Sri Lanka, on Friday, launched a scathing attack on two UN advisors, accusing them of issuing a statement without first consulting the Government, stating that it was both insensitive and ill-conceived. The Foreign Ministry made public a letter sent by Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, where he responds to a joint statement issued by the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng and the United Nations Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect Karen Smith on 13 May 2019. Dr. Perera said that the Government of Sri Lanka had carefully reviewed the joint statement of 13 May 2019, issued as a note to correspondents, where two UN advisors had expressed alarm over the "growing acts of violence on the basis of religion" in Sri Lanka. “While noting your concerns, we were taken aback by your oversimplified narrative of events that are nuanced and complex in nature,” Dr. Perera said. He said the joint statement had been issued at a time the Government was taking stringent measures to maintain law and order and quell unrest in the interest of safety of all, and that it skews the situation on the ground and interprets post-21 April events through a narrow prism of stereotypical labels, while disregarding the deeper and more nuanced issues at play. The Ambassador noted that for the past decade, the people of Sri Lanka had been enjoying their hard-won peace and freedoms, and had embarked on the arduous path of reconciliation and national healing after nearly three decades of struggling against separatist terrorism. Dr. Perera said that as has been perpetrated by ruthless terrorist groups inspired by ISIL/Da’esh with global reach in many parts of the world, the horrendous Easter Sunday attacks were intended to create division among us and destroy the very fabric of our multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multicultural society, and deal an intentional blow to our economy. “All peace-loving citizens of Sri Lanka are still trying to come to terms with the shock and aftermath. While we mourn the loss of innocent lives, the support and solidarity from our friends in the international community, including the UN Secretary-General, have been overwhelming. We were reminded that we are fighting a common adversary in terrorism, and its associated manifestations of radicalisation and violent extremism, which had taken many innocent lives from across many parts of the world in recent times,” he said. In this context, Dr. Perera said that it is quite “insensitive and ill-conceived” that the two UN advisors did not consider it important to share their concerns with the Sri Lankan Government first, before going public with the statement. “This would have also been in keeping with the key objectives of your respective mandates, i.e. to provide early warning and advocacy. We are particularly disappointed that your statement comes at a time when Sri Lanka has been following a well-acknowledged, open, and constructive engagement with the UN system and its human rights mechanism, including with the special procedures and mandate holders for the past several years. Eight such special procedures have visited Sri Lanka in the last four years, which ranked among a handful of countries with regard to accommodating such engagement. In this context and spirit, we would have welcomed any constructive criticism or observation from your offices as well. Your prejudiced action only serves to sensationalise issues at a time the Government is taking stringent measures to maintain law and order and quell unrest in the interest of the safety of all,” he said. He also said that the statement by the UN demonstrates a limited understanding of events and is an expression of preconceived opinions. He said some of the claims in the UN statement were irresponsible and dangerous and did not conform to the independent nature and credibility of the offices of the UN advisors.