Friday, December 08, 2006

Mehr News: "Distortion of Persian Gulf name harms Louvre’s reputation: envoy"

Iran goes nuts if you refer to the "Arabian Gulf" instead of the "Persian Gulf":
Iran’s Ambassador to Paris Ali Ahani has said that the distortion of the name of the “Persian Gulf” in the Louvre’s catalogue will harm its international reputation.

“Louvre enjoys international reputation, therefore its officials should be wary not to ruin it,” Ahani told France’s RTL radio on Thursday.

The substitution of the false name “Arabian gulf” for the Persian Gulf in the Louvre’s catalogue and the maps installed in the museum’s halls created a media frenzy in Iran last week as several newspapers covered the issue on their front pages.

“We expect the maps and documents of this museum to be based on credible historical facts,” the envoy added.

Therefore, the use of false names for the Persian Gulf by the Louvre is never acceptable and justifiable, he argued.

Several Iranian MPs have called on the foreign minister to take more vigorous “diplomatic action in response to the ill-mannered action of France in omitting the name of the Persian Gulf from the historic maps of the Louvre”.

Ahani said that he has written a letter to the curator of the Louvre to protest the alteration of the gulf’s name.

He expressed hope that the matter would be resolved soon.
Otherwise the Louvre's reputation is down the tubes!

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