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Since last December, the Marange Diamond Fields of Chiadzwa in eastern Zimbabwe have been under the control of the army. In October, helicopters, soldiers, and police attacked the illegal miners, killing at least 140 people. Now the roads around the diamond fields are barricaded by police road-blocks.
Before the government crackdown, labeled "Operation No Return," hundreds of illegal local and foreign diggers sold diamonds found with their bare hands to dealers in the nearby town of Mutare. The diamonds were often sold directly to foreign buyers who then smuggle the illegal diamonds out of the country, often ending up in the Middle East and India. Beginning in 2006, there was a "diamond rush" to the Chiadzwa fields because of the large quantities of diamonds close to the surface. Illegal digging, which is filthy and back-breaking work, is tempting in a country with a paralyzed economy that offers few opportunities.
The purpose of "Operation No Return" was not to take over the diamond fields as a scheme to provide revenue for the government while benefiting the community. In fact, senior ZANU-PF officials and supporters of President Mugabe are profiting from the sale of the illegal diamonds at the expense of the rest of the country. Government leaders have their own syndicates that dig and trade diamonds on the black market. There are currently over 500 syndicates operating in the diamond fields. The government is looting a valuable resource without benefiting the local community.
Mugabe has plans to forcibly move nearly 5,000 families from the Chiadzwa area and dumping them at the Arda farm in Odzi. Will these families be fairly compensated?
In 2006, the Zimbabwean government kicked out African Consolidate Resources (ACR), a British mining company that was the legal owner of the fields. Although ACR purchased the mine from De Beers, the government handed the valuable 170-acre property over to the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Villagers are forced to dig for diamonds for the military. Top army officials are involved in this forced labor. Soldiers also take advantage of any opportunity to loot because they are not paid well. The illicit diamonds are used as a bribe by Mugabe to pay the troops who keep him in power.
Not technically "blood diamonds," the diamonds that are from Zimbabwe's Chiadzwa fields are funding human rights violations. The World Federation of Diamond Bourses has called for a total ban of the trade of Zimbabwe diamonds.
Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance conflict. According to the UN, blood diamonds are "diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments and are used to fund military action." Blood diamonds, the subject of a 2006 movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, fueled the conflicts in the Congo, Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Ivory Coast. Diamonds are the ideal currency because of the closed-nature of the diamond trade and the difficulty in tracking and monitoring transactions.
The UN-mandated Kimberley Process is investigating if the proceeds from Zimbabwe's diamonds are used to fuel violence. If they are, Zimbabwe will be blacklisted from the diamond industry. The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme to prevent diamonds mined in conflict areas from entering the multibillion-dollar market. Since implementation of the Kimberley Process in 2003, conflict diamonds have been reduced from 4% of the market to less than 1%.
* "Zimbabwe: Soldiers are the New Illegal Miners" IRIN Africa 21 Apr 2009.
* "Profiting From Zimbabwe's 'Blood Diamonds'" BBC. 20 Apr 2009.
* Swain, Jon. "Battle for Zimbabwe's Blood Diamonds" The Times (UK) 7 Dec 2008.
* Dixon, Robyn. "Zimbabwe's Deadly Diamond Fever" LA Times 4 Dec 2008.
Before the government crackdown, labeled "Operation No Return," hundreds of illegal local and foreign diggers sold diamonds found with their bare hands to dealers in the nearby town of Mutare. The diamonds were often sold directly to foreign buyers who then smuggle the illegal diamonds out of the country, often ending up in the Middle East and India. Beginning in 2006, there was a "diamond rush" to the Chiadzwa fields because of the large quantities of diamonds close to the surface. Illegal digging, which is filthy and back-breaking work, is tempting in a country with a paralyzed economy that offers few opportunities.
The purpose of "Operation No Return" was not to take over the diamond fields as a scheme to provide revenue for the government while benefiting the community. In fact, senior ZANU-PF officials and supporters of President Mugabe are profiting from the sale of the illegal diamonds at the expense of the rest of the country. Government leaders have their own syndicates that dig and trade diamonds on the black market. There are currently over 500 syndicates operating in the diamond fields. The government is looting a valuable resource without benefiting the local community.
Mugabe has plans to forcibly move nearly 5,000 families from the Chiadzwa area and dumping them at the Arda farm in Odzi. Will these families be fairly compensated?
In 2006, the Zimbabwean government kicked out African Consolidate Resources (ACR), a British mining company that was the legal owner of the fields. Although ACR purchased the mine from De Beers, the government handed the valuable 170-acre property over to the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Villagers are forced to dig for diamonds for the military. Top army officials are involved in this forced labor. Soldiers also take advantage of any opportunity to loot because they are not paid well. The illicit diamonds are used as a bribe by Mugabe to pay the troops who keep him in power.
Not technically "blood diamonds," the diamonds that are from Zimbabwe's Chiadzwa fields are funding human rights violations. The World Federation of Diamond Bourses has called for a total ban of the trade of Zimbabwe diamonds.
Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance conflict. According to the UN, blood diamonds are "diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments and are used to fund military action." Blood diamonds, the subject of a 2006 movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, fueled the conflicts in the Congo, Sierra Leone, Angola, and the Ivory Coast. Diamonds are the ideal currency because of the closed-nature of the diamond trade and the difficulty in tracking and monitoring transactions.
The UN-mandated Kimberley Process is investigating if the proceeds from Zimbabwe's diamonds are used to fuel violence. If they are, Zimbabwe will be blacklisted from the diamond industry. The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme to prevent diamonds mined in conflict areas from entering the multibillion-dollar market. Since implementation of the Kimberley Process in 2003, conflict diamonds have been reduced from 4% of the market to less than 1%.
* "Zimbabwe: Soldiers are the New Illegal Miners" IRIN Africa 21 Apr 2009.
* "Profiting From Zimbabwe's 'Blood Diamonds'" BBC. 20 Apr 2009.
* Swain, Jon. "Battle for Zimbabwe's Blood Diamonds" The Times (UK) 7 Dec 2008.
* Dixon, Robyn. "Zimbabwe's Deadly Diamond Fever" LA Times 4 Dec 2008.