“The government is working systematically and methodically toward reunification,” said the Minister of Culture — How she commented on the dinner at the British Museum.
“Our goal for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures is now closer than ever in the past fifty years,” stressed Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni today in Parliament, responding to a question from Plefsi Eleftherias MP Alexandros Kazamias regarding “The dinner in the Parthenon Sculptures Hall at the British Museum in London and the stance of the Greek government on their return.”
Lina Mendoni reiterated the firm position of the Greek government on the permanent reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, and referring to the recent dinner held in the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum, she noted:
“Actions such as this recent dinner in the Duveen Gallery actually strengthen, within the international community, Greece’s arguments for the necessity of reunifying the Sculptures. Such initiatives by the British Museum are clearly in contradiction with the safety and integrity of the Sculptures. At the same time, however, they weaken any claim made by the British side — because I will no longer speak of ‘arguments.’ The British side’s arguments have long been disproven.”
Referring to the overall strategy of the Greek government, she emphasized:
“The Government has a strategy. I have said before: a strategy that is revealed is not a strategy. Negotiations are secret. Any negotiation conducted in full public view, with all your arguments laid bare, automatically loses a large part of its bargaining advantage. In any case, what we are doing is always responding to challenges, strengthening dialogue, exhausting all tools of cultural diplomacy, and systematically informing both the political and academic communities. Without wishing to boast, there is proof — and you know it — that everything essential and tangible achieved on the issue of the Sculptures over the past fifty years has taken place in the last six years.”
Lina Mendoni reiterated:
“Everything that is happening, and the international environment as a whole, is entirely favourable for the reunification and repatriation of cultural artifacts that have been illegally exported. The government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis is working with unity and methodical persistence on this issue. We believe that our goal is now closer than ever in the past fifty years.”
