UK Government issues warning over Parthenon Marbles – Global News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office announced on Monday that the British Museum is legally prohibited from sending the ancient Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

While the trustees of the British Museum are free to speak with whomever they please, the office emphasized that “We have no plans to change the law that prohibits the removal of objects from museum collections… except in certain circumstances. Our position on that has not changed.”

10 Downing’s report poured cold water on a report by the Athens daily Ta Nea, which alleged secret talks.Possible return“A Year of Marbles Between British Museum President George Osborne and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis”advanced level.”

Osborne wrote that he met with Mitsotakis in London last week about the marbles, a large collection of sculptural panels depicting scenes from Greek mythology removed from the classic 19th-century Parthenon temple in Athens. The Greek Prime Minister pointed out that “At the same time taking into account the concerns that the British Museum might have, a win-win solution could be found that would lead to the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures in Greece.”

While England has long insisted that the marble was legally taken from the Parthenon by the British ambassador Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, who sold it to the Crown in 1817, Greece claimed it was stolen and demanded its return for years.

The British Museum attempted to bridge the gap with its own statement released over the weekend: “We act within the law and do not distort our larger group because it tells the unique story of our common humanity.. However, he said the museum would like toThe New Parthenon’s association with Greece. ”

Under the British Museums Act 1963, a museum can only sell or give away objects in its collection under three specific conditions, one of which is that the trustees determine that the object(s) in question “It is inappropriate to place in museum collections and may be removed without prejudice to student interests.. ”

However, in a survey commissioned by the Parthenon Project earlier this year more than half (54%) of 2,000 UK residents said the marbles should return to Greece, with only 16% saying they should stay in Britain.

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