Turkey does not recognize the firman of the sale of the Parthenon Sculptors to Elgin demolishing British arguments

At the 24th Session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Return of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin (ICPRCP), which concluded its work last week, the issue of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures was discussed.

In its extensive presentation, the Greek delegation detailed the history of the case and Greece's positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures. Through the testimonies of travelers and scholars of Elgin's time, it documented the violent removal of the architectural sculptures from the monument and emphasized that there was no firman and related sultanic document legitimizing the appropriation of the Sculptures by Lord Elgin, before they ended up in the British Museum.

"We are not aware of any document that legitimizes this purchase"
Turkey, which participated as an observer country, through the mouth of the head of the Anti-Trafficking of Antiquities Department of Turkey at UNESCO, confirmed the Greek position on the non-existence of a firman (decree) that supposedly legalized the sale of the Sculptures, as argued by the United Kingdom among others Kingdom.

The Turkish observer, after congratulating the Greek delegation for the detailed and documented presentation of the case of the return of the Sculptures -which, as she pointed out, has been going on for 40 years-, took a position on the side of Greece, saying: "As the head of the unit to combat of illegal trafficking of cultural heritage in Turkey, we are not aware of any document that legalizes this purchase from the then colonial United Kingdom."

"I don't think there is room to discuss any legalization, even under the Law of the time, and we look forward to celebrating the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, as we believe it will signal a change in attitude towards the protection of cultural heritage and it is the strongest message ever given worldwide. That's why stay strong", said the Turkala representative, addressing the Greek delegation and the Commission.