BLOOD DIAMONDS
RAFAEL MARQUES DE MORAIS
non-compliance with the requirements of the Kimberley Process and reports of violence and human rights violations.”67 The European Commission went further by stating its intent to protect “the integrity of the Kimberley Process and ensure that Marange diamonds contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic development, and do not fuel further violence and human rights violations.”68 Angola, the most influential African ally of the Mugabe regime, led the chorus of African countries opposed to the sanctions. The strongest public statement on the subject was issued by the African Diamond Producers Association (APDA), which is based in Angola. “The motives behind the attempt to block Zimbabwean diamonds are sinister,” stated the executive secretary of the association, Edgar de Carvalho, himself an Angolan.69 According to the position championed by Angola, sanctions against Marange diamonds violated World Trade Organization rules. Angola also emphasized that the operational guidance of the KP, agreed upon by all participants, “deals only with conflict diamonds as defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution.”70 Edgar de Carvalho specified that blood diamonds are those “used by rebel groups to overthrow legitimately-elected governments.” As far as Angola was concerned, since there was no civil war in Zimbabwe, and no rebel group attempting to overthrow the Mugabe regime, “there are no conflict diamonds in Zimbabwe.”71 Through the APDA, Angola accused the KP of exceeding its mandate, arguing it should be left to the World Trade Organization and the General Assembly of the United Nations to “have the prerogative to opine on such issues.” At the end of 2010, Boaz Hirsch, the outgoing president of the KP, decided to maintain the sanctions on Marange
67 Europa EU News, 2009. 68 Ibid. 69 Carvalho, 2010. 70 Ibid. 71 Ibid.
38