Business should combine with efforts to bring communal peace and solidarity in Sri Lanka. This belief, president, Sabaragamuwa Chamber of Commerce and Industries, C.J. Gunaseela, swears by. His successful efforts at defusing many a communally explosive situation in the provinces, testifies to the soundness of his thinking.

"Businessmen of Sri Lanka should get together to bring social harmony, because beneath the deceptively placid surface of local public life, tensions simmer of a communal kind in some localities’, Gunaseela told this newspaper. He said that neither business nor material advancement would be possible amid social tensions, besides humanity being steadily eroded in these conditions. He said that conflict resolution efforts have been carried out by him in multi-ethnic geographical areas, such as, Mawenella and Galle. Coomunicating effectively with antagonistic groups could defuse tensions he said. In these peace-building efforts, the Business for Peace Alliance ( BPA ), proved an able partner, Gunaseela explained.

While joining in efforts to empower the numerous regional Chambers by educating their members on business issues and by meeting their numerous needs, Gunaseela is also actively involved in the BPA"s ‘Learn and Lead’ project, centred on providing sound educational opportunities in major educational institutions in Colombo, for provincial underprivileged youngsters.

All this he carries out while functioning as proprietor of ‘Ranlanka’, jewellers and gem merchants,Ratnapura. He is also a crepe rubber exporter and is currently beginning to feel some of the ill-effects of the global economic down-turn. Rubber prices are down by half and synthetic and natural rubber exports have been affected by a decline in global demand for these products. The jewellery market too ‘is down’.

It is worldwide transportation which has declined by some 40 percent which is affecting rubber sales, since there is a consequent plunge in the demand for tyres and tubes, Gunaseela said. This process also has the effect of bringing down fuel prices. ‘Sri Lanka would experience the full impact of the crisis in two to three months’, Gunaseela said.