Greek PM says: Return of Elgin Marbles will strengthen UK’s global role
The Greek Prime Minister urged Boris Johnson to return priceless ancient sculptures to Greece during his official visit to the UK and said the move would strengthen Britain’s global position after Brexit.
“It was a topic I was really interested in and not just a footnote during my visit to the UK,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday. mentions “Elgin Marbles” taken from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 19th century. “There is a very strong unifying argument which I consider particularly important.”
“If I were in the Prime Minister’s position and I had been thinking deeply about global Britannia, and the idea of Britain actually playing a role in the post-Brexit world, [it] would be a great coup for public diplomacy if they looked at this from a different angle,” he said.
The return of the Elgin Marbles has been a subject of controversy for more than 200 years, during which time Greece has repeatedly called for their return.
The 17 figures and almost half of the reliefs that decorate the Fifth century BC Parthenon were removed by Lord Thomas Elgin, a British diplomat and art collector when Greece was under Ottoman rule, who later sold them to the British Museum.
On Tuesday, the Greek leader met with Johnson discussed a number of foreign policy issues including the repatriation of historical objects.
Johnson previously rejected calls to return the marbles to Greece, insisting they were “legally purchased”. Speak to the Greek daily Ta Nea Earlier this year, he said: “The UK Government has a firm and longstanding position with respect to the sculptures, that they have been legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time. and has been legally owned by the trustees of the British Museum since their acquisition.”
According to Mitsotakis, in 1986 Melina Mercouri, Greek culture minister and ardent campaigner for the return of marbles, was invited by Johnson to the Oxford Union to speak on the issue and at the time. , he is an avid supporter of the return of marbles.
For years, the main argument against the return of sculptures was that Greece lacked a suitable place to display them, but in 2009 Greece inaugurated an art museum at the foot of the Acropolis.
“If you visit the new Acropolis museum, you know what I mean. That’s where you need to be to see the sculptures,” said Mitsotakis, referring to the plaster casts of the sculptures placed in London next to the originals left by Elgin. He emphasized that Elgin’s marbles are an important monument and not just any artifact.
The Greek leader said he understood the British museum’s position that returning the statue could lead to “people asking for everything in the museum” but stressed that the Elgin marble was a “case in point”. especially”.
In exchange for the return, Mitsotakis said he was open to allowing the British Museum access to artifacts and treasures that had never left Greece before as part of future rotating exhibitions.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, Downing Street said possession of the marbles was a matter “absolutely” for the museum and not for the UK government.
“Every decision regarding the collections is made by the museum’s trustees and any question about the placement of the Parthenon sculptures matters to them,” said Downing Street. said.
But Mitsotakis insists it will continue to engage both the government and the museum on the issue.