During the visit of the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni to Rhodes, for the opening of the Pervola, gardens of the Grand Master’s Palace, ERT asked about developments in the matter of Sculptors of the Parthenon focusing on the Unesco Intergovernmental Conference, made the following statement:
“On Friday evening, the work of the special intergovernmental committee of Unesco, related to the discussion about the return of illegally exported cultural objects to their countries of origin, was completed.
As has been known for the last 40 years, one of the permanent topics on the agenda is about the Parthenon Sculptures. And this time, the committee reached a recommendation in which it called on both sides, the British and the Greek, to resolve this issue that dates back several decades.
Greece is always open to dialogue. He tried and will continue to try, so that the great national goal, which is the satisfaction of the national need to reunite the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens, in the Acropolis Museum, becomes a reality. One of the interesting points of the session was the discussion that took place, around the famous – in quotation marks – “firmani” of Elgin. I put this in quotation marks because it is an argument from the British side that has been proven false.
There was no Ottoman firman that allowed Elgin to treat the Parthenon Sculptures with the cruelty he treated. At the meeting, the Turkish representative confirmed what the Greek side has been supporting for years. Without firman”.
British Museum: “We expect realistic solutions”
Ready to develop a new relationship with Greece, regarding the Parthenon Sculptures, the management of the British Museum appears, according to a statement made by its representative at ERT, on the occasion of the statements of the archaeologist Turkalas Zeynep Bozwhich supports their return to Greece.
“The British Museum recognizes Greece’s strong desire to return London’s Parthenon Sculptures to Athens. This is an issue with a very long history, and we understand and respect the strong feelings that this debate has sparked. the Museum representative initially reported.
And he added: “We want to create a new relationship with Greece – a ‘Parthenon partnership’ – and explore the possibility of new ways of working together (with our Greek friends) in the hope that the understanding of the Parthenon Sculptures will continue to inspire. The British Museum has cared for the Parthenon Sculptures for more than two centuries and our deep investment in them is something we share with our Greek colleagues that it will be the basis for the new relationship and the realistic solutions we are looking for.