Monday 15 April 2019,  Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Maria Vlazaki, Secretary-General of Ministry of Culture and Sports:

"Honourable organisers and participants; dear guests, colleagues and friends, dear campaigners.With great interest and attention, we watched the speakers' presentations and video messages during today’s Conference held at the Acropolis Museum. Each presentation at today's International Conference for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures was an in-depth approach to the quest to reunite the Parthenon sculptures and each one approached this from a different perspective.

Let us recall the main points of today's speeches: During the inaugural session, the Excellency President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, emphasised that this international conference is yet another link in the long chain of the international struggle for the reunification of this unique cultural collection.He underlined that the fair request for the return of the Sculptures has a long history and began after Greece gained her independence. Moreover, the construction and opening of the Acropolis Museum further weakens the sacrilegious "alibi" of the English side that stated that Greece had no proper place for the sculptures to be exhibited.

(To read the President's full speech, please follow the link here.)

The Minister of Culture and Sports, Ms Myrsini Zorba, stressed that 37 years have passed since the UNESCO Conference in Mexico when Melina Mercouri first formally called for the return of the Sculptures, and referred to their removal as  cultural vandalism, an open trauma for the eyes of all humanity.In the decades that followed, Greece and the Ministry of Culture supported, the return of the Sculptures and their reunification in order for the monument to acquire its integrity - a one-way street, a lasting pledge that ‘we’ have a debt to resolve through dialogue.A pending historical, cultural, scientific, aesthetic, political and ethical quest towards the reunification of the Sculptures continues. The Minister congratulated all who helped, promoted and defended the claim, and in particular the national committees.

The President of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Mr. Dimitrios Pantermalis made a very interesting retrospect presentation of the history of the Parthenon monument, presenting in a way particularly characteristic and explaining the ‘adventures’ of three different parts of the sculptures, to their acquisition by the British Museum. He then noted the need to further investigate the Elgin material.

Mr. Christoforos Argyropoulos, President of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, and President of the Melina Merkouri Foundation, argued that in the discourse related to the repatriation of the sculptures from the Parthenon, the Greek side uses real arguments - whereas the British, deliberately and repeatedly use misleading claims.

Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyianni, UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador, reviewed her actions and initiatives. She referred to both the national and international dimension of the claim, as well as the legal and ethical aspects of the claim, while she also mentioned her aim to continue to gather signatures from prominent international personalities in order to add to the calls for the return the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.

Former Minister of Culture and Sports, Lydia Koniordou, stressed the Greek side's insistence for a diplomatic path towards the reunification of the Sculptures without forgoing the possibility of using legal action. She too is keen to raise greater awareness of public opinion, which would act as a leverage to persuade the British Museum. Finally, she praised the effective and fruitful collaboration with the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, while observing that the polls continue to also show support for Greece’s legitimate demand.

The second session was followed by the latest developments in the case of the return of the sculptures, coordinated by the Director of the newspaper KATHIMERINI, Mr. Alexis Papakelas.

Professor Bernard Tschumi, architect of the Acropolis Museum, in a brief video message, presented the architecture of the Parthenon friezeand its exhibition at the Acropolis Museum where the visitor can see the sections of the Frieze as they were intended to be seen on the length and breadth of the Parthenon and not like those that hang in the British Museum. He likened the ones in the British Museum as paintings hanging on a wall. The sculptures, he concluded are the living entity of the Athenian democracy.

Academic Eleni Arbeler, President of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, presented interesting historical aspects of the issue by analysing the conflict between two British scholars and the Sculptures in the late 19th century, and Cavafy's commentary as a journalist - columnist at that time.

Professor Louis Godart, President of the International Association for the Reunion of Parthenon Sculptures, described Italy's actions to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and that his role as a counsellor to the President of the Italian Republic will continue to help him to help Greece in her quest.He appreciated that England is also unable to support the integrity of this symbol of eternal values ​​and aesthetic excellence, especially today where concepts and symbols such as the European Union are shaken and endangered by extreme populist forces. He concluded by saying that the return of the sculptures to the Acropolis Museum would be a move that would honour England and show respect for the whole of Europe.

