Aragon demands Urtasun explain the Sijena paintings

BarcelonaThe Government of Aragon has asked the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, to explain what work is being carried out on the murals in the chapter house of the Sijena Monastery by technicians from the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE), the Ministry itself, and the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC). In a letter sent to the Minister and the Court of First Instance and Investigation of Huesca, the Government of Aragon requests that the judge be informed of all the actions being carried out. The Director General of Culture of Aragon, Pedro Olloqui, has warned that any work on the paintings at the MNAC "must have the authorization of the owner."

Olloqui recalled in a press conference that, following the Supreme Court ruling confirming Aragonese ownership of the Sijena paintings and urging their restitution to the monastery, the Aragonese Minister of Culture, Tomasa Hernández, had already sent a letter to the minister in which she expressed her desire to safeguard historical heritage against the "plundering of cultural assets and, in general, the measures to be adopted to protect and defend them."

The Minister has not yet received a response to this letter, according to Olloqui, who also stressed that she watched with "astonishment and concern" as Urtsaun said in an interview with TV3 on Friday that IPCE technicians work "hand in hand" with those from the Generalitat, Barcelona City Council and the museum itself on the paintings.

Olloqui said they are also concerned by the "resistance" on the part of various institutions to complying with the ruling that guarantees "the cultural rights of the Aragonese." In this regard, he lamented the "double-talk" on the part of the Spanish government, as some ministers say it is necessary to comply with the rulings, but then claim that they are working with the Catalan authorities "who oppose the transfer."

Therefore, Olloqui warned that any intervention in the paintings must have the authorization of their owner, that is, Aragon. Therefore, he has called on the minister to submit to the court enforcing the ruling a detailed report of all the actions carried out on the paintings since the Supreme Court ruling.