Jakarta, Feb. 10 -- A festival to commemorate the centenary of the birth of renowned Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer was held from February 6 to 8 in his hometown, Blora, Central Java.

While launching the festival, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon said he agreed with Pramoedya's view that "no matter how intelligent a person is, as long as they do not write, they will disappear from history."

"It teaches us all, primarily the younger generation, that writing is working for our own 'immortality,' and those who do not do so will vanish from civilization," Zon noted in his written remarks on Sunday.

Activities organized to commemorate the centenary, which began on February 6, included cultural dialogues, a screening of the film adapta...