Belgian bid to ban 'racist' Tintin in the Congo

A Congolese man is trying to get a controversial Tintin book banned in the cartoon star's home country of Belgium.

A court is due to rule later on whether Tintin in the Congo can be sold in Belgian shops and, if it can be, if it must display a warning it is racist. It has already attracted much criticism for its crude racial stereotypes.Three years ago the UK's Commission for Racial Equality called for the book to be banned, saying it contained imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice. Written in the late 1920s it was the second Tintin adventure created by Herge, who later said it was a youthful sin which reflected the prejudices of the time. Now UK editions are generally found alongside more adult books and are sold with a band of paper around the outside, warning the content is offensive. Now Bienvenue Mbutu, a Congolese national living in Belgium, is asking the Belgian courts to ban the book, although he says he would be satisfied if it was sold with a warning like the one used in Britain.
Dominic Hughes @'BBC'