By Dr. Richard Pankhurst:-
The question of the return to Greece of the Elgin Marbles has
recently re-erupted in the British press, with an article by one Philip
Hensher in support of restitution, which appeared in the “Independent”
newspaper, in London..
On that occasion the “Independent, on 31 August, published a letter
from Professor Richard and Mrs Rita Pankhurst which read in part:
“Philip Hensher’s perceptive article urging the return to Greece of
the Elgin marbles prompts us to raise the no less necessary return to
Ethiopia of the loot from Magdala, taken by a British Expedition in
1868. The loot comprises a gold crown, some 400 manuscripts, ten tabots,
or altar slabs, etc., currently held mainly at the British Library and
Museum and the Royal Library at Winsdor Castle.
“The changing international perspective on culture raised by Hensher
applies to Ethiopia no less than to Greece. Ethiopian manuscripts in
Britain were in the past much studied by European scholars, who deserve
our praise. Their legacy has, however, been inherited by Ethiopian
scholars. Addis Ababa, rather than London, is now indisputably the main
center of Ethiopian Studies. Ethiopian libraries are, moreover, now able
to preserve the country’s manuscripts.
“From the point of view of international law, the looting of Magdala
was in no way justified. Were such action taken today there would quite
rightly be a public outcry
The letter ended by explaining that it was “to restore the past
injustice that the society Afromet had been established in Addis Ababa
to rework for the return of the Magdala treasures.
Source: http://www.linkethiopia.org
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