KPCS must treat Zim fairly and with due respect

the necessary security in the diamond fields.
It opened itself to the KPSC monitor and followed his recommendations.
Yet we continued to have some so-called civic bodies that persisted in their campaign to have the diamonds classified as blood diamonds.
The intention has always been to stop the Zimbabwean economy from performing, in the mistaken belief that this would lead to regime change.
By continuing to engage the KPSC, Zimbabwe has shown that it has nothing to hide. This culminated in the Kinshasa agreement, which freed Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds with the blessing of the KPCS.
We welcome the remarks by Ambassador Milovanovic and would want to believe she was being sincere.
We are aware that she will come under a lot pressure to depart from that position. But we are confident that the truth will always prevail.
She also pledged to uphold the KPSC spirit of operating by consensus. “I would say that consensus and seeking consensus is going to be the biggest part of the job. The Kimberly Process, as many probably know, is a combination of government, industry and civil society. It is a process that operates by consensus; and therefore seeking consensus, fostering the ability to come together and to make decisions in order to move the Kimberley Process forward is going to be a critical element for the United States this year,” she said.
Here we have our reservations. Americans are not known for consensus building in international affairs, be it in politics or business. They are used to bullying their way through.
Even before they assumed the chairmanship of the KPSC they were Zimbabwe’s biggest challenge to selling its diamonds as they sought to override the decision of the majority that Zimbabwe had complied with the KPSC requirements and standards.
The majority view has always been that Zimbabwe’s diamonds are not blood diamonds and should be traded freely.
But this was not acceptable to the Western powers led by the US.
In the end, the voice of the majority of the members of the KPSC prevailed.
That is all water under the bridge now. Zimbabwe can look forward to participating in diamond trade under the aegis of the KPSC and hopefully be treated fairly.
The imposition of sanctions on two of Zimbabwe’s diamond mining companies, Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources, is reason enough to doubt the Americans’ sincerity.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti had to write a strongly worded letter to the Americans protesting this decision, which came soon after the KPCS had approved Zimbabwe’s diamond sales. He correctly pointed out that the imposition of sanctions undermined the KPSC’s and the US’ chairmanship of this body. “A member must act in good faith. One cannot in one forum act in one manner then unilaterally undermine the collective decision taken at the common forum,” complained Minister Biti.
The sanctions were clearly intended to cripple the economy as Minister Biti had planned to finance about US$600 million of his budget through diamond revenue.
Zimbabwe deserves to be treated fairly and with respect as it has emerged as one of the biggest diamond producers in the world.
Its diamonds cannot be ignored anymore.
Reports indicate that they are already making a huge impact on world markets, especially in Surat, India’s biggest diamond-cutting and polishing centre.
We expect them to also dominate the big markets in Antwerp if allowed to trade unhindered. Zimbabwean companies should easily compete with the likes of De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto while strictly following the KPSC rules.
In the end, the people of Zimbabwe should be able to benefit from this critical resource.
Without sanctions it would be easy to account for every cent from diamond sales as there would be no need for sanction-busting measures, which tend to bring opaqueness in the trade and transfer of the diamond money.