Economic development alone insufficient - PM

Economic Development alone was insufficient for building a new Sri Lanka. Art and Culture should also be developed and imbibed in peoples, hearts to achieve that objective said Prime Minister and Chairman, Tower Hall Theatre Foundation Board of Trustees Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.

He said so presiding over the certificate awards ceremony of the Tower Hall Performing Arts school at the Sausiripaya Auditorium on Monday.

A batch of students who had completed a two year higher diploma course in Drama and Performing Arts received their certificates from the Prime Minister at this ceremony.

The Prime Minister said "Our objective is to build a new Sri Lanka where society upheld humanism, love, compassion and other human virtues.

Arts and culture will be helpful in achieving that goal. A person who loved art and culture had a sense of feeling and brotherhood towards their fellow citizens.

The Prime Minister said a new awakening can be observed in every village today. This was the result of setting up cultural centres at village level. Although this program encountered much criticism at the beginning it had proved immensely beneficial with passage of time.

He also described the Tower Hall Theatre as a fine institution which offered a proper environment for the promotion of Arts and Culture. Prof. Tissa Kariyawasam, Cultural Affairs and National Heritage Ministry Secretary G.L.W. Samarasinghe and Tower Hall Theatre Foundation Director General Douglas Siriwardena also spoke.