{"id":36048,"date":"2012-03-27T14:31:15","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T14:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=36048"},"modified":"2012-03-27T14:45:11","modified_gmt":"2012-03-27T14:45:11","slug":"tamils-for-obama-meets-with-blake-on-29th-feb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/tamils-for-obama-meets-with-blake-on-29th-feb\/","title":{"rendered":"Tamils For Obama Meets With Blake On 29th Feb"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Delegates from Tamils for\u00a0Obama\u00a0accepted an invitation from Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs\u00a0Robert Blake\u00a0and met with him and other\u00a0State Department officials\u00a0on February 29, 2012. The delegates discussed matters concerning\u00a0Tamils\u00a0in\u00a0Sri Lanka\u00a0with Blake and several State Department officials and then handed Blake two copies of\u00a0Tamils\u00a0for Obama\u2019s petition for a \u201cReferendum in\u00a0Sri Lanka\u00a0to Gain Self-determination for Tamils,\u201d and asked him to hand the second copy to Secretary Clinton.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New York, New York (PRWEB) March 27, 2012<\/p>\n

Delegates from Tamils for Obama met with\u00a0Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake\u00a0last February 29, 2012, and discussed matters important to Tamils in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also handed him a copy of our Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-determination for Tamils,\u201d said a press spokesman for Tamils for Obama, \u201cIt is modeled on the one that was recently voted on in southern Sudan, and which led to the creation of the new country of South Sudan. We hope for a similar referendum and result in northeastern Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also gave him a second copy which we asked him to pass along to Secretary of State Clinton. He promised it would be done, and immediately passed the copy along to a subordinate official to take to Secretary Clinton. This petition was signed by more than 31,000 people, Tamils and non-Tamils,\u201d said the spokesman. \u201cTamils for Obama has been gathering signatures for this petition since last June.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blake was accompanied at the meeting by three other State Department officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we handed the petition to Secretary Blake, we commented that it was appropriate in a democracy to get the opinion of the people who will be affected by an official action,\u201d said one of the Tamils for Obama delegates who attended the meeting. \u201cWe think that the consent of the people makes any subsequent action more legitimate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to thank all those people who signed the petition,\u201d said the press spokesman. \u201cWe think that if our effort is successful and a country of Northeastern Sri Lanka\u2014Tamil Eelam\u2014results, this may become a historic document, and these signatures will be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To see the Referendum, go to:\u00a0http:\/\/www.tamilsforobama.com\/Referendum2011\/english.asp<\/a><\/p>\n

To see the initial press release \u201cTamils for Obama Launches a Signature Campaign for a Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-Determination for Tamils\u201d, go to:http:\/\/www.prweb.com\/releases\/2011\/6\/prweb8503874.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

Tamils for Obama is a politically active group of Tamil Americans. We supported Hillary Clinton and then\u00a0Barack Obama\u00a0in the Democratic primary and US general election in 2008. We believe that over 70,000 Tamil civilians were massacred during the last weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war. We have watched the behavior of the Sri Lankan Singhalese victors after the war, and we strongly conclude that Tamils in Sri Lanka will only be safe when this unfortunate island is divided into two states.<\/p>\n

To contact the group, call at\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(617) 765-4394\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and speak to, or leave a message for, the Communication Director, Tamils for Obama.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.TamilsForObama.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Email: info(at)TamilsforObama(dot)com<\/p>\n

Communication Director
\nTamils for Obama
\n(617) 765-4394
\nEmail Information<\/a><\/p>\n

YAHOO NEWS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":36049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[2343,2342,2341,2339,2340,2338,1150,2337],"class_list":["post-36048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","tag-blake","tag-clinton","tag-obama","tag-referendum-in-sri-lanka-to-gain-self-determination-for-tamils","tag-tamil-daispora-politics","tag-tamil-diaspora-in-us","tag-tamils","tag-tamils-for-obama-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTamils For Obama Meets With Blake On 29th Feb - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/tamils-for-obama-meets-with-blake-on-29th-feb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tamils For Obama Meets With Blake On 29th Feb - 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