A court in the Netherlands has rejected a request by activists to ban the holiday character Black Pete from state television but encouraged debate over a tradition that has prompted protests on both sides.
Citing technical grounds, district Judge Antoon Schotman said a summary filing by opponents of Black Pete had been lodged too close to the festivities to be heard in time. But he said an issue that touches on the sensitive colonial past should be debated further.
The cultural discussion about the character known in Dutch as Zwarte Piet has sparked rowdy protests and arrests on both sides in past years. The annual children's festival is similar to Christmas traditions in other parts of Europe but falls several weeks before Christmas in the Netherlands.