|
|
|
 Home » News » Latest News » News Story
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Avi Krawitz
|
Posted: 02/01/10 06:42
|
|
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... A secret airstrip is being built in the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange, Zimbabwe, which observers believe will be used to deliver weapons in exchange for diamonds mined at the controversial fields, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported.
“Diplomats and analysts believe that the mile-long runway is intended for arms shipments, probably from China, for which troops loyal to President Robert Mugabe would pay on the spot with gemstones from the Chiadzwa diamond mines,” the newspaper stated.
The article included aerial pictures showing construction work on the airstrip, which boasts a newly built control tower and a runway that is nearly ready for surfacing. It also furthered concerns that conflict diamonds from the Marange fields are illegally filtering through to the market. Following reports of ongoing human rights abuses at the mine and past military operations that resulted in numerous deaths, diamonds mined at Marange were found to be non-compliant with the Kimberley Process (KP).
However, the KP failed to suspend the country from the scheme at its annual plenary meeting in November 2009, instead adopting a working plan to bring the country into compliance. Zimbabwe agreed to suspend all exports of Marange stones until a KP monitor was appointed to oversee the stock. To date, though, the country has not shown much progress in adhering to the plan and a KP monitor has yet to be appointed.
A spokesperson for the Centre for Research and Development (CRD), a local nongovernmental organization (NGO), told Rapaport News that the absence of a KP monitor has resulted in a lot of corruption around the mine.
Much of the corruption, the NGO explained, surrounds the two companies — Mbada Diamonds and Canadile — that the government recruited to partner in mining the fields. The CRD noted that Mbada was airlifting diamonds to Harare International Airport in violation of the work plan, adding that two directors at the company recently fled the country with two boxes containing diamonds worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Mbada's chief executive officer (CEO), Mr. Mukwekwezenge, and one of its directors, George Van Veck, were said to have smuggled the stones through Mozambique rather than airlifting them to Harare, as they routinely do.
“On this particular day, the two directors loaded empty boxes into the helicopter and fled with the boxes carrying the precious stones,” the center explained. The NGO cited unnamed sources who indicated that the two were acting in collaboration with some very senior government officials.
“There is no way the scam could have succeeded without the cooperation of some powerful individuals within government,” the source reportedly said. “Further, no police report was made about the theft.”
In addition, CRD reported that Canadile’s marketing director, Komalin Pakirisamy, and one other director, V. Naidoo, have been granted bail after being arrested for the illegal possession of diamonds. The two were found with 67 diamonds not far from Chiadzwa. As part of the bail conditions, they surrendered their passports, but have been allowed to return to work.
While the KP work plan required the demilitarization of the Marange fields, CRD also reported that soldiers continue to “commit gross human rights violations in and around Chiadzwa.” Soldiers based in the Chiadzwa fields, it explained, continue operating panner syndicates that range between five and 50 panners per soldier in areas that are not currently occupied by the two aforementioned companies.
The NGO cited incidents of violence that occurred within the past two weeks, whereby soldiers “ran amok, beating everyone on sight with logs and gun butts” after prospective diamond buyers would not meet their asking prices.
Soldiers continue to be accused of carrying out “operation gwejeline,” in which they raid beer halls and shops, seize women and detain them for one to two days, using them as sex slaves. CDR renewed its call for the KP to temporarily ban mining activities at Chiadzwa.
“Lack of commitment to the pillars of good governance, namely transparency, accountability, responsiveness, participation, effectiveness and democracy, are at the center of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown,” the CDR said. “The CRD calls upon Zimbabweans and the international community to demand an immediate end to the plunder of Chiadzwa diamonds.”
"Zimbabwe needs diamonds for development, not for personal aggrandizement,” the NGO added.
LH
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous Item
| Back to List |
Next Item
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© Copyright 1982-2010 by Martin Rapaport. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Legal Notices
Index®, RapNet®, Rapaport®, PriceGrid™, Diamonds.Net™, and JNS®; are TradeMarks of Martin Rapaport.
While the information presented is from sources we believe reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy
or validity of any information presented by Rapaport or the views expressed by users of our internet service.
|
|
|
|