ATHENS, Nov 20 — The Greek government is asking tourists at Athens airport to join the notorious debate over the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece from London.
Faced with a picture of the famed Parthenon and its marble statues on an interactive screen, travellers are asked to reply “yes” or “no” to the question: “Do you support the return of the Parthenon marbles?”.
The Greek government installed the airport polling system on Wednesday as part of a high-profile campaign — including legal support from George Clooney’s wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney — to win back the artefacts which were taken to London two centuries ago.
Unesco, the UN’s cultural and scientific body, last month asked Britain and Greece to accept it acting as a mediator in the long-running dispute.
Greece said it was prepared to wait for the outcome of talks between Unesco and Britain before launching legal action.
The Parthenon marbles owned by the Greeks are exhibited alongside plaster copies of those that remain in London.
The sculptures were taken from the Parthenon by British diplomat Lord Elgin in 1803 and shipped to Britain. — AFP
