Myanmar leader Lieutenant-General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo has urged literati in the country to serve the national interest and educate people with literature as well as to lead people applying modern arts, new thoughts, theories and ideas.
Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is first secretary of the State Peace and Development Council, made the call at a ceremony to present state literary awards to winners for 2006 in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Sunday, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.
Noting that penetration of alien culture and customs is unavoidable, Tin Aung Myint Oo stressed the need for the literati to create sound literature that can safeguard the national culture.
The national-level literary awards for 2006, presented to encourage preservation and promotion of literary and cultural heritage, included one Life Time Achievement Award, 10 National Literary Awards (NLA) and some Sarpay Beikman (literature house) Manuscript Awards.
The NLA, the highest of its kind in the country, cover those in novels, short stories, poems, belles-letters, translation and literature.
To raise the level of Myanmar literature, the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association also organized literary talk shows, book fairs and ceremonies to pay respects to senior and old-aged literate in the country.
The government presents the NLAs to successful writers annually, while the Sarpay Beikman extends its manuscript award to literary talents every year.
The Sarpay Beikman was founded as the "Burma (now Myanmar) Translation Society" in 1947 and has published numerous magazines, lexicons, illustrated journals and volumes of Myanmar encyclopedia.
As a secondary to the literary awards at national level, best-known writer Pakokku U Ohn Pe also presents manuscript awards to writers annually through his own literary fund.
In 2006, 13 local writers won his awards which cover those in collected poem genre, novel genre, collected short stories genre, treatise genre and literature for knowledge genre.
Source: Xinhua
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