Actress Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, spoke of Melina, public pressure and opinion polls too. She apologised for the mess that the UK found itself at this time because of Brexit. She stressed that timing was everything and that young people no longer appreciate colonial practices and policies. In this context, many museums have and will continue to return cultural artefacts to their countries of origin. She finally suggested that the British Museum would soon be marginalized for its choices, namely to own and expose arts from other countries.

The lifelong scholar of the Monuments of the Rock, Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, Mr. Manolis Korres, presented with great emphasis the basic architectural particularities of the monument, as well as the ideological reports of the overall programme of the construction of the Parthenon’s masonry.

This panels presentations were brought to a close by UK journalist Sarah Baxter, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Times from London. She admitted that England seems to lose the battle in the moral field while expressing the view that the Parthenon Sculptures should be returned to Greece in the same way that the "Coronation Stone" was returned to Scotland.In addition, she expressed the view that the new technologies now make it possible to produce impressive copies of works of art, and that the British Museum could use copies of the Parthenon sculptures and return the authentic ones to Greece.

The third session was dedicated to the discussion of the strategy and the perspectives of the topic, Mr. Nikolaos Stambolidis, Professor of Archaeology, University of Crete, and the Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, mediated this panel of speakers.

Dr. Tom Flynn, an art historian and writer in his short video message, provided a message for this conference, he expressed the view that public pressure for reunification is increasing, to such an extent that only the "cultural deaf" might not hear it.In addition, he mentioned the 10^th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum, stressed that the international museological tendency for smaller museums linked to archaeological sites, while large encyclopaedic museums represent an outdated imperialist concept.

Professor Paul Cartledge, Professor Emeritus of Greek Culture at the Cambridge University School of Classical Studies and Vice President of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, added that the British side's obsession no longer has any legal or moral support in modern day. He spoke of the firman and the Turkish experts that presented in Athens earlier this year. These experts proved that these were but travel permits. In fact no firman would have granted Lord Elgin the right to take down from the building what he did remove.

Dr. Artemis Papathanassiou, Legal Counsellor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, highlighted recent developments regarding the return of cultural goods to their countries of origin within the UN and UNESCO, focusing on the emblematic case of the Sculptures of the Parthenon.The most recent development within UNESCO is the adoption of a Recommendation in May 2018 by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promotion of the Return of Cultural Goods in their countries of origin. In the extremely important recommendation, the Commission first takes into account the historical, cultural, legal and ethical dimensions, while it is recalled that the Acropolis is an emblematic monument of universal scope that has been included in the World Heritage List. In December 2018, the UN Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the institutional character of the International Conference on Return of Cultural Goods and their final texts, while mentioning once again the request for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Brigadier Fabrizio Parrulli, Commander of the Carabinieri Corps of Antiquities Department, explained that his Department held the world's largest digital database of stolen artworks. He went on to describe the initiative to set up and run the Task Force ‘Unite for Heritage’, which is involved in missions for the protection of cultural heritage in cooperation with local bodies and intergovernmental organisations both within Italy and internationally.He took this opportunity to refer to a similar initiative by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. As early as August 2016, a registry of executives willing to assist businesses to protect the cultural heritage was set up in Italy’s Ministry. Some 51 executives, archaeologists, engineers, conservationists, lawyers, museologists and architects continue to offer their services to international cooperative enterprises under the supervision or invitation of UNESCO or other organisations to record damage, provide know-how and assistance in the protection and recovery of cultural goods. 

Professor Emanuel Papi, Director of the Italian Archaeological School of Athens, referred to the long-standing practice of seizing antiquities as early as Roman times, and just before the start of the struggle for the Independence of the Greek State, Greece was the scene of the ‘important monuments of the ancient cosmos’ (Aphaia in Aegina, Epicureus of Apollo, Parthenon). He concluded his speech by asking the Italian State and the Sicilian region to return a piece of the sculpted decor of the Parthenon, which is now in the Museum of Palermo.

Dr. Elena Korka, Honorary Director-General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, testified the results of the thorough research she conducted in archive material, which reveals both the truth and the fiction that surrounds the removal of the sculpture from the Parthenon, while demonstrating legitimate use by distorting data related to the export of the sculptures by Lord Elgin, and the subsequent acquisition by the British Museum in 1816.

