Stwa literary works presented to President:

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Stwa literary works presented to President:
Sinhala-Tamil must be taught from pre-school - President
Writers have a vital role to play in building friendship, faith and understanding among various communities in this country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said addressing Sinhala-Tamil Writers' Association (STWA) members at a ceremony at Temple Trees, Colombo, recently.
The occasion was the presentation of a series of literary works published by the STWA in recent times to the President.
President Rajapaksa said even though the 30-year scourge of terrorism had ended, fear and suspicion which prevailed in the minds of Sri Lankans had not been fully erased.
A collection of literary works published by the Sinhala-Tamil Writers’ Association being presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a ceremony at Temple Trees Colombo recently. Ministers Dallas Alahapperuma and Bandula Gunawardena and Publisher Sirisumana Godage are also in the picture.
One way through which this remaining negative mental state could be eradicated and mutual understanding could rebuilt was by publishing more and more literary works in Sinhala and Tamil languages, the President said. President Rajapaksa said he considered the language problem as a major cause which damaged communal amity and harmony.
"We should also consider the 30-year conflict as another lesson. I firmly believe that both Sinhala and Tamil should be taught to our future generation from pre-school level. A national program should be launched to teach Sinhala to Tamil students and Tamil to Sinhala students. We should consider it our prime duty to prevent a repetition of such a calamity in the future," he said.
The President said he highly valued and appreciated the services rendered by the STWA to promote Sinhala and Tamil literature and friendship and understanding among the two communities.
The STWA delegation also presented a memorandum containing certain recommendations for promoting peace friendship and co-existence among all communities in the country.
The President said he would bring the memorandum to the notice of the relevant sections for appropriate action.
Ministers Dallas Alahapperuma and Bandula Gunawardena and STWA members Denagama Siriwardena, T Joseph, Vajira Prabath Wijayasinghe, Antony Jeewa, Tennyson Perera, Dickwelle Kamal, Amarasinghe Kudagalara, Padma Somakanthan, M L Vidanapathirana, Mamon Thavi, Upali Leelaratne, Ravi Ratnavel, S Ariyanathan, L D de S Ubhayaratne, Mohamed Razook, Kamal Perera and Publisher Sirisumana Godage were also present.
Courtesy: Daily News