APA - London (United Kingdom) A Belgian court is due to rule whether or not to ban ‘Tintin in the Congo’ or if it must carry a warning label, APA learns here Thursday.
‘Tintin in the Congo’, the second book in the comic strip character’s adventures, appeared in 1930 ; and is said to have “crude, stereotyped depictions of Africans” which Belgian cartoonist Hergé later said were reflecting racist, colonialist views of the time.
The United Kingdom’s Commission for Racial Equality (UKCRE) had earlier called for the book to be banned three years ago, though the book has been on sale with a paper label warning of offensive content.
A Congolese man living in Belgium brought the case to the courts, asking for a ban of the comic strip because of its racist stereotypes.
Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo has asked for a ban several times before in the Belgian courts, and he has also asked France to do the same.
A Belgian court will hear the case next Tuesday.
