Britain’s Minister of Culture opposes the return of the Parthenon Sculptures

By Thanasis Gavou

Against the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from London to Athens she was appointed the Secretary of State for Culture of the United Kingdom Michelle Donelan, commenting that the status quo works and must be protected.

During her appearance before the House of Commons digital media, culture, media and sport committee on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Donelan was asked about reports of British Museum chairman George Osborne in talks with the Greek side about a possible repatriation of Sculptor.

In her question to the minister, the MP Jane Stevenson of the Conservativesa member of the committee, commented critically that the return of the Sculptors “to sunnier climes” could be the start of British museums being without many of their exhibits in a few years, with the minister agreeing.

“George Osborne’s position is a little different than presented”Michelle Donelan originally said.

“But there are some people who are strongly advocating that some of these items be returned permanently. Current law does not allow this, it should be pointed out. I can fully understand the position they are taking and I can understand some of the arguments,” Ms Donelan continued, then added:

“But I think it’s a very dangerous and slippery road to follow. Our museums and cultural centers are hubs that can be visited not only by residents of this country but also by tourists, allowing them to be transported to a different part of the world and a different time of year. These are objects that we have given great care to for decades if not longer, we have researched them significantly, we have been their custodians. When you start giving back, where does it end? It is also very difficult to know who to return these things to. We are talking about very ancient objects in many senses and there are some examples where it is not clear who exactly the owners are. I would say it’s more clear that we have a directly connected property. In any case, the current status quo is working and we should protect it”, concluded the British Minister of Culture.

It is noted that over the weekend a representative of the Ministry of Culture stated that there is no intention to change the law that prohibits the British Museum from removing objects from its collection. The same position was repeated on Monday by a representative of Downing Street.

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