Daimond Are Forever

Diamonds are ForeverÐ'-Commanded by a Cartel

"Diamonds are forever," nearly everyone has heard of this numerously displayed slogan in a wide variety of media, but many have failed to identify from where diamonds come, the mining techniques, and the large responsibility required to produce them. Based in South Africa, the diamond company De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. has created the famous slogan that is seen and heard by millions of consumers. The diamond cartel currently owns hundreds of subsidiaries which enable them to maintain a large market share. However, because of its past marketing methods and the civil wars that destroyed Angola, De Beers should not be allowed to distribute its diamonds to the world unless its practices are radically altered.

De Beers is a company with a long line of history. The cartel was started out of a battle for control of newly discovered areas rich in diamonds in South Africa. De Beers was formed about one hundred and ten years ago and was incorporated by founder Cecil Rhodes (De Beers History Online). In 1859, there were reports of diamonds discovered on the Vaal River in South Africa, but no one had evidence relating to these reports until Erasmus Jacob found Eureka (21.25 carats) on the Orange River (De Beers History Online). Erasmus Jacobs and Barney Barnato, a diamond seller fought against each other to gain exclusive control of the sites until April when they ceased fighting and partnered to form De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd (De Beers History Online). This partnership enabled the company to dominate the volatile diamond market that it still controls today.

De Beers has arguably become one of the most powerful mining companies not because of superior products, but because of monopolistic values. On the path to success, the diamond cartel gained wealth from buying surplus diamonds, and mines from unstable countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Sierra Leone, and the newly established Democratic Republic of Congo. Most notably, Angola has endured the trials of war, famine, genocide and land mines, and serves as a prime example of the damage caused by the diamond industry.

In order to understand the effects of the diamond industry, a brief history is of importance. A man named Jonas Savimbi, a rebel leader is Angola's infamous leader because of the atrocities he performed to Angola through his rebel movement. In his beginnings, Mr. Savimbi found the current government party the Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) insufficient for the needs of his fellow country men. Thus in Muangai, a city in the highlands, he summoned for a meeting for the greater community, and it was there that he created the National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA) in March of 1966 (Simpson, par.15). UNITA's main purpose was to eradicate the existing government under President Dos Santos.

Mr. Savimbi was on a mission to oust the current government, and he did so at no expense. The opposition sparked a civil war that lasted for over 35 years. During this period, the economy plummeted and caused mass displacement of inhabitants to surrounding countries. The economic downturn caused many people to lose their jobs, and later brought about a countrywide famine. Thousands of citizens died, and thousands emigrated to neighboring countries in hopes of food and better lives. The UNITA rebel movement hurt the countries on multiple levels. According to the Angola Peace Monitor, "On one occasion UNITA soldiers attacked an orphanage and took 60 children and a teacher hostage. Two teachers and a doctor were also reported to have been killed" UNITA did not care about human casualties, thus causing the country to give in to their demands. UNITA used diamonds as a way of financing the cost of ongoing wars, regardless of government control. However, in the beginning of Mr. Savimbi's rule he was admired by supporters who did not know of his hidden motives.

Ironically, during a time when Mr. Savimbi's actions were unknown, he had support from former U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George Bush senior, as well as the country formerly known as the Soviet Union. After the civil wars ceased, the MPLA government made a treaty with UNITA which came to be known as the Lusaka Protocol. Both sides agreed on having elections to predict the newly independent country's president and the end of illegal diamonds. After the election the current president Dos Santos was named as the winner. Mr. Savimbi became furious, broke the peace agreement, and re-ignited the war. He re-took the mining locations previously used by his organization and started selling more diamonds to fund a new purchase of 60 tanks from Ukraine, as well as training for soldiers sent to Morocco (Fennell, par. 6). Eventually, the war begun to slowly cease, but it marked the rise of corruption within the government as they too had ulterior motives. After 36 years of chaos, Mr. Savimbi's long awaited death arrived when he was violently killed by government troops. Following his death, UNITA's strength gradually decreased. Due to the iron fist of De Beers, they have manipulated and controlled the entire diamond production of certain countries.

Although De Beers has maintained a strong image, their deceitful tactics to control diamond mining led them to Angola among other unstable countries. This company was once the primary purchaser of Angolan Ð''blood diamonds' or Ð''conflict diamonds'. The diamond cartel once bought diamonds from Angola despite the numerous civil wars that destroyed the country. De Beers defended their story saying that they bought the conflict diamonds in order to preserve raw diamond prices. It was not until the middle of the year 2000 when they resigned their position in Luanda, Angola (Scott-Joynt, par 26). This was their basis for buying during economic growth, and selling during economic recessions (Sherman par. 31). The civil wars in Angola commanded a large number of publicity in the world, and people slowly realized that the diamond giant De Beers had buying offices in Angola. De Beers was in no shape to allow the wars to associate the diamonds to bad feelings because it is an industry based on good feelings. Thus, their first move was to close down their diamond purchasing offices.

With huge responsibility placed on De Beers to stop conflict diamonds, they placed a ban on diamonds from Angola. This ban did not stop Mr. Savimbi from retaining and attracting new customers, it just meant finding new means of getting his diamonds to customers. At one point, the diamond cartel bought $700 million in raw diamonds from Angola, most without proper certification (Sherman, par. 20). The United States soon became aware of the situation and consulted