“If they have a firman, show it now” calls the British speaking to the newspaper “The daily” Turkish official Zeynep Boz who made a sensation with her intervention at the UNESCO Summit where the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures was discussed.

Bose noted that she is looking forward to celebrating the return of the Sculptors “as we believe it will signal a change in behavior towards the protection of cultural property and will be the strongest message to be given worldwide.”

To a question for the Italian translation of the firman held by the British Museum to support the legality of Elgin’s sale of the Parthenon Sculptures to the British government in 1816, the Turkish official states that one would expect such a document to have certain tokens.

“Imagine if you wrote something similar today and after 200 years someone had to support its authenticity. I would expect it to have stamps on the document” said Zeynep Boz.

It is recalled that yesterday the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni he stated that “there was never an Ottoman firman which gave Elgin the possibility to treat himself with the brutality he brought to the Parthenon Sculptures” and that “Greece is always open to dialogue”.

At the same time, the British Museum, in a first reaction, spoke of “realistic solutions” to the issue of the Sculptures. Asked by SKAI to comment on the Turkish position, a representative of the British museum said:

“The British Museum recognizes Greece’s strong desire that the Parthenon Sculptures in London 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 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 looked after the Parthenon sculptures for over two centuries and the deep investment in the sculptures is something we have in common with our Greek partners. We hope that this can form the basis for a new relationship and for the realistic solutions we are looking forward to.”