Official British and UN Acknowledgment on the Correct Name for "Persian Gulf"
For the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of "orchestrated" efforts to remove the word "Persian" from "Persian Gulf" despite historic and legal precedence for this name. A couple years ago, France's art museum, the Louvre, deleted the word "Persian" from the Persian Gulf in its map guides. Some keen observers connected this move to the museum receiving $1 billion for a display at a branch of the Louvre in the United Arab Emirates. The Louvre also received donations from Arab fundraisers. The museum is expected to open an Islamic art wing in 2009 which has already received $20 million from Saudi billionaire Prince Walid bin Talal. It also received a donation of around $7 million from Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Earlier, in 2004, the Iranian Government and Iranians outside Iran firmly objected to the move by
the National Geographic when it used an alternate name for Persian Gulf in its atlas. Later on, in response to intense pressure by Iranians, particularly Internet petitioners, the National Geographic officially apologized and the offending phrase was removed.
Where do countries and global organizations stand on this issue? Many Arab states have either hesitated to use the word "Persian Gulf" in recent decades, or have invented their own name. Many Western and Asian countries continue to use old maps with "Persian Gulf."
The United Nations described the use of any name other than Persian Gulf as "faulty" during their eighth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, held in Berlin from Aug. 5 to Sept. 2, 2002.
In 2001, in response to an enquiry by an Iranian, The British Government issued an official document acknowledging the name "Persian Gulf" and recommending it for Official British use.
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