Overview: The British Museum is embroiled in a theft scandal, with multiple countries demanding the return of cultural relics as soon as possible

London, September 5th (Xinhua) - Summary: The British Museum is embroiled in a theft scandal, with multiple countries demanding the return of cultural relics as soon as possible

Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Juan and Xu Feng

After the self censorship and theft scandal was exposed, the British Museum fell into a credibility crisis. The museum recently announced that it will appoint Mark Jones, former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK, as interim director of the British Museum, to replace Hartwicky Fischer, who previously resigned. A spokesperson for the British Museum told Xinhua News Agency that the police investigation is still ongoing and the museum has initiated an independent review to learn from the experience.

In mid August, the British Museum admitted that after discovering that some of its collections were "missing, stolen, or damaged," it fired an employee and called the police. The lost collections include gold jewelry and glassware produced from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD. In late August, Fischer announced his resignation. George Osborne, the chairman of the museum's board of directors, recently admitted that about 2000 items in the museum's collection have been lost. He said that not all stolen collections are properly registered and cataloged.

A spokesperson for the British Museum stated in a written interview with Xinhua News Agency on the 4th that the museum has requested the police to intervene in the investigation, taken emergency measures to strengthen security, and initiated an independent review to identify the incident and summarize lessons learned.

Christopher Marinelo, CEO of the International Art Recovery Organization, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the theft at the British Museum is "shocking" because it is "one of the most important and financially strong museums in the world.". The lawyer specializing in the recovery of stolen artworks is concerned that collections that have not been properly registered and cataloged may never be returned to the museum. He suggests that relevant parties release a list of stolen collections as soon as possible.

The British Museum was established in 1753 and is one of the most visited museums in the world, with a collection of over 8 million items. After the cultural relic loss incident, many countries demanded that the British Museum return the cultural relics as soon as possible.

The President of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, Dispina Kutesomba, told British media that Greece is very concerned about how many Greek artifacts are among the stolen artifacts. "We want to tell the British Museum that they cannot say that Greek cultural heritage can be better protected in the British Museum," said Greek Minister of Culture Lina Menzoni. Greece has been demanding that the British Museum return the marble carvings of the Parthenon Temple, and the safety issues of the British Museum's cultural heritage being exposed have made Greece's demands even stronger.

According to reports, the Nigerian side has requested the British Museum to return Benin's bronze artifacts, which are now located in Nigeria. Aba Isa Tijani, Director of the National Museum and Monuments Committee of Nigeria, said in an interview with British media, "Some countries and museums have been telling us that Benin's bronze artifacts are not safe in Nigeria, but there have been theft incidents there now, which is shocking. The key to this problem is that they are stolen artifacts and should be returned to their original places." Tijani said that the Nigerian government will send a letter to the British Museum and the British government within a few weeks, demanding the immediate return of Benin's bronze artifacts.

According to Egyptian media reports, Zahi Hawass, a renowned archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities in Egypt, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the way the British Museum handled Egyptian artifacts, believing that the theft of British Museum collections was a "global disaster" and a "serious crime" against World Heritage sites. He demanded that the British Museum return Egyptian artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone. In addition, Hawass also suggested that UNESCO and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Heritage organize an international conference to discuss the risks of preserving cultural relics in the British Museum and how to quickly restore them to their original territories.