“Ashanti Was Looted” – Lord Boateng Demands Outright Return of Ashanti Gold From British Museum, Says You Cannot Loan Back to Asantehene What You Stole
Former UK Cabinet Minister and Diplomat Lord Paul Boateng is demanding that the British Museum align themselves with reparative justice by outrightly returning all looted Ashanti gold rather than lent back to the Asantehene.
Speaking at Chatham House on October 15, the former civil rights lawyer said the items had been looted and that suggestions of prior transactions did not change that. “Ashanti was looted,” he said, noting, “They have the gall to loan back to the King of Ashanti the stuff they stole in the first place.”
He set out a series of immediate objectives, including the return of Ethiopian tabots next year, the Benin bronzes within the next couple of years, and a commitment that the Ashanti gold should not to be lent back.
Lord Boateng described the British Museum as “the largest depository of stolen goods known to man” and “a charnel house of bones and of relics,” saying it held “secrets to our indigenous people globally.”
He accused the institution of having consistently failed to engage in dialogue that delivers. “They’ve talked but they’ve not delivered,” he said. “I want the trustees of the British Museum and those of us who are friends of the British Museum to tell the trustees that they should be part and parcel of reparative justice,” he said.
Lord Boateng described himself as a Friend of the British Museum, saying he had signed up and pays an annual subscription. He urged fellow friends of the institution to use that relationship to press for change.