Mrs. Sophia Chiniadou Kambani, Head of Cultural Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, focused on the erosion of the meaning of the sculptures when viewed away from the context of the monument, and set the goals for the success of the relevant struggle: preventing forgetfulness, the use of diplomatic channel as a main strategy to offer stability and consistency to the campaign, the emergence of the importance of the monument's uniqueness and integrity, as well as the unity and coordination that must identify every initiative, national and international.

The closing session, was co-ordinated by Marlen Taffarello-Godwin, from the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Mr. Constantine Stratis, noted that the Parthenon Sculpture case also raises a series of wider issues pertaining to the perceptions of the preservation, restoration, protection and enhancement of the cultural heritage, as well as the way in which it should be presented to the international community. It highlights the problems surrounding antiquity, the property regime, the commercialisation and trafficking of antiquities.Greece has continued to abolish all the arguments of the British side concerning both the preservation and protection of the Sculptures, as well as their appearance and presentation to the public, while the British Museum's rhetoric is rejected internationally as the remnant of an outdated colonial logic.The interventions of the representatives of the National Committees were then heard. They presented with enthusiasm their campaigning thoughts, some also outlined the efforts they have undertaken or implement in their individual countries, contributing to the swell in public opinion for reunification in many parts of the globe. Greece thanks them from the heart! We keep these great ideas and suggestions and we are committed to working on them and making the right use of them.

Professor Ove Bring, a member of the Swedish Parthenon Committee, Professor of International Law, Swedish National Defense College, Stockholm University, former lawyer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: proposes that the British Museum obtain exact copies and temporary repatriation of the property. He suggested that ownership is shifted to Greece and that Greece then in turn continues to lend the sculptures to the British Museum.

Emanuel Comino, Founder and President of the International Organization of Organizations (IOC-A-RPM) - supports cultural diplomacy, remarking on how it was Melina Mercouri that encouraged him to work with the British Committee, founded by James Cubitt. He added that the two committees had worked closely together for nearly 40 years and that he would continue to give his personal and committee’s support. He mentioned the International Colloquy held in London in 2012 before the London Olympics, the second held in Sydney, Australia in November 2013 and the third held in Athens in July 2015. He also mentioned attending BCRPM’s 200^th commemorative event held at Senate Housewhere Melina Mercouri also spoke, this event was held in London 07 June 2018 to mark 200 years since British Parliament voted to purchase from Lord Elgin his collection of sculpted marbles collected from the Parthenon and elsewhere on the Athenian Acropolis.

George Vardas, Secretary of the International Association (IARPS), Australian Council for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, Secretary of the Greco-Australian Council: analysed the legal dimension of the issue and suggested that the International Court of Justice should be consulted on this matter.

Mrs. Alexandra Pistofidou, Founder and President of the Austrian Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures, Historian-Palaeographer: presented her Committees use of social media networking as a tool and how these tools might be used to further the campaign of the IARPS.

Professor Maria Guimarães Kangussu, Brazilian Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, Professor of Philosophy, Federal University Ouro Preto: presented the Brazilian activities which included raising students' awareness of the plight of the Sculptures, talked about the website and a photographic exhibition that they will present at their embassy in Athens in November of this year.

Mr Roland Devivier, President of the Belgian Committee, spoke about their new website and facebook page, Mr Pantermalis' lecture in Brussels in January of this year and a Luxembourg decision to set up a committee there too.

Ms Donatella Monterisi Andreani, French Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, read out a moving letter from Ms Arberler to President Macron requesting the return of the section of the frieze that is currently in the Louvre. The letter also went to the French Ministry of Culture and the Directorate of the Louvre.

Mr Ole Norrback, Finnish Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Sculptures, a former Minister and Diplomat, former Ambassador of Finland to Greece, proposed better co-ordination of the actions of national committees in relation to the International Association. He feels there has to be activities on both national and international level.

Ambassador Krister Kumlin, Swedish Parthenon Committee, former Swedish Ambassador to Greece, supported Professor Bring's statement and spoke of the hope that we may get from a young people’s movement.

Professor Dusan Sidjanski, President of the Swiss Committee, Professor of Political Sciences, Geneva University, Honorary President of the Geneva Cultural Centre: talked about cultural diplomacy, but added the need to exert pressure, rather than a judicial claim, and analysed his thoughts on Greek culture and democracy, bringing the value of history and people. Without the will of people the campaign would have no traction.

