BY NEVILLE DE SILVA

Glory be. So it came to pass that in the year of our lord two thousand and sixteen three wise people came from the east. They did not come on camels like those before them who came to Bethlehem. They winged their way, more comfortably too if they travelled business class.

They bore no gifts for an infant son. They brought words of wisdom as taught them by their masters at home and an iota of hope to the leader they travelled thousands of miles to help.

So what brought the three chosen persons to London Town? You would love this.

They came in response to a cry for help from David Cameron. Yes the same David Cameron who not too long ago was consistently slating Sri Lanka for its human rights record and other alleged violations, turning a blind eye as did the heroic Nelson, on his country’s years (centuries?) of moral turpitudes but quick to lecture others.

Yes the same British prime minister who went to Colombo to attend the Commonwealth summit in November 2013 and then, like the Pied Piper, led a media caravan to Jaffna where he promised Britain’s undying support to bring Sri Lanka to book and subsequently did so through an anti-Sri Lanka resolution at the UNHRC in Geneva, which by some quirk in thinking, we co-sponsored.

Yes, the leader of the country that cruelly evicted an entire population of Chagossian people from Diego Garcia violating their human rights and allowing the US to use its military base there for “extraordinary rendition” in violation of international law.

Yes it is the country that has persistently hectored us on morality and civilized conduct while hiding its own tainted record behind reams of sanctimonious humbug.

Today Prime Minister Cameron and the country he leads find themselves in the throes of a crucial vote that could and would have a serious impact on the lives of its people today and for generations to come.

In four days time the people of this country will go to the polls to decide whether it should remain in the European Union or leave. It is a momentous decision, not like our democratic traditions that lead us every five years or so to the polling booths providing an opportunity to rid ourselves of one set of dubious characters ruling us and replace them an equally nasty lot, if not worse.

Thursday’s referendum is doubly important because of the fractious political debate which is tearing the political establishment apart to a degree that has rarely, if ever, been seen in British politics.

The Conservative Party government itself is split down the middle. This is clearly seen in the leading party figures who are manning the barricades on either side of the debate.

The Labour Party has not escaped the ravages of an increasingly acrimonious and personal campaign with even party leader Jeremy Corbyn being accused of lackluster support for those who wish to remain a part of the 28-nation European Union.

I had intended to devote this column to discuss the central issues being presented by the two sides and some of the confusion that reigns among voters since much of the fear-mongering particularly from Cameron and the “Remain” side, is speculation and what is presented as ‘fact’ by both sides is often conjecture.

But the arrival of the three wise persons from the east bearing words of warning to those who trace their lineage back to the country from whence the three came changed the intended direction of this column.

After all who are we to dwell on economic doom and gloom or hordes of immigrants from an expanding EU over-running this country and tearing apart its welfare services when we should be reaching for such weighty tomes as the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, the UK Treasury analysis, the reports of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the OECD as recommended reading by the rulers back in Sri Lanka.

If we have not had the occasion to read and absorb the Cassandra-like prognostications then we should listen to and be enthralled by the worthies who have done so, probably to frighten the voters with “goni billa” stories we used to hear as children.

So on Wednesday evening the literati and the professional glitterati and some that belonged to neither but almost all with roots that stretched to Sri Lanka gathered at the High Commission to hear those words of wisdom from the chosen three.

If Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harsha de Silva and the Prime Minister’s Deputy Chief of Staff Rosy Senanayake seemed rather tentative in how to carry Cameron’s baggage to the gathered community, one cannot blame them.

What on earth were they doing there touting for a Tory leader who was under siege by a powerful section of his own party which might be planning to do to mighty Caesar what Cassius and company did to the Roman Senator?

It is not coincidental that all three are from the United National Party which has close links with the Conservative Party both being members of the International Democratic Union.

Scratching each other’s back is a long standing political game. But one wonders what the consequences of this public support for Cameron who leads the “Remain” campaign would be for Sri Lanka if those who want ‘out’ of the EU triumph at the polls?

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in a