President Mugabe of Zimbabwe has warned that the country will go ahead with the sale of diamonds even if the industry watchdog, the Kimberly Process (KP), does not authorize exports of gems from the controversial fields in the east of the country.

Officially opening the third session of the seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe on Tuesday, Mugabe blasted Western countries led by the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia of blocking the resumption of trade in diamonds mined from the Marange fields.

The four countries vetoed the decision to approve the sale of Zimbabwean diamonds at last month’s meeting of the Kimberley Process.

“Let there be no doubt about our resolve to sell our diamonds no matter the conditions set by others,” a defiant Mugabe said.

KP will meet in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Wednesday to decide the fate of the Marange diamonds after industry players failed to reach a consensus on resumption of exports from the troubled fields.

Zimbabwe’s Mines minister Obert Mpofu has previously said Harare was ready to ship more than three million carats of stockpiled diamonds from Marange fields and would be exporting them, with or without certificates, to awaiting buyers.

Mpofu insisted that Zimbabwe has met KP minimum standards on diamond mining from Marange, referring to a report by KP monitor Abbey Chikane, a South African national, who said that the country had met the minimum conditions set by the regulator and could start gem exports.

Human rights groups say the military continues to commit serious abuses in a bid to force out artisan diggers who descended on the poorly secured fields in 2006.

Source African Press Agency

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

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