A British chain of bookstores, Borders, said Wednesday it had yanked copies of a Tintin book from its children's sections after a race watchdog complained it was racist -- but would continue to sell it on adults' shelves.
The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) said it "beggared belief" that Borders should sell "Tintin in the Congo", claiming it contained potentially highly offensive material.
"This book contains imagery and words of hideous racial prejudice, where the 'savage natives' look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles," a spokeswoman said.
"How and why do Borders think that it's okay to peddle such racist material?"
The CRE said it was contacted by a Borders customer last month who saw the book on sale in London.
In response, a spokesman for the US-owned store said: "Naturally, some of the thousands of books and music selections we carry could be considered controversial or objectionable depending on individual political views, tastes and interests.
"However, Borders stands by its commitment to let customers make the choice. "After consideration of this title, we have instructed all stores to move it to the adult graphic novels section."
"Tintin in the Congo", which first appeared in Belgian newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle as a comic strip in 1930-1931, is part of the series "The Adventures of Tintin" by the Belgian author and illustrator Herge.
But its tale of boy reporter Tintin's trip with his dog Snowy to what was then the Belgian Congo is seen as controversial by some because of its depiction of colonialism and racism, as well as casual violence towards animals.
Herge later justified the book by saying it was merely a reflection of the naive views of the time. Some of the scenes were revised for later editions.
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