African diamond industry girds for Hollywood film Sunday November 5, 04:47 PM
LUANDA (Reuters) - African nations must work together to minimise negative publicity over the launch of a Hollywood movie on so-called "blood diamonds" used to finance rebel groups and civil wars, a senior Angolan official said.
The industry is nervous about the impact of "Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, especially after recent criticism of the Kimberley Process, an organisation set
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up by the diamond industry expressly to police trade in the gems.
"It's a film and its authors have their intentions but we don't need to be afraid," said Manuel Arnaldo de Sousa Calado, president of Angolan state diamond company Endiama.
"We need to work in Angola and in Africa to minimise the negative effect it will have," he told Reuters at the launch on Saturday of a pan-African diamond association in Luanda.
The Warner Brothers movie, due for release in December, is set in Sierra Leone where civil conflict, spurred by the sale of diamonds, raged for more than a decade and killed tens of thousands.
Calado said it did not represent current realities in the industry.
"The film talks about a period from 1979 to 1999. These were Africa's 20 worst years. It's true, they did happen but they are over now," he said.
"The Christmas season is the time when diamond prices traditionally go up. So launching the film at this time of the year shows bad faith," he added.
The World Diamond Council, a global trade organisation, in September launched a print and online campaign to emphasise to consumers that the industry was acting responsibly.
Amnesty International, which launched a Valentine's Day campaign this year against so-called conflict diamonds, said diamonds mined in rebel-held areas of West Africa's Ivory Coast were still finding their way to the market.
ONE VOICE ON DIAMONDS
The African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA), launched on Saturday and to be headquartered in the Angolan capital, would help the continent unite its message on conflict diamonds and on other key issues affecting the industry, Calado said.
"Africa needs to raise its voice. We need to have a single voice for Africa," he said. "If we want to pass on our message to the world, we should have one that represents the whole continent."
"Blood diamonds" will also be in the spotlight this week in Botswana, where Kimberley Process participants including 46 governments and the European Union meet to assess efforts to certify all diamonds and stop illegal diamond sales.
Diamond giant De Beers, which accounts for around half the world's supply of diamonds, last week joined critics of the Kimberley Process, saying it left too many holes through which blood diamonds might still reach the market.
Africa accounts for up to 75 6 percent of global diamond production but Calado said it receives only about 10 percent of the revenues from worldwide diamond sales.
"This product (diamonds) contributes to the wealth of other countries, other countries live from diamonds. We must also start to gain real profits from the industry," he said.
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