"sell those diamonds now and bust the racist sanctions"

The Western warmongers are unsettled by one terrifying fact: the diamonds will help Zimbabwe bust the racist sanctions once and for all. Once the sanctions are dismantled, the regime-change agenda will be left in tatters, with Zanu-PF firmly in the driving seat. It is a nightmare that is giving Western politicians as well as their think-tanks and surrogates sleepless nights.

The Sunday Mail
(Editorial)

An astonishing revelation has emerged from Israel: Zimbabwe has the potential to become a producer of 25 percent of the global diamond supply in terms of value within just a few years.

In practical terms, this means one in every four diamonds under the sun will come from Zimbabwe. To patriotic Zimbabweans, this has to be the best cause for celebration since April 18 1980.
The stupendous scale of Zimbabwe’s diamond deposits was confirmed by Israeli gemstone consultant Mr Chaim Even-Zohar during an intercessory meeting of the Kimberley Process Certifi-cation Scheme (KP) in Tel Aviv last week.
Mr Even-Zohar’s message to the world was simple and straightforward: Zimbabwe is becoming a vitally important player in the diamond business, therefore the KP must make every effort to ensure that the country remains a member of this certification scheme.
Virtually all the members of the KP — except Australia, Canada, the United States and the European Union — are agreed that Zimbabwe has a right to sell its diamonds.
Owing to the discredited imperialist intentions harboured by these four spoilers, there was no consensus at the Tel Aviv meeting. Discussions ended on Thursday in a stalemate over the Zimbabwe ban, despite all-night talks that broke up at 5.30 am and then continued for several hours later in the afternoon.
The people of Zimbabwe are outraged. How can this injustice continue? The same Western governments that have imposed racist sanctions on Zimbabwe are once again ganging up against our nation after discovering that the valuable stones of Marange are going to be Zimbabwe’s economic salvation.
The Western warmongers are unsettled by one terrifying fact: the diamonds will help Zimbabwe bust the racist sanctions once and for all. Once the sanctions are dismantled, the regime-change agenda will be left in tatters, with Zanu-PF firmly in the driving seat. It is a nightmare that is giving Western politicians as well as their think-tanks and surrogates sleepless nights.
But the three countries that are needlessly politicising Zimba-bwe’s diamonds are getting it all wrong. They falsely assume that the KP is the only platform available to diamond traders. There are plenty other avenues out there, so there is no way a nation as fiercely independent as Zimbabwe can be held to ransom by a clueless bunch of bullies.
The Tel Aviv meeting convened in light of the second report of the KP monitor to Zimbabwe, Mr Abbey Chikane. In question was the continued implementation of the Joint Work Plan, agreed upon at the plenary meeting in Swakopmund, Namibia, in November 2009.
When the matter of whether or not to adopt Mr Chikane’s report was put to a vote, a total of 69 KP members gave Zimbabwe the thumbs-up while only a paltry four — Australia, Canada, the US and the European Union — sought to oppose. But as soon as the Western powers realised that they had been defeated in a democratic process, the rules were abruptly changed. The KP chair, Mr Boaz Hirsch, said there had to be consensus, meaning every member must consent. How ludicrous can you get?
In his latest report, Mr Chikane makes it clear that Zimbabwe has covered considerable ground in implementing the KP recommendations. In view of the fact that the KP-appointed monitor has given Zimbabwe full marks, we have to ask the question: on what basis are the governments of Australia, Canada and the US conniving to allege that Zimbabwe has “blood diamonds”? What objective facts are they advancing in labelling these stones “blood diamonds”?
We hold no brief for Mr Chikane, who is now being unfairly vilified by Canada and the US. He may have his imperfections, but he is certainly not a fly-by-night character in the diamond industry. He chairs the South African Diamond Board and that alone says a lot about his credentials.
In disregarding the latest report on Marange, the US, Canada and Australia are pandering to cheap politicking by seeking to cast aspersions on Mr Chikane’s competence. They are also discrediting the KP itself.
The behaviour of these three countries is ridiculous. After all, the Kimberley Process is a voluntary club.
And how, in all seriousness, do these countries seek to replace Mr Chikane with Finance Minister Tendai Biti as Marange monitor? What does Mr Biti know about the mining and processing of diamonds? We are dealing here with people who are panicking that Zimbabwe is about to bust their evil sanctions.
No country has the power to stop Zimbabwe from selling its diamonds. As a nation, we have voluntarily subjected ourselves to the KP procedures. We can, by the same token, voluntarily withdraw from the cartel.
As Mr Even-Zohar confirms, Zimbabwe has become a major player on the world diamond market. By virtue of this nation’s huge potential, those who seek to demonise and isolate our diamonds are doomed to failure.

In any case, we know for a fact that the Kimberley Process primarily deals with trade in rough diamonds. Should Zimbabwe choose to cut and polish its stones — and this is already under way (refer to last week’s issue of The Sunday Mail) — the imperialist loudmouths who cowardly hide behind the KP veil will be outflanked and defeated.

On the matter of diamonds, the people of Zimbabwe are united in telling the coalition Government: sell those diamonds now and bust the racist sanctions.