Antisemitic French comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, best known as simply 'Dieudonné,' is reported to be heading to North Korea to attend a 'peace festiva'" in Pyongyang.
Dieudonné has been barred from entering several countries, including the UK, and has been convicted in both French and Belgian courts for incitement to hatred over racist and antisemitic comments. He revealed details of his latest stunt in a video on YouTube in which he said, "At a time when the United States is organising military exercises on the Korean peninsula, I believe we have to take action."
Dieudonné, who will travel to North Korea with the far-right writer Alain Sorel, will join a short list of western celebrities who have made trips to Pyongyang. The former basketball star Dennis Rodman has made five "diplomatic trips" to the pariah state, most recently in June, when he met with North Korea's sport minister and gave him a copy of Donald Trump's book, The Art of the Deal.
Details are scarce as to the nature of the festival Dieudonné is supposedly attending, but the independent NK News website, based in Seoul, South Korea, reports that the trip has been arranged by Bollo Nils "a self-described coordinator between the DPRK state-run Korean International Sports Travel Company (KISTC) and French tourists".
The Algemeiner newspaper reports that the festival will include "supermarkets and a fun fair". The American publication also quotes Dieudonné as saying: “The One who controls events seems to have charged me with a mission: to spread peace by making my contemporaries laugh...There is no better place in the world than the epicenter of war tensions to let the hope of peace blossom from the artistic emotion. I am against war, that’s why I’m going.”
Dieudonné is best known for popularising the antisemitic "quenelle" gesture. He was subject to an exclusion order from the UK in 2014 when he attempted to enter the country to support the footballer Nicolas Anelka at a disciplinary hearing after performing the gesture during a Premier League match.
Mr Anelka was banned for five matches, fined £80,000 and ordered to attend a compulsory education course.
