26 February 2013

Cameron's views on returnism not supported by BCRPM

Prime Minister Cameron's views on 'retunism' not supported by BCRPM and others too.

Sharon Heal for Museums Journal :

http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/26022013-cameron-condemned-for-lack-of-understanding-over-returnism-restitution-elgin-parthenon

PM's concept is simplistic and inadequate, say critics Prime minister David Cameron has been condemned for a lack of understanding following his statement last week about restitution of cultural objects.

Cameron was answering questions on a state visit to the site of the Amritsar Massacre, where British troops killed 379 Indians, when he was asked if he thought that the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is part of the Crown Jewels, should be returned as goodwill gesture. The prime minister said he didn’t believe in “returnism” and that wasn’t the right approach.

He added: “It’s the same question with the Elgin Marbles and all these other things. I think the right answer is for the British Museum and other cultural institutions in Britain is to do exactly what they do, which is link up with museums all over the world to make our collections, all the things that we have and look after so well - are properly shared with people around the world.”

But the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles has censured the prime minster for conflating the two cases.

Eddie O’Hara, Chairman of the BCRPM, said that each case must be judged by its merits.

 “In the case of the Parthenon marbles it is the probably unique demand for the reunification of the integral sculptured components of a Unesco world heritage monument, acquired in circumstances that were at best dubious, in an act of cultural vandalism.”

 He added: “The fact that he conjoined two such widely differing cases as the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Parthenon Marbles, and the fact that he called the latter the "Elgin" Marbles suggests that he does not appreciate what a simplistic and inadequate concept ‘returnism’ is.”

 Additional notes:

1. "By the way, did Mr Cameron not notice the simultaneous outburst of "returnism" in the popular press at the removal in dubious circumstances for sale abroad  of a Banksy mural from a London building whose only cultural pretension was this spray on addition?" Questions Eddie O'Hara Chairman for the British Committee for the Reunification of the Partrhenon Marbles
2. Decolonising Culture by Christopher Price, Vice Chairman of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (updated by Marlen Godwin)

Time was when European imperial powers assumed that theft and despoliation of cultural treasures from more fragile countries could be carried out with immunity.This is why in the 21^st century, the issue of looted art from the colonial era, refuses to go away.

Thankfully in the last decade we have had ‘movement’ starting with Tony Blair and the initiative to return the human remains of the Aborigines back to Australia. Italy has used the extent of their legal powers to promote arrangements with US museums to return disputed objects. At the same time initiatives and amendments to the Museum Law  also produced positive results for Holocaust looted objects being returned to ‘first peoples’ to whom they are meaningful and precious. UNESCO and ICOM continue with their efforts for a  global code of conduct over restitution of disputed cultural objects. More recently the European Commission is also planning to help Member States recover national treasures, which have been unlawfully removed from their territory by amending its current legislation.

Yet UK and the British Museum are sadly ‘stuck’ and this was reinforced by Mr Cameron’s comment that he doesn’t support ‘returnism’.

The majority of the surviving pieces of the Parthenon sculptures are mainly divided between Athens and London, between two superb museums: the recently opened Acropolis Museum and the long established British Museum.

In order to safeguard the ‘new’ reasons for keeping this peerless work of art divided between two major European cities, Neil MacGregor, the charismatic Director of the British Museum launched his History of the World and he has emphasised in interviews that the Marbles ‘tell a different story’ in the British Museum. A story that only suits the British Museum's narrative? Surely and as a sign of respect for what the ancients left behind, the best story that these sculptures ought to narrate is that which can be understood when they are viewed as closely as possible to the Parthenon, which still stands!

Research on museum visitors has concluded that the average visitor does not make meaningful connections between the randomly acquired objects held by ‘encyclopaedic’ museums. Indeed, given the choice between viewing the Parthenon Marbles within the artificial contexts applied to them by British Museum curators and experiencing them in the city of Athens from which they originate, the overwhelming evidence is that the majority of the public would prefer to see them returned to Athens.

Sharon Waxman in my opinion was the person that got closest to the core of the problem. She insisted in her book “Loot” that current “political possession” should and could  be replaced by “cultural cooperation”.

Although the British Museum trustees are not convinced, the British public (to whom the trustees are responsible) disagree. Polling results including the Museum Journal’s poll prior to the BCRPM’s International Colloquy in London last June, clearly show that there is a strong belief that the fragmented Parthenon marbles deserve to be reunited and seen as a whole in context  and with views to the building they were created for.

The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles now in its 30^th year of campaigning  believes that a solution can be found. A solution which would earn the respect  for both museums and would not be seen as a victory or defeat for either. This solution needs imagination from the museums and support from their respective governments.

