In a move that demolishes all British arguments, Turkey clarified in the most official way that there is no firman which legitimizes Lord Elgin’s looting of the Parthenon sculptures. In fact, the representative of Ankara in the Unesco committee emphasized that she is looking forward wholeheartedly to celebrating the return of the Sculptors to Greece.

“We are not aware of any document that legitimizes this acquisition by earlier settlers in the UK. So I don’t think there is any room for debate about its legality. Even according to the law of the time. And we wholeheartedly look forward to celebrating the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, as we believe that it will signal a change of attitude towards the protection of cultural property and will be the strongest message to be given worldwide,” said the head of Turkey’s anti-trafficking department. , Zeynep Boz.

And in this way, one of the central arguments of the British for the seizure and retention of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum is deconstructed.

“We know exactly what a firman is from Elgin’s dated 1802 and the one Lord Byron had in 1810 is a legal document signed by the Sultan himself while the Italian letter presented here by British friends is a simple document“, emphasized the director of the Acropolis Museum, Nikos Stampolidis.

The head of Turkey’s anti-trafficking department was referring to the Ottoman document cited by Britain for Lord Elgin’s 1816 acquisition of the Parthenon Sculptures as part of the story of the removal of the Sculptures.

Director of the Acropolis Museum: “This firman does not exist, never existed”

“This firman does not exist, it never existed. Therefore, you can proceed seamlessly with their return and reunification at the Acropolis museum”, emphasized Nikos Stampolidis.

“It is fantastic that Turkey has finally confirmed that it has no evidence that a firman was ever signed by the Ottoman Empire. This was always a weak basis for the claim that Elgin had legally obtained the marbles. There was no legal basis for them to take the marbles from Athens in the beginning, and we can continue with the historic opportunity that lies ahead of us to see them reunited,” he told SKAI George Gabriel, member of the British Commission for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The British Museum claims that Elgin moved with the permission of the Ottoman authorities and in accordance with the firman given to him, of which there is an Italian translation.

“The removal of the marbles and the destruction of the Parthenon by the Elgin crew was an act of vandalism reprehensible and illegal. A firman bears specific signatures that are not present in the Italian translation, which is the only document that survives”, noted the Professor of Law School of the University of Nicosia, Irini Stamatoudis.

“This fundamentally undermines the position and the premise of hiding the Parthenon Marbles from the Greek people. They should have always stayed in Athens. We know that Lord Elgin was a looter when he came to visit the Parthenon,” said British lawyer Mark Stevens.

What we have been supporting for years has been confirmed, emphasizes the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni: “Greece is always open to dialogue, has tried and will continue to try in order to achieve the great national goal of satisfying the national demand of reuniting the Parthenon sculptures in Athens at the Acropolis museum to become a reality”.

“We wish to develop a new relationship with Greece… We look forward to a realistic solution”

By expressing a desire for one “new relationship” with Greece and for “realistic solutions” to the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures the British Museum reacts to the deconstruction by Turkey (in the context of UNESCO) of the argument regarding the legal acquisition of the Sculptures by Elgin based on an Ottoman firman.

Invited by SKAI to comment on the Turkish position, a spokesman for the British Museum said:

“The British Museum recognizes the strong desire of Greece the Parthenon Sculptures in London to be returned to Athens. This is an issue with a very long history, and we understand and respect the strong emotions that this discussion warrants.

»We wish to develop a new relationship with Greece – a ‘parthenon partnership’ – and to explore the possibility of innovative ways of working with our Greek friends, in the hope that the understanding of the Parthenon Sculptures will deepen and continue to inspire people around the world.

»The British Museum has cared for the Parthenon sculptures for over two centuries and the deep investment in the sculptures is something we have in common with our Greek partners. Hopefully this can set the stage for one new relationship and for the realistic solutions we are looking forward to”.

Mendoni: “Turkey confirmed what Greece says – There was no Ottoman firman”

Earlier, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni asked about the developments in the issue of the Parthenon Sculpturesfocusing on the UNESCO Intergovernmental Conference, made the following statement:

“On Friday night, the work of its special intergovernmental committee was completed Unescowhich concerns the debate surrounding the return of illegally exported cultural goods to their countries of origin.

As is known for the last 40 years, one of the permanent topics on the agenda concerns the Parthenon Sculptures. And this time, the committee reached a recommendation where it calls on the two sides, the British and the Greek, to resolve this issue which dates back several decades.

One of the interesting points of the session was the discussion that took place, around the famous -in quotes- “firmani” of Elgin. I put this in quotation marks because this is an argument from the British side which has been proven not to be genuine. There was never an Ottoman firman which allowed Elgin to treat the Parthenon Sculptures with the brutality he treated. At the meeting a representative of Turkey confirmed what the Greek side has been supporting for years. That there was no firman”.

“Greece is always open to dialogue. He has tried and will continue to try, so that the great national goal, which is the satisfaction of the national request of the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens, at the Acropolis Museum, becomes a reality,” the Minister of Culture added.