UK rules out contacts with Greece to return the Parthenon marbles

Jan. 11 () –

The British Minister for Culture, Michelle Donelan, stated on Wednesday that the looted Parthenon marbles belong to the United Kingdom, so they should not be returned to Greece, and has ruled out the alleged contacts with the Greek authorities for a cultural exchange.

“It would open the door to questioning all the content of our museums,” Donelan said in an interview with BBC radio 4, adding that this would be a “dangerous path” and would be like uncovering Pandora’s box.

Speculation about an imminent deal over the Elgin Marbles has been rampant in recent days after a Greek newspaper reported talks between George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum, and Greek authorities.

The British Museum, which houses one of the most important historical heritage collections in the world, would thus be willing to make an exchange whereby Athens would recover the marbles in exchange for a loan to London of other pieces.

“(Osborne) is not willing to repay them, basically. That is not his intention. He has no desire to do that. The concept of a 100-year loan has also been discussed, which is not what he is planning either,” he clarified. this Wednesday Donelan.

In this way, he has stated that Osborne agrees that they should not be returned, since they “belong” to the United Kingdom, where they have been cared for “for a long time”. “Where we have allowed access to these pieces,” she said.

The Government of Greece has always defended that it wants the permanent return of the heritage held by the British Museum, while the museum favors some kind of intermediate agreement. In fact, the United Kingdom Executive also stressed in December that it does not plan to reform the law that limits the perpetual restitution of works of art to very exceptional cases.

The Elgin Marbles are one of the main attractions of the British Museum, which also shows other pieces from ancient Greece and other historical cultures such as Egypt.