In summing up, the return of the Sculptures is also directly linked to the theoretical discussions taking place across Europe on the return of so-called "colonial" cultural goods. This is why the current meeting of the IARPS is important not only for Greece but also for the global community. The Greek claim, a timely and imperative demand, is constantly winning supporters at the level of Civil Society and International Organizations. This is confirmed by the recent developments in both the UN plenary session and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission, as well as by the presence here at the Acropolis Museum of the International Association and its member Committees.After all, the arguments of the British side have now been broken down one by one:

• Elgin had no legal authority to remove the Sculptures as he did, as modern archival research has also shown.

• A modern Museum operates in direct visual contact with the Holy Rock and the Parthenon.

• New technologies can provide solutions for visitors to the British Museum by creating three-dimensional digital copies of maximum precision.

• The Greek side constantly declares its intention to collaborate creatively with the British Museum, as it has done with other museums, for the presentation of periodical reports and the development of joint research programmes.To achieve our goal, cultural diplomacy and public awareness remain our main weapons. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports continues to coordinate and process the necessary steps, updating it on the basis of the data, in cooperation with the National Advisory Committee, the Acropolis Museum and, of course, the Presidency of the Republic.

In the above context, having the International Committees and National Committees working alongside us, we believe that it would not be inconceivable to design and implement a campaign that would take place at the same time internationally through modern technologies and social media tools. On behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, we commit ourselves that the relevant department, the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Goods will undertake a public awareness campaign on April 15, 2020, and we call on a similar action on the same day, one year from now. We propose that the Committees discuss the matter at their meeting tomorrow.

We believe that the outcome of this conference is a strong and loud message. In a turbulent period that Europe is experiencing today, the return of the Sculptures from the British Museum will be a gesture of unity and belief in the ideals and values ​​of European culture. As Italy's important institutional representatives are among us, the first step, with the consent of the Italian Government, would be the permanent return of the fragment from the Pietus in Palermo, Italy, and that of the Vatican Museum, with the consensus Holy See. And finally, a larger coordinated effort to return the fragment from the Louvre. Such an achievement would be a decisive precedent for Britain's next moves.                                                                         

Thank you all. 

verage on this, check the articles listed below:

For coverage on the conference, some of the articles are listed below:

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from ‘murky prison’ of British Museum

Greek president brands British Museum a 'murky prison' for Elgin Marbles

Greece calls on the UK to free the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum's 'murky prison'

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from British Museum’s 'murky prison'

Today, 18 October 2020, is an extra special day as it marks the 100th birthday of a visionary actress, activist, campaigner and Minister of Culture for Greece, Melina Mercouri. And although she passed away in 1994, the iconic Melina inspired the world, so much so that Greece's Ministry of Culture declared 2020 as the Melina Mercouri year. To this day we continue to reflect on her tireless campaign to reunite the Parthenon Marbles with special thanks and gratitude to Victoria Solomonidis.

Victoria Solomonidis pictured here in the Houses of Parliament with the late Eddie O'Hara

From 1995 until her retirement in 2015, Victoria Solomonidis was a Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Specialist Consultant on Cultural Affairs, with the rank of Minister Counsellor, serving at the Greek Embassy in London.  The issue of the Parthenon Sculptures was high on her agenda: she worked in close association with the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures from its inception in 1983 and actively promoted in the UK all aspects connected with the design, building and completion of the New Acropolis Museum. In 2015 she joined the Governing Body of the Melina Mercouri Foundation. 

Victoria agreed in 2016 at the request of our then Chair Eddie O'Hara, to present Melina Mrcouri and the campaign for the reunification of the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon, the 200 Commemorative Event held at Senate House.

The presentation had the audience glued to Victoria's words. The final slide was a short clip, a video, which we have added across all our social media platforms: facebook, twitter and Instagram. Do watch it here too. Melina's words are as pertinent today as they were then, the campaign will go on until the day that the sculptures currently in the British Museum are reunited with their surviving halves in the Acropolis Museum.  

