Amal Clooney
In October 2014, Alamuddin-Clooney,
accompanied by David Hill, Chairman
of the International Association for
the Reunification of the Parthenon
Sculptures, and two other notable
international lawyers, flew to Athens
to provide legal support to the Greek
culture minister. The subsequent
coverage allowed the public a further
insight into the actions being taken by
the Greek government, affirming the
force of their self-assurance in their
rightful claim to the pieces.
The Greek Government has, however
briefly, put aside the debate over the
legal ownership of the art, focusing
on a collaboration of curatorship
and the return of the pieces to their
origin to complete the collection,
since the restoration of the Marbles
is its true aim.
The question of the repatriation of
the Parthenon Marbles is clearly of
international interest, especially since
a few other pieces from the Parthenon
were distributed throughout Europe - one
piece is held in the Louvre for example
and recently Germany, after holding a
consensus, returned part of a sculpture,
depicting a foot, to the Greek culture
minister to help reunite the pieces.
At Athens International Airport, people
entering and leaving Greece were invited
to vote electronically on whether the
Parthenon sculptures should be returned
to the Acropolis. According to the first
wave of results, 125 people voted yes,
while four voted no.
Currently, following the request by Greek
officials for UNESCO to facilitate further
discussions on the reunification of the
sculptures, the situation awaits a response
from the trustees of the British Museum
to the call for an agreement to allow the
dispute between Greece and Britain to
be mediated by UNESCO, which they so
far have refused to answer. Subsequent
official requests to Britain to agree to this
mediation also remain unanswered.
While awaiting response, we can
try to make an informed decision as
to the most desirable outcome of
any discussions on the future of the
Parthenon sculptures, considering the
emotional ties to the pieces from the
Greeks and their legal right to obtain
the potentially stolen artefacts and the
benefits of continuing their exhibition at
the British Museum, that has been their
home for the past 200 years.
By Jessica Stocks
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