Press Release

NEWS UPDATE
December 15th, 2008

Today it was announced that The Swiss Committee the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (Comité Suisse pour le Retour des Marbres du Parthénon) has joined the International Association for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

The Chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, David Hill said he welcomed the addition of the organisation to the international campaign. The Executive of the Swiss committee includes:

President: Professor Dusan Sidjanski

Vice President: Me Olivier Vodoz

Secretary: Fabrizio Micalizzi

Treasurer: Michèle Lubicz-Davet

The International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures now has sixteen members from fifteen countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and the USA. Contact details for the Swiss Committee can be found on their members page.

NEWS UPDATE

November 11th 2008

Today it was announced that British based Marbles Reunited campaign has joined the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

The Chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, David Hill said he welcomed the addition of such an esteemed group to the international campaign.

The Executive of Marbles Reunited includes:

Emeritus President: Eddie O'Hara MP.

Chair: Andrew George MP

Marbles Reunited is a British based campaign for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. The official full name of the committee is: Marbles Reunited - Friends of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. From 2001 until 2006, Marbles Reunited was known as Parthenon 2004.

The aims of Marbles Reunited are: "To promote by any lawful means the case for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece. and to that end, to support The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) in its lawful activities." Marbles Reunited runs their own campaign, but works closely with the BCRPM as required - the two organisations complement one another by targeting different aspects of the issue, with each having their own strengths & weaknesses.

Marbles Reunited is governed by a constitution & membership is open for a small annual subscription charge to anyone who supports the aims of the organisation. Marbles Reunited currently has over 60 members.

The addition of Marbles Reunited to the International Association brings the total number of members to fifteen.

Contact details for Marbles Reunited can be found on their member's page

Below follows a declaration which represents the shared aims of the member organisations of the International Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE REUNIFICATION OF THE PARTHENON SCULPTURES *

DECLARATION.

The sculptures currently in the British Museum were once an integral part of the Parthenon, the temple that stands at the summit of the Acropolis in Athens. Built at the high point of classical Greek achievement in the 5th century BC, the Parthenon remains an unparalleled achievement in the fusion of engineering, architecture and art. The temple’s magnificent marble statues, metopes and frieze, which are not independent works of art but indivisible elements of the Parthenon, are widely regarded as among the world’s finest surviving ancient art works. The Parthenon and the other monuments on the Acropolis are officially recognized as a World Heritage Site.

Over 100 pieces of the sculpture and some architectural elements, which are critical to the full appreciation of the beauty and design of the monument, were removed by the British Ambassador Lord Elgin in the early 19th century from the Acropolis when Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire and moved into the British Museum in 1816. They are exhibited in London in a spurious configuration, divorced from their architectural framework and proper context.

The continued insistence by the British Museum that the sculptures remain in London runs wholly counter to the fast growing atmosphere of international cooperation over the location of disputed museum objects. Reuniting them with the half of the sculptures that remain in Athens would restore to the art its fuller meaning and be of greater benefit to humanity, particularly since more people now visit the Acropolis in Athens than visit the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum. The retention of the sculptures in the British Museum is also at odds with British and world public opinion, which has overwhelmingly supported the reunification of the surviving Parthenon sculptures in Athens.

The Parthenon sculptures are of undeniable importance to the heritage of both Greece and the world at large. The potential now exists for Britain and Greece to reach agreement on the reunification of the sculptures beside the Acropolis - a development that would be of benefit for the people of both countries and indeed all nations not only for today but also for generations to come. The International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures calls on the British Government and the Greek Government to initiate government to government negotiations to achieve early reunification in the new Acropolis Museum of the Parthenon sculptures now in London and Athens.

* The International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures is an organization of 12 national committees from Australia, Belgium, Britain, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden and the USA that are committed to the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens.