Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) No diamond ban for Zimbabwe

No diamond ban for Zimbabwe
Philip Murombedzi
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:42:00 +0000

KIMBERLEY Process Certification Scheme members Thursday decided against suspending Zimbabwe for alleged production of conflict diamonds. The members were wrapping up four days of annual plenary deliberations on Zimbabwe's diamonds, among other matters, in Namibia.

KPCS members decided instead to send a Kimberley monitor to Zimbabwe to supervise the country's diamond production, according to members who attended the meeting, as well as introduce a 12-month timeline for reforms.

"Its suspension could not come to fruition because it was held that we should give them an opportunity to address issues of compliance and removing the military and things like that," Bernhard Esau, KPCS chairman and Namibia's deputy mines minister said Thursday.

Instead, the KPCS, which has 49 members representing 75 countries, has drawn up an action plan with timelines which Zimbabwe would be required to follow, he said.

The country was accused by human rights groups of producing what are known as "blood" or "conflict diamonds" -- gems mined by force or to fund conflict, or both, in its Marange fields.

A KPCS review team, after visiting Zimbabwe in July and hearing "testimony" from alleged victims, had recommended that Zimbabwe be suspended from importing or exporting rough diamonds within the KPCS until it complied with its norms.

They interviewed businessman and conman Newman Chiadzwa who gave them "verbal evidence" of alleged atrocities. Newman later rescinded his statement saying it was motivated by greed.

Human rights groups alleged that miners have been organized into syndicates, forced to dig for the benefit of top military brass and senior government officials. The Zimbabwean government has denied these claims.

Thursday's decision was unanimous, as is required by KPCS rules.

The Zimbabwe Government sent a large delegation of about a dozen people to the meeting in Namibia to press its case.

They gave a lengthy PowerPoint presentation defending itself against the charges made by the Kimberley investigators.

In a recent interview, Murisi Zwizwai, Zimbabwe's deputy minister of mines and mining development from the MDC-T party, said that Zimbabwe was working hard to remain a member and that Zimbabwe's diamonds were not blood diamonds.

"The solution lies in us righting the wrongs at Marange, while remaining a KP member," he said. "We are committed to Kimberley Process values."

Meanwhile, Israel will adopt the position of KPCS chairman beginning in January 2010, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) serving as vice chair.

Labels: BLOOD DIAMONDS, KIMBERLEY PROCESS

posted by MrK @ 7:10 AM