SAARC Writers Urged to Fight Religious FanaticismThe third SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Writers Conference opened in Dhaka Friday with a call for fighting religious fanaticism, ethnic violence, repression on women and terrorism in the region.About 100 poets and writers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh are attending the conference. Opening the two-day conference at Begum Sufia Kamal auditorium in Dhaka, Professor Kabir Chowdhury said the writers have a moral responsibility to fight these evils through their writings. Kabir Chowdhury expressed the hope that the conference will help the writers of this region get a better position to pursue their creative endeavors more effectively both from the perspective of art and of society at large. The delegates from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan echoed the sentiment that the conference, besides helping forge yet better relations among the writers of the region, will greatly contribute to further cement the people-to-people bonds of friendship in the region. After the inauguration, Bangladeshi poet Shmsur Rahman was awarded the first "SAARC Writers Award for Life-time Excellence." The award carries a citation and cash amounting to 223,000 taka (US$4,100). |
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