Liberals turn their back on
300,000 Canadians of Greek origin
Canadian
Alliance MP, Jim Abbott, Urges the Liberal Government to Take Action for
the Return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece
OTTAWA - Today, May 29 2003, in the House of
Commons, Jim Abbott, Member of Parliament for Kootenay Columbia and
Canadian Alliance Critic for Canadian Heritage expressed his
disappointment towards the Prime Minister's ignorance that motions had
passed in the House of Commons and the Senate to support the return of the
Parthenon Marbles to Greece in time for the 28th Olympiad in Athens,
Greece, in 2004.
"The
House of Commons and the Senate have passed a motion to call upon the
United Kingdom to return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, their country of
origin, before the 28th Olympiad in Athens, Greece, in 2004", said
Abbott.
"Yesterday,
the Prime minister was not even aware of such motions. To add to the
ignorance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the motion had not
passed the Commons. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also said that Canada
would not lobby Britain on this matter. Will this government stand up and
defend the interests of Canadians of Greek origin or will it simply ignore
them?" asked Abbott.
"On
April 1 2003, I gave my full support to all Canadians of Greek origin for
the return of the Parthenon Marbles. On April 3, 2003 I urged the Prime
Minister to relay the content of the motion to the British. Not only did
the Prime Minister chose to ignore me, but also he ignored 300,000
Canadians of Greek origin. I guess what really matters is their vote every
four years. Will this government give its unconditional support for the
return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, Greece before the next
Olympics?" concluded Abbott.
Aileen
Carroll, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
answered by saying that Canada should not get involved in this matter and
let the United Nations and UNESCO decide. "What Ms. Carroll said, who
also voted against this motion, is that the Liberals did not only turn
their back to the decision taken by both Houses, the Senate and the House
of Commons but they also turned their back to 300,000 Canadians of Greek
origin", replied Abbott.
For more information call: Dimitris Soudas, at (613) 295-6330.