This comment is mere speculation.

Need we remind you, Mr. Best, that the Greeks had no problem whatsoever caring for what they produced—until grand-dad came along and picked from the rubble, and hacked pieces from the Temple.

Means nothing insofar as the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
A soggy argument, at best. Your point is moot.

If the Greeks are fighting for anything today, it is to expose the brutal and dishonorable actions of your grandfather, and alert the world that all should be skeptical when such statements are made— the speculation kind of statements—as a justification for keeping what does not belong to them.

And now let’s take a look at the Ottoman Empire.

What business does an oppressive regime have in the determination of what is best for those they oppress? As you can see, this argument is absurd.

Only better than the example of absurdity you quote above…

Not only was Greece occupied by the Ottoman Empire, it was enslaved by it as well. Now, being a Philhellene, do you not think it appropriate that the British should have moved to help Greece gain independence, instead of bargaining with the oppressors, and taking that which— when Greece was not at liberty to act on her own best interests, at a time when the Ottomans were trying to erase Greece?

Ah. But one did help.
George Gordon LORD BYRON

“The fact that the Marbles can not be restored to the Parthenon proper (through Elgins vandalism, yes) means the integrity of both sculptures and structure will not be enhanced by their return to Athens. “ Mr. Best

Really?

Ah, but I see you have conceded.
Elginism. That’s the name of grand-dad’s actions.
That’s your legacy.
Sadly.

You needn’t worry about the Egyptians and Greeks.
They’ll work out something amicably.
It’s the British who insist they are justified in their actions.
These arguments of yours, Mr. Best,—
all I can say in response to them is—

British Mustard!

Greece was not in a war when Elgin decided to remove the Marbles.
The war didn’t happen until 1821. Elgin removed the Marbles in 1801.

As for the indifference toward the Marbles, that had nothing to do with Greek sentiment, rather the indifference lay at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Furthermore he justifies his decision that the Marbles should remain in the BM by evoking panic. Next thing you know, there will be no museums left, if everybody wants what belongs to them!

Aye, great great great great grandson.
But one thing at a time.

And your great great great great grandfather—his motives if I recall correctly, lacked honor. He wanted the Marbles so he could decorate his home.—
Hardly an honorable move on his part.

Tony Blair?
Who is Tony Blair?

Who knows after so many years ?
And why jump the gun and readily call him a vandal ?

But my dear British friends, you know and everyone else also knows that the marbles belong to Greece. Greece, the nation that is and the Greek civilization – not its present prime minister or the one before !
The decision to keep the marbles in Britain was political and this is what has sparked off the vendetta.

Nowadays it is the museum itself (the British miuseum) who play the part of the defense.
That’s ugly and barbaric.
The British museum should care for the marbles and maintain them on display for the visitors, for as long as they reside in its premises. They should also obey the law as it stands, as caretakers, meaning by that, that they should not of course have the option to negotiate things with Greece.
But when they act and play the role of political defense (following some government instructions which they stupidly accepted), it is barbaric.

With all due respect to Lord Best, this is really no argument at all and does not make for clear thinking. If the Greeks are holding wrongfully certain objects, and Lord Best has not adduced any evidence or argument that this is so nor explained the circumstances of their acquisition, then this should be considered separately. Specific Greek claims, with well documented information and well-known background should not be mixed up with some vague allusions about Greek possession of other artefacts which are not even claimed to be British. This cannot be regarded as counterclaim and would be dismissed outright by every English court.
Kwame Opoku.

Two riders at the end of the west frieze Parthenon Marbles, Greece, now in the British Museum, London.

Alastair Bruce may have a filial duty in respect of the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles and no one can criticise him for that. (http://sharonwaxman) After all, we are not responsible for the deeds or misdeeds of our ancestors. What he should really not expect from the rest of us is to buy the argument that his Great Great Great Grandfather, Lord Elgin, “wanted to preserve them from the destruction they faced, at a time when war and local indifference was grinding away at the edifice.” This is a baseless argument which has been used by all those who have taken illegally or in a questionable manner, the cultural objects of others. It is an extremely weak argument which does not gain credibility by being repeated often. Who preserved these objects before his Great Great Great Grandfather ever set foot in Athens?
Nowadays, nobody except officials of the British Museum and their friends, believe that the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles that were put into that museum “are owned by us all, in trust for the world”. Tell this to the Greeks! The rest of the world, led by the Greeks, has not accepted the British Museum propaganda that the actions of Lord Elgin “spared them further damage by vandalism, weathering and pollution”. (From a notice affixed to a wall in the British Museum, entitled ATHENS AND LONDON). The vandalism involved in physically removing these objects from their original location is conveniently forgotten. The United Nations and UNESCO have in countless resolutions urged that cultural objects such as the Parthenon Marbles be returned to their countries of origin.
Equally groundless is the argument that “If Britain repatriates the Elgin Marbles, it will not be long before every country in the world puts in claims for items displayed in the British Museum to be returned. Museums in London, New York and else where might face a mass repatriation from the precedent.”
Are the big museums made up only of stolen/looted artefacts or objects of doubtful acquisition? Anytime some country or some person asks for the return of an unjustifiably taken object, he or she is told that if it were returned all the others will claim their looted property. Is this a valid argument? Can one legally or morally advance the argument that because one has wrongfully taken objects from many other persons, nobody should have their property back because the illegal holder would have nothing else in his possession?
It is also remarkable that once a claim is made with respect to a specific object, the holders broaden the argument to cover all objects. If you ask for the return of the Benin Bronzes, you are told that cannot be done because there would then be a claim for the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles. If you ask for the return of a Nazi-looted object hanging in the British Museum, you are told that cannot be done because then there will follow a claim for the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles. Thus the different histories of the acquisition of the various contested objects in the British Museum are mixed. Can one injustice be used to defend another injustice?
Are the makers of such arguments not worried at all by the moral implications of their reasoning? I recommend to those with such views a quotation from some members of the House of Lords:
“The public interest must surely be in upholding the rule of law, rather than promoting an international free-for-all through the unrestricted circulation of tainted works of art. Do we really wish to educate our children to have no respect for history, legality and ethical values by providing museums with the opportunity freely to exhibit stolen property? ”
Extract from a letter by several members of the British House of Lords
http://www.timesonline.co.uk

The Greeks have built a New Acropolis Museum which is intended to house, inter alia, the Parthenon Marbles. The Greeks and indeed the whole world, including the majority of British citizens, hope that the British Museum and the British Government will finally do what is morally and legally correct: return the Parthenon Marbles to Athens!

New Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Kwame Opoku, 23 January .2009.