looking forward to have an opportunity to travel to the north of the country, which was once controlled by the LTTE, for the first time ever in his career.
Mr Blake was the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, before being appointed as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
He will visit the USAID-supported programmes and meet local leaders in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, which were strongholds of LTTE during the civil war.
“These were formally LTTE controlled areas, when I was there, so I have never actually seen those cities,” he said.
From Sri Lanka, Blake would be travelling to Maldives, where he did not get a chance to visit while he was stationed in Colombo.
“I want to first go and thank Maldives for all the cooperation that they have provided in the UN ... where they have shown quite a lot of leadership, but also again to talk about our mutual interest in things like counter-piracy and counter-terrorism and again ways we can work together,” he said.
Maldives is a small but very important country for United States, Mr Blake said.