By Nqobani Ndlovu.
World diamond manufacturers say they will support a ban on trade with Zimbabwe unless it demilitarises its diamond fields.
Zimbabwe's army has defied calls by the Kimberly Process (KP) – which works to end the sale of blood diamonds - to vacate the diamond fields where security forces are accused of torture, killings and human rights abuses against civilians.
The KP team that was launched in 2003 to stop the flow of conflict diamonds into the mainstream market also called for Zimbabwe's diamond sales to be halted for six months following its visit to the country in June this year.
The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) is backing the KP team and World Diamond Council (WDC) for Zimbabwe's suspension until the government met the standards of legal diamond trade.
'IDMA wishes to emphasise its unequivocal support for the WDC's position that if the Kimberley Process certification scheme (KPCS) review commission's recommendations are not implemented and addressed in an acceptable timeline, a call for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the KPCS is the only route to follow,' said the body's president, Moti Ganz, in a statement.
The WDC, also known as the International Diamond Council, is made up of representatives of diamond manufacturing and trading companies while the IDMA represents manufacturers.
The government seized the Chiadzwa diamond field in eastern Zimbabwe from British-based Africa Resources Limited in 2007, allowed unlicensed diggers to overrun it and in November 2008 drive them off in a military crackdown.
Human rights organisations have detailed how in 2008 security forces used live ammunition and teargas into the diamond fields resulting in the death of over 200 civilians – a charge the government denies.
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe's mines minister, Obert Mpofu said the government is demanding 50 per cent of all investments in the country's diamond wealth.
'With diamonds, we want 50-50 shareholding in joint ventures with investors,' Mr Mpofu was quoted by the state-controlled Herald newspaper as telling a parliamentary committee on mining. 'That's not negotiable.'
Mr Mpofu said the government was drafting legislation to put its stake into law.
World diamond manufacturers say they will support a ban on trade with Zimbabwe unless it demilitarises its diamond fields.
Zimbabwe's army has defied calls by the Kimberly Process (KP) – which works to end the sale of blood diamonds - to vacate the diamond fields where security forces are accused of torture, killings and human rights abuses against civilians.
The KP team that was launched in 2003 to stop the flow of conflict diamonds into the mainstream market also called for Zimbabwe's diamond sales to be halted for six months following its visit to the country in June this year.
The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) is backing the KP team and World Diamond Council (WDC) for Zimbabwe's suspension until the government met the standards of legal diamond trade.
'IDMA wishes to emphasise its unequivocal support for the WDC's position that if the Kimberley Process certification scheme (KPCS) review commission's recommendations are not implemented and addressed in an acceptable timeline, a call for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the KPCS is the only route to follow,' said the body's president, Moti Ganz, in a statement.
The WDC, also known as the International Diamond Council, is made up of representatives of diamond manufacturing and trading companies while the IDMA represents manufacturers.
The government seized the Chiadzwa diamond field in eastern Zimbabwe from British-based Africa Resources Limited in 2007, allowed unlicensed diggers to overrun it and in November 2008 drive them off in a military crackdown.
Human rights organisations have detailed how in 2008 security forces used live ammunition and teargas into the diamond fields resulting in the death of over 200 civilians – a charge the government denies.
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe's mines minister, Obert Mpofu said the government is demanding 50 per cent of all investments in the country's diamond wealth.
'With diamonds, we want 50-50 shareholding in joint ventures with investors,' Mr Mpofu was quoted by the state-controlled Herald newspaper as telling a parliamentary committee on mining. 'That's not negotiable.'
Mr Mpofu said the government was drafting legislation to put its stake into law.
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