body-container-line-1

Revolution In British Position?

Feature Article Revolution In British Position?
APR 1, 2014 LISTEN

If this is not an April 1st hoax, then we must congratulate the British Government and the British Museum. If this is true, it represents a revolution in the attitude of both the British Government and the British Museum in this dispute which has been going on for a very long time.

In the statement said to have been issued by the British Museum, we notice a different tone; gone is the arrogance and the self-assured confidence that Britain has a God-given duty and right to keep, for the benefit of mankind, the art treasures of the world and all should be grateful for the protection of the artefacts acquired under dubious circumstances; gone are the insults at the Greeks and Athens. Instead we find a language of humility and almost of repentance, seeking forgiveness for past mistakes:

"This is not a decision that we were able to take lightly, but we realise it was a move that we had to make. We have gradually come to understand that issues such as this are not going to go away, and accept that we need to make more effort to try & resolve them, in the interests of maintaining the current levels of co-operation with countries such as Greece.

Various surveys have shown that our continuing retention of the sculptures is out of sync with public opinion. For a long time, the trustees hoped that this was a one off blip in the statistics, but we are now resigned to the fact that our continued retention of the sculptures is hurting our public image as world class museum."

And what about this reference to opinion polls? Since when has the British Museum and the British Government cared much about opinion polls that have been consistent on this matter? And the flood gates theory?

The statement on the whole does not resemble the arrogant, self-serving explanations that we have been used to reading from the venerable museum in Bloomsbury in the last thirty or so years.

If these changes of position and tone are true, then there is more hope for mankind than some of us have hitherto believed. The future of museums and artefacts can be said to be bright.

We need to wait and see what comes out of this amazing situation before making any definitive judgment.

http://www.elginism.com/elgin-marbles/british-government-agrees-unesco-mediation-parthenon-marbles/20140401/7330/

Kwame Opoku, 1 April, 2014.

body-container-line