Tag: loot

UK: British Museum Faces Renewed Calls to Return Cultural Relics! (7.9.2023)

“They are the subject of loot. They were illegally taken out of the country,” Tijani said. He demanded the British Museum give back the Benin Bronzes, which British forces took in 1897.

“It is irrespective whether they are safe there. That is not an issue. The issue is that these are stolen artefacts, and they should be returned to Nigeria to the communities that they belong to,” he added.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations, threw light on the “insulting ridiculousness” of the British Museum’s refusal to return artefacts to their country of origin on security grounds.

“One of the most insulting reasons that they’ve given is that the other countries that these items belong to would either not be able to take care of them or they are likely to be stolen,” she said. “But you’ve got people in this country putting them on eBay.”

Continue reading

WWII: The ‘Correct’ Soviet Sinking of the Nazi German Ship – MV Wilhelm Gustloff [1945]! (29.10.2022)

With the US, UK and EU actively supporting the political rightwing and far-right as a policy decision in this power bloc’s opposition to any and all Workers’ Movements anywhere in the world – the idea that the Soviet sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a ‘War Crime’ still carries significant persuasive force that even permeates Western classrooms (including those of ‘modern’ Russia) and is a common idea held throughout society. Alexander Marinesko did not commit a ‘War Crime’ or a ‘Crime Against Humanity’ because from the point of view of International Maritime Law, the ship was a legitimate target for the following reasons: 

a) The ship was fitted with artillery (including anti-aircraft guns). 

b) The ship was escorted by armed warships. 

c) The ship and was painted in gray ‘camouflage’ colours to assist in its combat missions. 

d) The ship was not Registered with the Red Cross. 

e) The ship was carrying active military personnel. 

f) The ship was travelling through a declared combat zone at the time of sinking. 

g) The ship sailed under the (military) flag of the Reichskriegsmarine.

Continue reading