October 22, 2008

Greek Prime Minister discusses Elgin Marbles with Gordon Brown

Posted at 1:06 pm in Elgin Marbles

During talks with The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Costas Karamanlis, the Greek Prime Minister, has again raised the issue of the Parthenon Marbles. Gordon Brown’s response to the request is not mentioned. This may be the first time that the issue has been raised directly with Gordon Brown, but it has been discussed with Tony Blair on numerous occasions.

From:
Athens News Agency

10/22/2008
Karamanlis discusses global crisis with Brown

The Inner Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will convene on Wednesday to discuss Interior Ministry’s issues. On Tuesday, the impact of the global financial crisis on Europe and the European economies were at the focus of talks between Greek prime minister Costas Karamanlis and his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Karamanlis praised Brown’s contribution to the common effort for amelioration of the crisis. He said the primary target of the efforts was to minimize the consequences of the international financial crisis on the lives of the citizens and on the real economy, and particularly on the financially weaker brackets.

“We agreed that the efforts of all of us are and must continue to be concerted, at both European and global level, so as to restore confidence in the credit system and a climate of calm on the markets,” Karamanlis said.

The two prime ministers further discussed bilateral relations, the prospects of the Lisbon Treaty, the situation in the Balkans, and developments in the Cyprus issue.

Karamanlis also took the opportunity to set before Brown Greece’s standing demand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, the campaign for which will acquire a new momentum with the completion of the state-of-the art New Acropolis Museum.

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1 Comment »

  1. DR.KWAME OPOKU said,

    10.22.08 at 7:37 pm

    I am encouraged to read that the Greek Prime Minister raised the issue of the Parthenon/Elgin Marbles with the British Prime Minister. I hope the Nigerians and the other Africans are also reading this report. If anytime the British wanted to discuss oil,gas or other commodity the Nigerians suggested that they first discuss the issue of restitution of the Benin Bronzes and other Nigerian cultural artefacts in the British Museum and elsewhere,we might be getting closer to a solution. The politicians are used to compromise and might be easy to discuss with than the museum directors who are inflexible on this issue. The politicians might well feel that these cultural objects should not stand in the way of serious discussions on matters affecting world economy and so should be settled quickly. They may also come to the conclusion that British culture does not depend on the wrongful possession of foreign cultural artefacts such as the Parthenon Marbles or the Benin Bronzes and should therefore be returned to the owners if they want their property back.

    I believe there is a new generation of politicians in Africa who see the importance of retrieving our cultural objects from western Europe and America. We will encourage them to pursue the fight for restitution as a matter of self-respect and justice.

    Kwame Opoku

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