Photo from the archives of Victoria Solomonidis. From left to right: Melina Mercouri (Minister of Culture for Greece), Eleni Cubitt (founder of BCRPM), Graham Binns (the then Chair of BCRPM) in the British Museum's Duveen Gallery June 1986

In 1986 Melina made her memorable speech at Oxford Union, when PM Boris Johnson was then President of the Oxford Union. Melina's speech concluded with these timeless words: “We say to the British government: you have kept those sculptures for almost two centuries. You have cared for them as well as you could, for which we thank you. But now in the name of fairness and morality, please give them back. I sincerely believe that such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honour your name.”

Melina Mercouri, the then Minister of Culture for Greece in conversation with Boris Johnson the then President of the Oxford Union, 1986.

Melina Mercouri sadly passed away in 1994 and did not have the chance to see the superlative Acropolis Museum. Nor marvel at the superb display of the peerless sculptures from the Parthenon in the Parthenon Gallery or the uninterrupted views to the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Janet Suzman's obsevations on  the campaign in February 2019 included the article  published by Yannis Andristsopoulos in Greek on Saturday 09 February 2019, in Ta Nea, Greece's daily newspaper. It was also re-printed in Parikiaki, a Greek Cypriot London community paper. At the start of this article Janet mentions Melina's impact:

"Melina Mercouri came whirling into Britain many years ago like a mighty wind, to stir up the clouds of dead leaves that often litter the venerable institutions of this land. She demanded the return of the marbles. She is long gone, but the wind still blows, sometimes stronger, sometimes just a breeze to disturb the quiet. Those winds have started up again." To read  Janet Suzman's statement in its entirety, please follow the link here.

"Melina was an actress, I am an actress; that probably means we are basically open-minded. Acting requires you to be non-judgemental about a character and thus to depict its point of view, often very far from your own in real life, as truthfully as possible. I am no scholar, no academic. My position on the BCRPM Committee is one of a perfectly ordinary museum visitor and as such I can see so clearly that the marbles are in the wrong room. They need the sweet Attic sunlight shining on them and a blue sky beyond; they ask to be re-connected to their other half in the New Acropolis Museum where a space for them awaits. They need to be seen in sight of the Parthenon itself, which still astonishingly stands, in full view of that space, so that I, the visitor could turn my head and exclaim “Now I see - that’s where they came from!” No more gloomy light, no more orphaned statuary. They need to be re-joined to their other pedimental half which sits in this fine museum so that I, the visitor, can understand the whole silent conversation between them." Janet Suzman, 2020

With thanks also to Viola Nilsson from SverigeSRadio for her time to interview BCRPM and the Swedish Committee on Melina Mercouri, you can hear the programme 'Stil' dedicated to Melina by following the link here.

 Melina Mercouri – Greece's brightest star and greatest ambassador..... Actress and politician Melina Mercouri put Greece on a whole new map through her passionate commitment to both culture and politics. This year, 2020, she would have turned 100.

UK's Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden has written to museums and galleries (22 September 2020):'The significant support that you receive from the taxpayer is an acknowledgement of the important cultural role you play for the entire country.' He urged institutions to 'continue to act impartially', something he described as 'especially important' as the Government conducts its Comprehensive Spending Review - an apparent threat that funding could be at risk. 

The British Museum said in a statement: 'The British Museum has no intention of removing controversial objects from public display. 'Instead, it will seek where appropriate to contextualise or reinterpret them in a way that enables the public to learn about them in their entirety.'

Mr Dowden's letter, seen by the Telegraph, comes after a summer of cultural clashes over Britain's colonial past. The letter sent to museums and galleries  including the British Museum, Tate galleries, Imperial War museums, National Portrait Gallery, National Museums Liverpool, the Royal Armouries, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Library.

Mr Dowden said in the letter: 'The Government does not support the removal of statues or other similar objects.' 

'Historic England, as the Government's adviser on the historic environment, have said that removing difficult and contentious parts of it risks harming our understanding of our collective past.'

The letter continued: 'As publicly funded bodies, you should not be taking actions motivated by activism or politics.'

• This smacks of disingenuousness. Or even a sort of cultural bribery. Any object in a ‘universal museum’ is a political acquisition, activated by the then colonial power - namely Britain. For 'activism' read looted or just taken. Britain took artefacts just because it could, not with malign intent perhaps but more out of consuming interest and curiosity. However, the cultural importance to the country from which objects were abducted was of no interest to to the colonialists. The British Empire is no more and times have changed and a certain respect for other countries’ history must now enter the museum equation. Our understanding of Britain’s past would be hugely enhanced were Elgin’s stolen Marbles returned to their rightful place in Greece.

