Government turns down meeting with Greece to discuss the Parthenon Marbles
Should the government agree to a Unesco-mediated meeting?
The UK government has turned down a request from the Greek government to enter into mediation, facilitated by Unesco, on the subject of the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey and Europe minister David Lidington have jointly signed a letter to Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, the assistant director at Unesco. This was responding to a letter of 9 August 2013 from Pérez de Armiñán's predecessor, Francesco Bandarin, to the culture secretary, foreign secretary and director of the British Museum.
“We have seen nothing to suggest that Greece’s purpose in seeking mediation on this issue is anything other than to achieve the permanent transfer of the Parthenon sculptures now in the British Museum to Greece and on terms that would deny the British Museum’s right of ownership, either in law or as a practical reality," wrote Vaizey and Lidington, adding that mediation “would not carry this debate substantially forward”.
Richard Lambert, the chairman of the British Museum’s board of trustees, has also written to Unesco. “We believe that the more constructive way forward, on which we have already embarked, is to collaborate directly with other museums and cultural institutions, not just in Greece but across the world,” he said.
The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles said: “Next year will be the 200th anniversary of the purchase of Lord Elgin's collection. The demand for reunification will predictably escalate in volume. This sophisticated diversionary tactic will not deflect it.”
Should the government agree to a Unesco-mediated meeting with Greece to discuss the Parthenon Marbles?
Vote in the poll and have your say in the comment box below.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey and Europe minister David Lidington have jointly signed a letter to Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, the assistant director at Unesco. This was responding to a letter of 9 August 2013 from Pérez de Armiñán's predecessor, Francesco Bandarin, to the culture secretary, foreign secretary and director of the British Museum.
“We have seen nothing to suggest that Greece’s purpose in seeking mediation on this issue is anything other than to achieve the permanent transfer of the Parthenon sculptures now in the British Museum to Greece and on terms that would deny the British Museum’s right of ownership, either in law or as a practical reality," wrote Vaizey and Lidington, adding that mediation “would not carry this debate substantially forward”.
Richard Lambert, the chairman of the British Museum’s board of trustees, has also written to Unesco. “We believe that the more constructive way forward, on which we have already embarked, is to collaborate directly with other museums and cultural institutions, not just in Greece but across the world,” he said.
The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles said: “Next year will be the 200th anniversary of the purchase of Lord Elgin's collection. The demand for reunification will predictably escalate in volume. This sophisticated diversionary tactic will not deflect it.”
Should the government agree to a Unesco-mediated meeting with Greece to discuss the Parthenon Marbles?
Vote in the poll and have your say in the comment box below.