“It is impressive that one builds an entire proposal on leaks,” commented Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, right after the speech of MeRA25 secretary Yanis Varoufakis and what he said about the Parthenon Sculptures.

“I will repeat, for the umpteenth time. The Greek government’s position on the Parthenon Sculptures is that it does not recognize jurisdiction, possession and ownership in the British Museum. He considers them stolen goods. Therefore, he cannot recognize any of this. This is the permanent position of the Greek government and it has been said by the prime minister, by all those who take the floor and, obviously, by me. The proposal of Kyriakos Mitsotakis was clear when he spoke with his counterpart in the United Kingdom: Return and reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens and cover this gap with timeless exhibitions. Everything else is leaks and philology and para-philology. Let’s realize this.”

Mrs. Mendoni also responded to what Mr. Varoufakis mentioned about the bill. “As for the branches, we do not need to establish branches in the five museums, as was said. The founding law of the Acropolis Museum, in 2008, provides for the establishment of an annex. Therefore, “if we wanted to serve something”, we had the relevant tool”, said Lina Mendoni.

In relation to what Mr. Varoufakis said about Marianna Vardinogianni’s participation in the Board of the Acropolis Museum, the Minister of Culture replied: “Ms. Vardinogianni was appointed to the Board of the Museum, as a goodwill ambassador of UNESCO, and as a member of the Society of Citizens who are very active, and everyone knows this very well, in the matter of claiming the Sculptures”.

“I wonder how you refer to leaks since we rely on reports, both from the British, Greek and European press as a whole,” commented MeRA25 parliamentary representative Kleon Grigoriadis and added: “The reports are not leaks. They are official statements of the director of the British Museum and the Ministry of Culture of Great Britain. We wouldn’t be citing reports if the prime minister hadn’t been negotiating for a year, secretly from the Greek people, about the Parthenon Sculptures. The negotiation itself is, in our opinion, an acknowledgment of ownership and this can be criminal.”

Mr. Grigoriadis also commented on the answer of the Minister of Culture, regarding the participation of Mrs. Vardinogiannis in the Board of Directors of the Acropolis Museum. “You said well about Mrs. Vardinogianni, except you didn’t answer our leader’s question: If her salary was 800 euros a month and she was still a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, would you have her? You hid behind UNESCO. You didn’t tell us if Mrs. Vardinogiannis would have this position, if she were a poor person,” said the MeRA25 parliamentary representative.