The British Museum's most controversial artefacts , the Elgin Marbles are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural members that were mostly created by Phidias and his assistants.

• These only became ‘a collection' when they were 'collected’ by Lord Elgin. FACT: these figures and bas reliefs were carved into the Pentelic marble blocks of which the Parthenon was constructed, and were thus part and parcel of the architectural structure of the building itself. Phidias built the Parthenon for Periclean Athens to celebrate the goddess Athena - an historic rite which remains a mystery to modern Britons, even though the beauty of the sculptures as idealised human beings is unmistakeable.

The 7th Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce, removed the Parthenon Marble pieces from the Acropolis in Athens while serving as the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803.

FACT: in so doing he destroyed many parts of the building no thanks to the crude methods his people used to detach the figures from their places, catastrophically damaging the structure of this architectural masterpiece.

In 1801, the Earl claimed to have obtained a permit from the Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Parthenon.

FACT: His claim has never been substantiated and thus far not a shred of evidence has been found to support Elgin’s claim.

As the Acropolis was still an Ottoman military fort, Elgin required permission to enter the site.

FACT: ostensibly for a few pieces already fallen to the ground, ('qualche pezzi’ in the Italian of the one and only extant permission) but NOT to hack them off the structure.

His agents subsequently removed half of the surviving sculptures, as well as architectural members and sculpture from the Propylaea and Erechtheum.

FACT: no proof of any permission to do so has ever been found.

The excavation and removal was completed in 1812 at a personal cost of around £70,000

FACT: His ‘personal costs’ included large amounts given as bribes to Ottoman functionaries, often no doubt to turn a blind eye to his depredations. Most of his bribes are carefully recorded.

The sculptures were shipped to Britain at the expense of the British Crown in a naval ship but in Greece, the Scots aristocrat was accused of looting and vandalism.

FACT: rightly so. Elgin had no intention of displaying his collection to the public but intended them solely for his Scottish seat and his own enjoyment. Only when he later went bankrupt was he forced to sell them.

They were bought by the British Government in 1816 and placed in the British Museum.

FACT: They were bought for £35,000 to be placed under the protection of the Trustees, who still hold them in Trust. Trustees cannot own, they can only hold in Trust. And they could decide to cease doing so by returning the Marbles. Good sense and decency demands it.

They still stand on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery.

FACT: They have been there for more than 200 years. Isn’t that long enough?

FACT: The visitor is not told the full story: that these pedimental figures are separated from the other half of that pediment in Athens; that most of the frieze - which once galloped right round the building depicting the pan-Atheniac procession - have been so crudely split that the front hooves of a horse, say, can be seen in Britain and the back half in Athens. These are senseless and crude divisions which deprive visitors in Britain and in Greece of seeing the completed work of sculptural art.

Greece has sought their return from the British Museum through the years, to no avail.

The British Minister for Culture has recently stated: “[the British Museum] will seek where appropriate to contextualise or reinterpret them (the artifact) in a way that enables the public to learn about them in their entirety.”

FACT: The BM offers no information for the public to learn the full history of the Marbles 'in their entirety’. They are displayed out of context and the manner of their acquisition is not openly and fully recounted, so how is the public to learn that the building from which they were so crudely torn still stands above Athens for all to see? How are they to know Elgin had no official permission to take them? This makes these pieces unique, because no other building from the ancient world has boasted such transcendent carving as an integral part of it and yet still stands in the 21st Century.

The authenticity of Elgin's permit to remove the sculptures from the Parthenon has been widely disputed, especially as the original document has been lost. Many claim it was not legal.

FACT: This is of prime importance in the dispute: there is no indication that the original document ever existed, let alone that it was ‘legal.'

However, others argue that since the Ottomans had controlled Athens since 1460, their claims to the artefacts were legal and recognisable.

FACT: This is a weak argument that falls under the heading of mere Opinion. Independent Greece does not recognise these claims. Furthermore, the Marbles mark the highest expression of its culture at its height - the remarkable civilisation that was to Hellenise the Western world. The Ottoman occupying powers had no interest in preserving such an alien culture and used the Parthenon merely as an armoury. It was blown up by a Venetian attack on Athens, gravely ruining some of the building. Elgin did the rest.

