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 JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Investigators for the world's diamond control body say the gems were mined by virtual slaves who had been told to dig or die, and were smuggled out by soldiers who rape and beat civilians.
Yet the Kimberley Process, the diamond body, said those gems don't qualify as "blood diamonds," and instead of sanctioning Zimbabwe is giving the country another chance to get its Marange fields under control.
In a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press, investigators for the Kimberley Process had recommended that Zimbabwe be suspended, meaning many consumers would have shunned the country's diamonds. Instead, officials ended their annual deliberations this week with a decision Zimbabwe be given another chance to improve control over its Marange diamond fields.
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