A diplomatic row has erupted between Britain and Greece over the dispute Elgin Marbles. These are marble statues and ornaments from the Parthenon, a temple on the Acropolis in Athens, which has been one of the attractions of the British Museum for about two centuries.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London on Tuesday. Mitsotakis plans to repeat Greece’s demand for the statues’ return in the conversation. But the British Prime Minister suddenly canceled it on Monday evening, upsetting the Greek Prime Minister.
“I expressed my annoyance that the British Prime Minister canceled our meeting just hours before it was scheduled,” Mitsotakis said in a statement. “Those who believe in the truth and justice of their position never fear being confronted with arguments.”
Labor is open to reaching a deal
Political observers in London speculated that Conservative Sunak was in turn annoyed that Mitsotakis met on Monday with Keir Starmer, leader of the left-wing opposition Labor Party. Starmer recently indicated that Labor would be open to a deal with Greece if they managed to come to power.
Especially Sunak not entertained about an interview Mitsotakis gave to the BBC just before their scheduled conversation. According to a British government spokesperson, it had been previously agreed not to discuss the issue publicly Elgin Marbles to start. Speaking to the BBC, Mitsotakis compared the fact that the statues were being shared between London and Athens to dismemberment Mona Lisa: “Do you think your viewers will enjoy the beauty of the painting in that way?”
That Elgin Marbles including half of the 160 meter long bas-relief that once decorated the upper edge of the Parthenon. Count Thomas Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, commissioned the temple’s relief sculptures in the early nineteenth century and they were sent to England along with other objects. After Elgin experienced financial problems, he sold the statue to England, where it was kept in the British Museum.
The demonstration room was left empty in the museum
Athens has lobbied for the return of the money, especially since the 1980s Elgin Marbles, when former film star and culture minister Melina Mercouri began campaigning for it. According to the Greeks, Elgin ‘robbed’ of cultural riches.
In 2009, the Greek government built a modern museum for the statues at the foot of the Acropolis. The Greeks demonstratively left open spaces between the reliefs on display, to emphasize that the British still hung the pieces in the British Museum.
Greece’s requests for restitution have been rejected in London for decades. The British government argued, among other things, that Count Elgin legally acquired the statues because he had permission from the Ottoman rulers at the time. The British Museum also stated that they could not return the items because the law prohibited this.
Ten year loan
In recent months, former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, now chairman of the board of the British Museum, has been negotiating with Mitsotakis to reach a deal. The Greeks will partake of Elgin Marbles can be lent for a period of time, for example ten years. In return, Greece would lend its masterpiece to the British Museum.
Such loan agreements are legally acceptable. But Prime Minister Sunak is not so keen on this. He believed that once the disputed statues were loaned to Greece, they would never return to London.
Also read:
Greece put pressure on England: they wanted the statues returned
Greece is trying to pressure Britain to get back famous statues from the British Museum. “This is an issue I care deeply about,” said Prime Minister Mitsotakis.
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