Stelios' response to the Evening Standard Article 26/2/2008

posted: 28.02.08

Dear Sir,

With reference to the Londoner's Diary article that was published on 26th February entitled: "EasyJet return flight plot for Elgin Marbles," I would like to comment as follows.

Firstly, although it may sound trivial to you, it’s important for the journalistic integrity of your column that you give the credit for any alleged "plot" to the right entity, which is easyCruise.com and if you insist, me personally, as the owner of easyCruise.com.  It was easyCruise.com which sponsored the Cambridge Union Society debate, not easyJet PLC.  They are very different companies with very different interests.

Moving on to the groundless allegations expressed by Michael Daley that the result was "skewed" and that he "would not be partnered by..luminaries such as Boris Johnson" and that "the Cambridge debate was chaired by a non-student". I am sorry to say that he is wrong.  In fact anyone who attended the debate at the Cambridge Union Society on 18th February, 2008 would have known immediately that none of the above were true. easyCruise.com, as sponsors only, stayed very much in the sidelines.  It was the Cambridge Union Society who actively sought to make the debate as strong as possible on both sides and as is the tradition of the Society, invited all of the speakers.  I have been told that Boris and a list of nearly 30 other luminaries were invited to speak but for various reasons, did not, or perhaps would not, attend.  Had Mr Daley turned up himself, then he would have seen that his co-speaker was Jonathan Jones, the arts correspondent of The Guardian.  The World Universities’ Debating Champion – himself a Cambridge student - was there in Mr Daley's place.  Needless to say that Mr Lu, Chairman of the Cambridge Union was in the Chair.

Now, let us turn to my views on the matter.  Put simply, I think that the two curators of the two museums – the new museum in Athens and the British Museum should sit down and talk to each other away from politics and "name calling" to find a mutually acceptable way to engage in a highly professional cultural exchange that will include a win-win for both sides.  I have yet to find anyone who says that this is a bad idea, but for some reason, some people in the 21st century are still more interested in conflict than true cultural exchanges . That is sad and I will continue to work towards a better cultural understanding between the two nations.  

Yours faithfully,

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Chairman
easyCruise.com
362 Syggrou av.
176 74 Athens, Greece

Original Evening Standard article published on the 26/2/2008

easyJet return flight plot for Elgin Marbles

Published: February 26 2008

The Cambridge and Oxford Unions have been accused of getting into bed with the Greek lobby that is calling for the Elgin Marbles to be returned to Athens. The Cambridge Union last week debated the Marbles controversy and saw a heavy vote in favour of their return. Now it turns out that the debate was sponsored by Hellenic Interests.

The result is being seen in Athens as a great boost to their campaign to pressurise the British Museum to relinquish the Parthenon statues, which were sold to the museum in 1816 by the 7th Earl of Elgin. But was the result skewed?

Art historian Michael Daley, an opponent of returning the Marbles, was asked to take part in the Cambridge debate and a similar event recently in Oxford but withdrew when he found out that they were being sponsored by the Greeks to the tune of £6,000. "The debates had been funded by Greek or 'Hellenic' interests," says Daley. "In both cases I discovered that the debates were not, as I had assumed, or been led to assume, part of regular Union Debates series. At Oxford the debating chamber had been hired out for the occasion. The 'occasion' was a bolt-on event to follow the world premiere of an anti-Elgin play - with Left-leaning luvvies like Vanessa Redgrave in attendance.

"At Cambridge, the debate was an 'extra' debate commissioned by the Greek founder of easyJet - on the advice of the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles. On both occasions I discovered late in the day that while the pro-restitution faction would be represented by activist 'professionals', I would not be partnered by promised luminaries (such as Boris Johnson and Brian Sewell) but by students."

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet, is a leading member of the British Greek community with a British passport. Sir Stelios claimed on the Cambridge Union website that his stance might help his easyCruise Mediterranean business. Daley tells me the Cambridge debate was chaired by a non-student, David Hill, an Australian activist for the return of the marbles to Athens.