Here is Petros Tatoulis’s complete statement from the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture’s press release. He makes some very good points in it, which are interesting to read, as it is one of the first major statements on the subject since the change of government last year.

Any errors in the document are from my translation.

From:
Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Culture
Press Office

Press release
Concerning the reports in newspapers on the maintenance & protection of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum, the [Hellenic Republic’s] Deputy Minister of Culture Mr. P[etros] Tatoulis declared the following:

“It is obvious that issues about world cultural heritage of such importance whould enjoy wider attention & receive all recommended safety precautions to protect them from accidental damage or vandalism. The Greek Government, however, does not want to comment further on the information concerning inadequate maintenance & protection by the British Museum, because the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles does not lie with the party that is most careful. In the New Acropolis Museum it is planned that all the conditions will e suitable for their exhibiting, but our arguments are more fundamental. The sculptures should be returned in Greece, because on one hand they constitute an integral part of the monument & on the other hand it would restore their thematic & aesthetic continuity.

As for the comments about it being a ruin if they are attributed properly they are completely wrong. The Parthenon is not ruin but a monument – evidence of a major moment of human spirit, the symbol of UNESCO and deserve the respect all mankind.”