Gunay: "There are 300 artifacts like weary Heracles"

The top half of statue of the mythological hero Heracles is to return to Turkey in the plane of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said he was happy about the return of top half of the statue, which had been on display at the Boston Museum and added that Turkey would continue to work for the return of cultural artifacts stolen from the country. "There have been 40 years of longing between the top and lower half of the statue," Gunay said, adding that they had been working for the top half's return since officials were notified about its display at the Boston Museum. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Gunay said the return process was slow because of bureaucratic obstacles. "We are following very determined policies about this issue. We deliver our demands via our representatives abroad. We have finally started to yield good results. " Gunay said. He also stated that they did not cooperate with those countries which did not return stolen artifacts, adding that there were 300 artifacts they demanded.