President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that the Government led by him is committed in nurturing the artistes and literature and that the literary famine faced by the country for the past 30 years ended with the eradication of terrorism. ‘The members of the literati have complete freedom for creative activities’, he said.

The President was speaking at the State Literary Festival held at Temple Trees yesterday (30 Sep). This is the first time the State Literary Festival was held at Temple Trees.

President Rajapaksa said literature could not exist in a time where even State properties were sold out for a penny.

The President was of the opinion that there should be close cooperation between the artistes and the State in efforts of rebuilding the nation after the protracted conflict. President Rajapaksa said the members of the literati who fostered the language and culture during the time when the country was in virtual anarchy should be considered as heroes by students.

The President added that the students should learn a lesson from the artistes who fostered literature when the country was in turmoil.

“The Tamil artistes in the North who nurtured their language had to leave the country and Sinhalese authors faced economic difficulties and they could not make both ends meet,” he added.

The minds of readers are free from fear and their minds are ready to appreciate outstanding creations of artistes, he added. The President said that the State in coordination with the private sector should devise a mechanism to help the writers who cannot find a publisher. He stressed that their creations should be brought to light for the benefit of people.

President Rajapaksa made a special mention of his teachers Wimalendra Wathuregama, Dayananda Gunawardena, Lionel Algama and Prof Sunanda Mahendra who instilled in him the sense of how literary creations are appreciated.

Artistes who made outstanding literary creations in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages in 2009 received awards from the President at this festival. Authors Sumithra Rahubadda, Thisuri Wanniarachchi and E Arulanandan received awards for the best novels in Sinhala, English and Tamil medium. Dr Lakshmi de Silva, retired Senior Lecturer of English at the Kelaniya University received the 2010 - Sahithyaratna Award for her contribution towards uplifting English literature in the country while Prof W S Karunathilaka won the 2010 Sahithyarathna Award for Sinhala literature. Prof Karunathilaka has written a range of books in Tamil, Sinhala and English mediums.

Mohammed Sameem who wrote a collection of Sinhala, English and Tamil books and fostered the literature of three languages was also recognized with the Sahithyarathna Award 2010.