Activists protest outside UK Museum hosting Saudi embassy event

Protesters stood outside the museum's gates holding pictures of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose sudden disappearance and possible murder have been blamed on the Saudi regime.

The reception, marking Saudi Arabia's National Day, also comes amid rising humanitarian concern over the regime's war on Yemen.

"Dozens attended the protest to draw attention to what is happening in Saudi Arabia, and a lot of people have been angered by the Natural History Museum's decision to go ahead and host the event," Andrew Smith, media coordinator at the Campaign Against Arms Trade, told The New Arab.

"The Natural History Museum is a very prestigious venue and should not be hosting a regime which has been accused of killing journalists and is inflicting a humanitarian catastrophe on the people of Yemen," Smith said.

"The Saudi authorities have a contempt for human rights, and events like this will undoubtedly be regarded as an endorsement," he said.

"Museums are fundamental to society and should not be used as promotional platforms."

Activists called on the Natural History Museum to cancel the event, prompting it to issue a statement earlier on Thursday. 

"Enabling commercial events to take place outside of public opening hours in our iconic spaces brings the museum an important source of external funding, which allows us to maintain our position as a world-class scientific research centre and visitor attraction," the statement said.  

"We hold a wide variety of commercial events and it is made clear to any host that doing so is not an endorsement of their product, service or views."

Amnesty International slammed the decision, saying it makes the museum appear to "dignify" human rights abuses.

"As a prestigious UK institution with an international profile, the Natural History Museum should be extremely wary of allowing its facilities to be used in any way that might appear to dignify human rights violations," Polly Truscott, Amnesty International UK's foreign affairs expert said on Thursday.

"The museum needs to able to assure its many visitors and the wider public that its impressive interiors aren’t being used to provide window-dressing for a country currently cracking down on human rights defenders at home, not to mention one alleged to have carried out the premeditated killing of a Saudi Arabian journalist overseas."

Attention was drawn to the event, which is hosted by Saudi ambassador to London Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz, when activists accused the museum of accepting "blood money" referring to the kingdom's alleged assassination of Khashoggi and role in the Yemen war, which has left at least 10,000 Yemenis dead and millions more suffering from food shortages.

Global pressure on Saudi Arabia has grown in the days since Khashoggi's disappearance, with Turkish sources alleging that the journalist was killed by a 15-man group sent from Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week urged Riyadh to provide further details on Khashoggi's visit to the consulate, while American lawmakers on Wednesday signed a letter demanding a human rights probe into the case.

The case has also caused the New York Times to withdraw from an upcoming conference in Riyadh and a former US energy secretary to suspend his role in a multi-billion dollar Saudi project.