Diamond watchdog divided over Zimbabwe diamonds

Zimbabwe has been given the green light to sell diamonds from its Marange diamond fields by the industry's leading cgold mines in burkina fasoertification system, but the decision did not have the backing of all members. Participants of the Kimberley Process, which aims to stop "conflict diamonds" entering the market, met this week in Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss the Marange diamond fields but remained divided over a final statement.

Rights groups say abuses have taken place against illegal miners, smuggling is rife and some mines in Marange remain in the hands of Zimbabwe's military, charges denied by Harare. An inspection team from Congo, current chair of the Kimberley Process, found that Zimbabwe met the minimum necessary standards and a statement on Thursday said Zimbabwe could start selling diamonds from there again, albeit with some monitoring. Zimbabwean Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu said he had been seeking unsupervised exports. "(But) we have no choice but to accept. We want to be treated like any other country, I'm going to sell our diamonds now," he told Reuters...