The worldwide support for reunification would recognise that progress can be achieved and abandoning the relics of cultural colonialism will improve cultural cooperation, which in turn may have a far reaching effect on other sectors . Mr Cameron’s goal of increasing trade relations and improving  the economy and indeed earning him and his party more votes, starts here. It isn’t about ‘returnism’ Mr Cameron but about cooperation - a word that would instantly enhance David Cameron standing, not just in this country but globally.

Jonathan Sumption dismisses any questions that might arise about Lord Elgin's legal title to the sculptures removed from the Partheon at the start of the 18th century. His article 'The Elgin Marbles weren’t stolen — Greece is just exploiting our weakness' (thetimes.co.uk) goes on to state:  

"For most people, however, the issue is moral and cultural, not legal. So be it. What would be morally or culturally admirable about removing the Elgin Marbles from a museum in London to a museum in Athens?

Cultural artefacts have always moved around the world."

To read, BCRPM's Chair, Janet Suzman's response to Jonathan Sumption, please follow the link here. 

Christopher Price, long servicing Vice -Chair of BCRPM, wrote extensively on the merits of cultural mobility, and yet when it came to the Parthenon Marbles, he would have argued that they deserve, (those that survive), to be seen in the context of the Parthenon. An iconic structure, which not only stands, and has been restored and preserved for all humanity, but one that crowns the Acropolis. The emblem of UNESCO.

Jonathan Sumption goes on to list fragments of the sculptures from the Parthenon elsewhere: 'Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen' yet forgets to mention those museums that did have fragments, and that have returned them to be reunited in the Parthenon Gallery of the Acropolis Museum. Those frafments include returns from Heidelberg, Palermoand The Vatican. 

BCRPM agrees wholeheartedly that the Parthenon Marbles, culturally have a great significance for all humanity, yet is right for the UK and the British Museum to dicate how that cultural patrimony ought to be exhibited and understood, even appreciated by all humanity, especially as the removal of the pieces still in London took place when Greece had no voice?

Even without the sculptures in Room 18, the British Museum would still retain its status as a universal museum. In fact it would be elevated even further. For it is cultural co-operation in the 21st century that matters to most. Any references to cultural dispute sound so out of step, and look at the reaction at UNESCO's ICPRCP sessions especially towards the UK and in relation to this impasse. Culture matters, and it matters globally. In the case of this very specific request, Greece's ask is wholly justified. BCRPM's founders, with past and present members, stand by this, as do many all over the world.

Jonathan Sumption goes on to write: "Let no one say that the return of the marbles would set no precedent. The world is watching this dispute.This is a fight that we cannot afford to lose, and certainly cannot afford to concede." And yet again, this is misleading. No mention of the fact that in the British Museum there are 108,184 Greek artefacts, of which only 6,493 are even on display. Or that this is the ONLY request made by Greece since independence, and continues to be the only request made to this day.

The world is watching but only in astonishment at the UK's lack of that very British sense of fairplay. Dare we add, diplomacy and regard for international relations too? How can we forget PM Sunak's decision not to meet with PM Mitsotakis in November? Will any Greek person, or anyone around the globe, forget that snub? Many however, were in admiration of King Charles' tie, worn at COP28, when he met with PM Sunak. The message? Not all world leaders behave like a Head Boy that's not prepared to do more than cancell a pre-arranged meeting that covered timely topics including the continued division of these specific sculptures. 

"The Greeks are pressing their claim because they sense weakness. Since it was first formally advanced in 1983, they have skilfully exploited the relentless denigration of Britain’s past.They calculate that modern Britain lacks the self-confidence to defend itself. Are they right? The present negotiations implicitly concede that they may be.

Rishi Sunak should probably not have rudely cancelled his meeting with the Greek prime minister. But his statement that it should be unthinkable for any responsible British prime minister to contemplate ceding possession of the Elgin Marbles showed a sounder instinct than George Osborne’s." Concludes Jonathan Sumption.

The first request for the return of the sculptures removed only from the Parthenon, came shortly after Greece gained independence. Jonathan Sumption's reference to 1983 is the plea made by Melina Mercouri at UNESCO and that was the year that BCRPM was founded, nearly 150 years after the first request. Repeated requests made by Greece for these specific sculptures. So many have worked on the ways that would make the reunification work, and continue to provide the British Museum with artefacts not seen outside of Greece. For the last 23 years the offer of 'other artefacts' to be made available to the UK, has been on the table too.

Many have voiced their concerns at the UK's lack of empathy or understanding. Polls continue to support the reunification, yet few voices, including Jonathan Sumption continue to justify the division of this peerless collecion of sculptures. BCRPM continues to also add: the time has come to do the right thing by the Parthenon, and to add another chapter to the story of these priceless artefacts. Tell the story.