Greece can respond to the UK in a tough way if necessary!
The recent diplomatic conflict between Greece and the UK over the Parthenon Sculptures (Parthenon Marbles), was ignited by the decision of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to cancel his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Sunak, you can’t keep the Parthenon Sculptures! Not only did Sunak’s actions bring the long-running controversy over our country’s cultural heritage to the forefront but also opened up the dialogue on possible Greek responses.
Interestingly it should be stressed that the citizens of the UK seem to favour the return of these monuments to Greece, suggesting a disconnect between the government’s stance and public opinion.
Despite Greece’s relatively soft stance on the Parthenon Marbles that had been stolen, Greece could respond in a way that would force the British to see the situation in a different light. Otherwise, it may turn against them to the extent that the profits from the British Museum tickets will be insignificant compared to the difficulties we will put them through. We must stress here that the aim should not be a total rupture of relations with the United Kingdom but a review of relations on the basis of mutual respect.
Options available to Greece: Moderate responses
Diplomatic pressure: Greece can take advantage of the discrepancy between the UK government’s position and the British public’s feeling in favour of the Parthenon Marbles.
By intensifying diplomatic efforts and public relations campaigns, Greece through social media and advertising can further mobilise public opinion, potentially influencing the UK government’s policy on the issue.
Legal Response: Despite the UK’s claim that it acquired them legally, Greece could raise and press the UK to produce its evidence which does not exist beyond a flimsy translation of an Ottoman document. There is no proof or evidence of how these historic Greek monuments came into the hands of the vandal and bandit Lord Elgin as described by Lord Byron in his poems “Child Harold” and “The Curse of Athena”.
Cultural Cooperation: Greece should continue to emphasize the cultural and historical importance of the Marbles. Partnerships with international museums and cultural institutions could be strengthened to intensify the pressure, as the British Museum exhibits objects that mainly belong to other cultures and other countries.
Strong reactions
Economic Pressure: Greece could consider using its position in the European Union to exert serious economic pressure but also to create problems for UK trade corridors that make extensive use of Greece. This could include moves for the EU to reconsider trade agreements with the UK. Greece could use its influence to bring the issue to the forefront of EU-UK relations and make it a precondition for any further cooperation between the Union and the UK.
Cyprus: A more radical approach could involve linking Greece to the issue of British military bases in Cyprus, which is also considered British territory as a remnant of the once mighty empire.
The British bases in Cyprus violate the jus cogens right to self-determination and integrity of the territories of the Republic of Cyprus. Also, the United Kingdom was obliged to provide financial assistance to the Republic of Cyprus under the independence agreement that included the bases, which it did only for the first five (5) years and has offered nothing since then. A concerted move to pressure on this issue as well with the aim of a comprehensive review of our nation’s relationship with the UK would further intensify the pressure on the marbles as well.
Unprecedented attack
Earlier, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak launched an unprecedented attack on Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accusing him of “showing off” over the Parthenon Sculptures and also of failing to honour his commitments to hold the meeting.
Amid intense criticism from within his own country as well, Sunak appeared in the British parliament and insisted on the correctness of his decision to cancel his meeting with the Greek prime minister, whom he accused of being responsible for the deadlock.
According to the BBC, the British Prime Minister accused Mitsotakis of trying to “show off” for the Parthenon Sculptures and that he himself was responsible for the cancellation of the meeting as he failed to keep his commitments. In particular, referring to the Greek Prime Minister, Sunak said that it appeared that the meeting “was not to discuss substantive issues for the future. But rather to… celebrate.”
“Specific assurances were fulfilled”.
When people make commitments they have to keep them,” he said, insisting on leaks in previous days that the Greek side had agreed not to raise the issue of the reunification of the sculptures, something the government categorically denies.
“In the spirit of good long-term relations between the two countries, which we wish to maintain, we have nothing more to add than what we have already said,” government sources said in response to the British prime minister’s fresh provocations.
Maria Zakharova: “It is theft, and we fully share this view”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, through its spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, has come out in favour of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece and has launched an attack on the British government.
According to the Russian official, the presence of foreign objects in Western museums, especially in Britain, including Greek antiquities, is a manifestation of the colonial tradition of theft.
“It is theft, and we fully share this view”.
This is a colonial tradition.
The British have been stealing national treasures from different parts of the world for many centuries and their museums, by and large, are composed of antiquities which have been stolen from the colonies,” Zakharova added, describing the presence of the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum as illegal. “Everything the British Museum has, the Louvre Museum, everything that arrived there from Greece and Egypt, arrived illegally.
Everything that was removed by French and British military and diplomats, under completely fabricated pretexts, supposedly that they were exporting cultural goods or temporarily exporting them, is robbery,” Zakharova’s comment was.
At the same time, she noted that the sculpture scandal is “a matter of bilateral relations between states.”
“They are independent states, they will solve their issues on their own,” Zakharova said.
