US human rights advocate Kerry Kennedy called for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, now housed at the British Museum, to the nation of Greece during her visit to Athens on Tuesday.
The president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights said that the British government is engaged in an “ongoing and perpetual crime” by keeping the Marbles at the British Museum.
After meeting President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Kennedy stated, “It is easy for one to blame Lord Elgin but he has been gone for a while. This is an ongoing and perpetual crime, which is being perpetuated by the British government.
“It is hard for the specific democracy to continue to claim it is liberal while it continues to commit and perpetuate such a crime against Greece,” she concluded.
Pavlopoulos thanked Kennedy for her steadfast support regarding the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. He assured her that she is defending “an absolutely just case that concerns not just Greece, but our culture itself, since the Parthenon is generally recognized as the cradle of our western civilization.”
“This is the reason why it is a great cause of sorrow – and even frustration – that the authorities in Great Britain insist on covering up the crime of theft committed by Elgin and to tamper with historic truth, without the required respect for our civilization and its symbols,” Pavlopoulos added.
Source: greece.greekreporter.com