When the Greeks fought for their independence the so-called legality of Ottoman rule came to an end, and so surely must the legality of the sculptures being held by the BM. Is there such a thing as ‘perpetuity’? For 200 years The British Museum may indeed have protected them from any further depredations by unwelcome visitors or weather, they have duly fed the Enlightenment flame, inspired classical research and artistic inspiration - but now their job is done. They stand at the very heart of Greek national pride and must be returned home to the stunning modern museum - The New Acropolis Museum - built in plain sight of the Parthenon itself. Next year the Greeks celebrate their 200th year of independence from Ottoman rule and crave for their Marbles to be celebrated with them. THEY MUST GO BACK WHERE THEY BELONG.

Janet Suzman, Chair of BCRPM

More on this story in the Daily Mailand  GTP - in the latter the article concludes on this note: Greece has officially requested the temporary return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, for the bicentennial events.

Stephen Fry first wrote a wonderful 'Modest Proposal' in support of the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. This came after the campaign lost Christopher Hitchens to cancer.

The ties between Christopher Hitchens and our Committee stretch over considerable time and culminated in the third edition of his book ‘The Parthenon Marbles: A Case for Reunification’. This is available from Verso as a paperback or an ebook, the latter was launched on the 07 June 2016 at the Parthenon Marbles Bicentenary Commemorative Eventheld at Senate House. This edition was dedicated to James Cubitt and has a preface that Nadine Gordimer wrote.

Stephen Fry begins his proposal with these words:"I have a modest proposal that might simultaneously celebrate the life of Christopher Hitchens, strengthen Britain’s low stock in Europe and allow us to help a dear friend in terrible trouble."

Perhaps the most beautiful and famous monument in the world is the Doric masterpiece atop the citadel, or Acropolis, of Athens. It is called the Parthenon, the Virgin Temple dedicated to Pallas Athene, the goddess of wisdom who gave the Greek capital its name."

To read Stephen Fry's 'Modest Proposal' in full, follow the link here. 

Post writing this  proposal, Stephen took part in the Intelligence Squared debate: 'Send them back: The Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Athens',which was won 384 for to 125 against. Then in April 2013 at the invitation by the then Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, Stephen visited Athens, the Acropolis and Benaki Museums. He went on to Delphi, Ancient Olympia and Messini. To read more on this trip, kindly visit the Greek Tourism Organisations web site here. 

On 04 November the Metro carried the story of Stephen asking the UK once again to ‘stand on right side of history’ and return the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to the Acropolis Museum in Greece. More on this Metro article by Mel Evans here.

There are a few points to raise on the article in the Metro including the fact that the Greek government's request first started after Greece gained independence and susequent requests culminated in the 1980's when iconic Melina Mercouri visited London and made her appeal to then British Museum Director, Sir David Wilson. The aricle refers to the 'Elgin Metopes' but this ought to read 'Marbles' or sculptures as the metpes are but one set of sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.

At the time that Melina came to visit the British Museum as Minister of Culture for Greece, two Committees were campaigning, the first is that of Emanuel Comino in Australia, which was founded in 1979 and BCRPM in the UK, which was founded in 1983.

Stephen Fry tweeted to his followers to support  the petition set up by John Lefas of Lefas Humanitas and the campaign 'Lost My Marbles'. Mr Lefas funded Geoffrey Robertson's book 'Who Own History' and has launched a web site to complement this new campaign, alongside a petition asking the UK Government  to respond to global calls for artefacts to be returned to their place of origin. Mr Lefas is looking to use the petition to change the British Museum Act of 1963. 

BCRPM members John Tasioulis and Edith Hall were on the panel discussion at King's College with Geoffrey Robertson earlier this year to analyse 'Who owns history?' and you can read about that event here. Professor John Tasioulas' paper covered key points in international law as he also made his own strong arguments to reunite the Parthenon Marbles on moral grounds.

In concluding, Professor Tasioulas said that "the key to the return of the Parthenon marbles is the recognition that the UK stands to gain a tremendous amount by relinquishing them. But to achieve those gains – the gains of acting and being seen to act in accordance with one’s deepest values – it must give them up freely, generously, and in the spirit of friendship, not one darkened by the shadow of legal obligation."