Xinhua News Agency, London, September 5th: Summary: The British Museum is caught in a scandal of self-stealing and many countries demand the return of cultural relics as soon as possible
Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Juan Xu Feng
The British Museum has been in a crisis of credibility since the prisoner scandal came to light. The museum announced a few days ago that it will appoint Mark Jones, the former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the United Kingdom, as the interim director of the British Museum to replace Hartwig Fischer who previously resigned. A spokesman for the British Museum told Xinhua that the police investigation is still ongoing and that the museum has launched an independent review to learn lessons.
The British Museum admitted in mid-August that it fired a staff member and called the police after discovering that some of its collections were “missing, stolen or damaged”. The lost collection includes gold jewelry and glass objects from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD. In late August, Fischer announced his resignation. George Osborne, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, recently admitted that about 2,000 items from the museum’s collection were lost. Not all stolen collections are properly registered and cataloged, he said.
A spokesman for the British Museum said in a written interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 4th that the museum has asked the police to intervene in the investigation, has taken emergency measures to strengthen security, and launched an independent review to find out the incident and draw lessons from it.
Christopher Marinello, chief executive of International Art Recovery Organization, said in an interview with Xinhua that the theft from the British Museum was “shocking” because it is “one of the most important and well-funded museums in the world.” “. The lawyer, who specializes in recovering stolen works of art, worries that those collections that have not been properly registered and cataloged may never be returned to the museum. He suggested that the relevant parties release the list of stolen collections as soon as possible.
Founded in 1753, the British Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world, with a collection of more than 8 million items. After the loss of cultural relics, many countries asked the British Museum to return the cultural relics as soon as possible.
Despina Kotsomba, president of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, told the British media that Greece is very concerned about how many Greek cultural relics are among the stolen cultural relics. “We want to tell the British Museum that they can no longer say that Greek cultural heritage can be better protected in the British Museum.” Greek Culture Minister Lina Menzoni said that Greece has been asking the British Museum to return the Parthenon marble sculptures. The security problems exposed by the loss of cultural relics in the British Museum made Greece’s request even stronger.
The Nigerian side has reportedly asked the British Museum to return the Benin bronzes, which are now located in Nigeria. Abba Issa Tijani, director of the Nigerian National Museum and Monuments Committee, said in an interview with the British media: “Some countries and museums have been telling us that Benin bronzes are not safe in Nigeria, but there have been thefts in Nigeria. This is shocking. The key to this issue is that they are stolen cultural relics, and they should be returned to their place of origin.” Tijani said that the Nigerian government will write to the British Museum and the British government within a few weeks, demanding the immediate return of the Benin bronzes .
According to Egyptian media reports, Zahi Hawass, a famous Egyptian archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the British Museum’s handling of Egyptian cultural relics. “serious crimes”. He asked the British Museum to return Egyptian artefacts including the Rosetta Stone. In addition, Hawass also suggested that UNESCO and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities organize an international conference to discuss the risks of preserving cultural relics in the British Museum and how to return them to their original places as soon as possible. (Participating reporter: Shen Danlin)
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2023-09-06 02:15:00
