ZIMBABWEs army has been found to be a major contributor to illicit diamond mining by a Kimberley Process Certification probe, which released a damning report at the weekend.(Pictured: the illegal Marange diamond field).A visiting team of international experts, probing allegations of a booming blood diamonds trade that has reportedly left more than 200 illegal miners dead, made its initial report after a week-long probe.
There cannot be effective security where diamonds are concerned with the involvement of the military, concluded the report.
It also recommended that the army be removed from diamond mines within two weeks. The government has reluctantly agreed to do so. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the army was assisting top government officials to loot the mines using forced labour, especially in the Marange area in the east of Zimbabwe.
More than 30,000 people live inside the diamond fields in Marange, and plans are under way to relocate them elsewhere. The other mines probed include River Ranch and Murowa.
However, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu dismissed the allegations of looting and murder, saying some of the damning evidence was garnered from stage-managed interviews.
Mpofu said he was unaware of any serious problems at the diamond fields. No sector has brought it to my attention, claimed the minister. Zimbabwe has been identified as a major supplier of blood diamonds, which are finding their way across the border in unregulated ways.
The Zimbabwe central bank has also been identified as a major player in the illicit trade.
The Zimbabwean government has already exonerated itself, saying the probe failed to prove any allegations of misconduct.
The Times (SA)
Post published in: News