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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
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P 261551Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000263 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
AF/EPS FOR ANN BREITER 
EEB FOR BROOKS-RUBIN 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND J. HARMON 
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS 
COMMERCE FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD PGOV PHUM ASEC EMIN ZI
SUBJECT: KIMBERLEY PROCESS CHAIR GIVES ZIMBABWE KID-GLOVE 
TREATMENT 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) During a short visit, hijacked to some extent by the 
marketing might of Rio Tinto's Murowa Diamonds, Kimberley 
Process (KP) Chair Bernard Esau got a white-washed account of 
the violence in the disputed Chiadzwa diamond field in late 
¶2008.  Esau made conciliatory remarks about the need for SADC 
to support Zimbabwe in his parting address.  He failed to 
challenge the GOZ's assertion that no deaths had occurred at 
the hands of government agents at the site, nor did the KP 
team apparently have or seek the opportunity to engage human 
rights activists or the registered claimant of a disputed 
part of the diamond field.  The Namibian Chair's kid-glove 
treatment of Zimbabwe is a disappointment, but not a 
surprise.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
GOZ Asserts No Human Rights Abuses at Disputed Site 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Murowa Diamonds Managing Director Niels Kristensen 
briefed econoff on March 24, 2009 on the previous week's 
visit by a Kimberley Process team to Zimbabwe.  Kristensen 
said Murowa Diamonds, a member of the Rio Tinto group of 
companies, had lobbied hard for face time with the KP team. 
(Note: Rio Tinto is working doggedly to prevent Zimbabwe's 
suspension from the Kimberley Process.  Along with Murowa, it 
lobbied the EU hard and successfully not to follow the U.S. 
lead in sanctioning the Minerals Marketing Corporation of 
Zimbabwe (MMCZ).  The companies argued that EU sanctioning of 
MMCZ or Zimbabwe's suspension from KP would compel Murowa to 
close its mine and lead to the mine's expropriation by the 
GOZ.  End Note.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) A Murowa employee who participated in the GOZ's 
planning of the visit reported to Kristensen that the issue 
of how to handle questions about violations of human rights 
in Chiadzwa had dominated the planning sessions.  At one 
point a high-level police officer had been brought in to 
remind the group of the government line that there had been 
no deaths at the hands of government agents in Chiadzwa in 
November/December 2008. 
 
¶4. (U) Adhering to that line, Obert Mpofu, the ZANU-PF 
Minister of Mines and Mining Development and a Mugabe 
loyalist, reiterated during the March 25 session of 
Parliament that neither the police nor the military had been 
responsible for any deaths in Chiadzwa.  While Mpofu 
acknowledged that a military operation had cleared the area 
of panners, he denied that violence had been used.  The MDC 
half of Parliament responded that his argument was ludicrous 
Qhalf of Parliament responded that his argument was ludicrous 
as both the independent press and NGO groups have reported 
that the police and military were behind the deaths of 
several hundred panners. 
 
 
HARARE 00000263  002 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------------ 
Murowa Diamonds-Sponsored Tour 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Murowa flew the 5-person team, consisting of Chair 
Bernard Esau, three other Namibians, and a South African, to 
its mine in the company's corporate jet for a tour on March 
17, 2009.  From there, it flew the team to Mutare for vehicle 
transfer by officials of the Zimbabwe Minerals Development 
Corporation (ZMDC) to Marange to see the diamond field. 
(Note: The GOZ has given the parastatal ZMDC responsibility 
for development of the site.  The ZMDC is a specially 
designated national, i.e. a USG-sanctioned entity.  End Note) 
 The ZMDC did not permit two accompanying Murowa employees to 
join the group.  However, the plane was grounded by bad 
weather and the KP team spent the night in a Mutare hotel at 
Murowa Diamond expense.  The KP team told the Murowa 
employees that the only diamond operation they had seen was 
hand panning of diamonds in a shed, with some older 
earthmoving equipment parked in the vicinity.  Along the same 
line, soldiers at the Mutare airport had told the Murowa 
employees during their long wait for the KP team that the 
military clampdown in the area had ended the diamond paning 
and trading frenzy. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kristensen said that the team had an appointment 
with President Mugabe on March 18 and had also visited the 
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), where it was shown a carry-on 
suitcase-sized box of rough Marange diamonds of indeterminate 
value.  Esau had posed the question why diamonds were being 
stored at the RBZ, but did not get a satisfactory reply, 
according to Kristensen. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Conciliatory Farewell Remarks by KP Chair 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) At a GOZ-hosted farewell dinner for the KP team on 
March 18th attended by Kristensen, Esau gave a conciliatory 
speech in which he stressed SADC's obligation to help 
Zimbabwe address its problems and not "tread" on the country 
when it was in need.  He also praised the systems, 
infrastructure and procedures in place in Zimbabwe for 
monitoring the diamond trade, noting that they only needed to 
be re-invigorated and followed.  Kristensen said Esau did not 
challenge the GOZ's assertion (repeated that evening) that 
nobody had been killed by government agents during the 
Chiadzwa crackdown.  He also said Murowa was not aware of any 
discussion about a return visit by a Kimberley Process team 
to Zimbabwe. 
 
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Comment 
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¶8. (SBU) The KP team apparently never had or sought the 
Q8. (SBU) The KP team apparently never had or sought the 
opportunity to engage human rights activists or the 
 
HARARE 00000263  003 OF 003 
 
 
registered owner of a disputed part of the Marange diamond 
field during its visit.  We are disappointed, but not 
surprised, at the Namibian-led KP team's kid-glove treatment 
of Zimbabwe.  If the Kimberley Process is to maintain any 
international credibility, it must not allow the killings by 
government agents and the illicit trade in diamonds from 
Zimbabwe to be swept under the carpet under the mantle of 
African solidarity. 
DHANANI