The Greek daily newspaper,Ta Nea featured an interview by Yannis Andritsopoulos with Former Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire in their Saturday edition. In the interview, Thangam Debbonaire refers to the 'theft' of the Parthenon Marbles and that the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, now UK's PM, is keen to see a solution to this long running impasse.

Thangam Debbonaire views the Acropolis Museum as the right place to display the surviving sculptures and is looking forward to visiting Athens this weekend as she is will be speaking on Monday at an event organised by the Parthenon Project.

Thangam Debbonaire reiterates in the interview that it is the Labour governments continued position to see the British Museum find a solution that is acceptable to both Greece and UK's cultural institution.

Thangam Debbonaire also used the same analogy that PM Mitotakis used during his Novembervisit to the UK last year, where reference was made to the Mona Lisa and what we would all say if we had to view her in two halves. She also feels that most UK parliamentarians would wish to see a solution as the request for reunification has raged on for so long and is encouraged by Nicholas Cullinan's views for the future of the British Museum.

The Parthenon Project campaign includes the transformation of the Duveen Gallery at the British Museum into a gallery that would be renamed the “Prince Philip Hellenic Gallery” to display never-before-seen Greek artefacts, a proposal that excites Thangam Debbonaire, and we remind ourselves that it is 24 years since the first Greek minister, voiced the will of Greece to offer the British Museum artefacts from Greece not seen outside of Greece (should the sculptures in London be reunited with those in Athens).

More on this story also in Daily Mail & MSN.

Plus in The Times on Monday 30 September 2024, Oliver Wright adds: 'government sources played down the prospect of an early solution, saying that Debbonaire was not speaking on behalf of ministers'.

“We have no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Parthenon sculptures,” said a spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Looks as though the campaigns, yes there are more than one (!), continue, apace.

The Daily Mail also reported on George Clooney's continued support for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. 

Published on 18 May, Gavin Madeley wrote this article for the Scottish Daily Mail and you can read the full article by following the link here.

Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) emailed Gavin Medley as she was puzzled by the naivete of some of the statements in the article. The statements made i the Daily Mail article are in italics and Janet's comments are in bold.

'The fifth-century-BC statues have been housed in the British Museum since 1817 after they were removed from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis in Athens by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, the then Ottoman ambassador.

In an online statement, the trustees of the British Museum say that Elgin acted with the full knowledge and permission of the legal authorities of the day in both Athens and London.'

Where do the Trustees go for their historical ‘facts’ to issue statements like this? The least they should do is quote their sources. It is not a true statement and the Trustees ought to mug up on the facts. 

‘The sculptures on display in London convey huge public benefit as part of the museum’s worldwide collection,’ they add. '

Undoubtedly they do. But one can’t help asking which public of what country do they refer to? 

The Hellenic Republic is entirely excluded from this benefit.

'The statement reiterates that the trustees have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon sculptures by Greece, ‘only for the permanent removal of all of the sculptures in its care to Athens’.'

A disingenuous way of saying that the Greeks are asking for the return of what is rightfully theirs. And certainly NOT ‘all the sculptures in its care’ - just those displayed in the Duveen Galleries.