Sarah Baxter, a deputy editor of The Sunday Times in Britain has written a piece entitled “The sane move is to give Greece back its Elgin Marbles”, calling on British PM Boris Johnson to return the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece, adding that such a move would be a clear a gesture of solidarity and friendship.
The author of the article presents a hypothetical historical twist in which parts of the Big Ben had been plundered after an occupying force had laid waste to the British capital, with the Brits rightly demanding the parts of the iconic landmark back after years, drawing a parallel to what had actually happened to Greece during the Ottoman rule and the actions of the British Lord Elgin who defaced the Marbles from the Parthenon and brought them back to the UK.
Baxter describes the new Acropolis Museum as “wonderful”, and “much nicer than the windowless space dedicated to the sculptures in the British Museum”. She also expresses admiration for the progress and results of the restoration works of the sculptures that the Acropolis Museum hosts.
An occupying army has laid waste to London and the houses of parliament lie in ruins. The clock tower and Big Ben still stand, but the façade is crumbling and the great bell no longer chimes. The ambassador of another foreign power offers to cart off some of the rubble to his own country, and the insouciant occupier signs a loosely worded bill of assent. The next thing you know, nearly the whole clock and bell are removed abroad, never to return.
Years later, England’s national pride is restored. We want Big Ben back. But no! It belongs to another nation now and we are constantly chided by its subjects for being unworthy of its keep.
The article comes after other major global publications said the right thing to do would be to return the marbles to their natural and rightful location in Athens.
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