Black Pete: Flemish minister Sven Gatz hits out at criticism for using blackface to dress as Zwarte Piet

A Flemish minister has hit out against claims he is racist after he tweeted a picture of himself dressed as the character Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, while in blackface.

Sven Gatz, the Flemish Minister for Culture, tweeted a picture of himself in blackface with his lips painted red, while wearing a black curly wig and the recognisable Renaissance style outfit for Black Pete of velvet shorts and a jacket trimmed with gold piping and a white collar.

He posted the picture with the message: “And we sing and we jump and we are so happy, because there are no naughty children.”

Mr Gatz received strong criticism for his decision to use blackface when dressing up as Black Pete. He replied to claims that his actions are racist in a tweet, stating: “Engaged against racism all my (political) life. And now I’m an ordinary racist because I coloured my face dark. Come on. Love. Don’t Hate.”

But Wouter Van Bellingen, director of Minority Forum, told Flemish newspaper De Morgen: “Globally, there is criticism of the figure of Zwarte Piet. If you know that… how can you post some pictures of yourself?” the Guardian reports.

Black Pete is a traditional Christmas character who is celebrated as a helper of St Nicholas – or Santa Claus - in the Netherlands each year.

The festivities traditionally see people dressing in blackface to play the part of Santa’s sidekicks. Many argue the character is a harmless tradition, but opponents say Black Pete is a racist characterisation dating back to the time of African slaves.

A Dutch court last year ruled that the character’s appearance is “a negative stereotype of black people” and this year the parades where St Nicholas hands out sweets to children saw the Black Petes’ faces painted in different colours.