The UK refuses to return the Parthenon marbles claimed by Greece

The United Kingdom excluding Wednesday 11 to return to Greece the marbles of Parthenon exhibited in the British Museum, denying information about an imminent agreement with Athens and dampening the hopes of other countries which, like Chile, are also trying to recover their heritage.

“I’ve been very clear about that. I do not think that [los mármoles] they should go back to GreeceBritish Culture Minister Michele Donelan told the BBC.

The president of the British Museum, George Osborne, “would agree with me: we shouldn’t be returning them and, in fact, they belong to the UKwhere we have cared for them for a long time,” he added.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Greece is officially asking for the return of a 75-metre frieze torn from the Parthenon and one of the famous caryatids from the Erechtheion, a small ancient temple also located on the Acropolis of Athens, key pieces in the British Museum’s collection.

UK authorities say sculptures were ‘lawfully acquired’ in 1802 by the English diplomat Lord Elgin, who sold them to the famous London institution. But Greece claims they were “plundered” while the country was under Ottoman occupation.

Last week, the newspaper The Telegraph He said Osborne, the former British finance minister, was on the verge of closing a deal with Greek authorities to repay the treasures as a long-term loan, as part of a “cultural exchange”. DSO would make it possible to circumvent a British law that prevents the museum from dismantling its collection.

“I think his view on the matter has been misunderstood and misrepresented. (Osborne) will not give them back. It is not his intention. He has no desire to do so,” said the minister.

“The concept of a 100-year loan has also been raised, but it’s also not certain what he’s planning,” he stressed.

Greek government spokesman Yiannis Oikonomou admitted on Monday his “ongoing” negotiations with the British Museum “are not easy“.

The minister also specified that she fears that a return of these famous Greek sculptures would open “the box of thunder”.

“It would be going down a slippery slope, where we would end up wondering if a lot of amazing objects have to go back to another country,” he added, considering “the question of ownership is very ambiguous”.

Other countries, such as Egypt or Chilethey ask for the return of pieces such as busts of pharaohs or the moai Hoa Hakananai’a, the most precious from a spiritual point of view on Easter Island, which is in the British Museum.

The Chilean authorities started negotiations in 2018, with the trip to London of a delegation of Rapanui indigenous people from that Pacific island.

The mission had the hope, hitherto rejected, of obtaining a long-term “loan” of the basalt figure 2.4 meters high and weighing 4 tons, which according to tradition contains the spirit of one of its ancestor. .

In recent years, pressure has increased for Western museums to return works of art, especially those obtained during the colonial period, to their countries of origin.

Greek media reported in December that there had been secret negotiations between Osborne and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for a year.

The British government then recalled that the British Museum is subject to a 1963 law which prevents it from transferring or selling objects from its collection, except under very limited conditions.

AFP extension