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afrol News 14 January - A new report exposes that the Central African may be a regional hub in the trade of illicit conflict diamonds from neighbouring Congo Kinshasa. Belgian imports declared as originating in the Central African Republic had surpassed the country's official exports by a factor of three over the past few years. - At first glance, the Central African Republic presents a seemingly straightforward case study in diamonds, a new report by Partnership Africa-Canada notes. Despite numerous coup attempts since 1996, the country has not been considered a producer of conflict diamonds like Congo Kinshasa (DRC) and Angola. The country's total diamond production, estimated at about US$ 100 million per annum, is derived from a handful of towns along two veins of alluvial diamond deposits in eastern and western portions of the country. "The sheer volume of diamonds produced in Congo and Angola has overshadowed the importance of the Central African Republic's much smaller diamond economy," the report says. Christian Dietrich, the author of the 8-pages analysis, during his visit in the country however uncovered statistical anomalies, suggesting the Central African Republic is being used to smuggle diamonds from rebel-held areas the Congo. Compared to the anarchy of the Congo's diamond economy, the Central African Republic is relatively well-regulated and transparent, the report says. "The government commands an impressive array of statistics concerning diamond production and trading." - Beneath this first level of scrutiny, however, a more detailed examination of the Central African Republic reveals a less optimistic picture, Mr Dietrich notes. The country's physical proximity to rebel territory in the Congo suggested that Bangui could serve as a conduit for conflict diamonds. Bangui, Bujumbura, Kampala and Kigali were "the most obvious routes for the exit of diamonds mined in rebel zones in eastern and northern Congo." Although the Central African Republic has not intervened militarily in the Congolese war, Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba dispatched troops to Bangui during a coup attempt there in 2001. Mr Bemba intervened on behalf of the Central African government "because he could not tolerate a hostile regime in Bangui, Mr Dietrich notes. Bangui is separated from Mr Bemba's territory only by the width of the Ubangui River. Naturally, Mr Bemba was relying "heavily on the supply of commodities and materiel either through Kampala or Bangui, the latter being a much cheaper alternative for goods such as petrol." Rebel leader Bemba has been able to finance his war against the Congolese government by controlling the sale of between one and three million dollars worth of diamonds a month. Mr Bemba signed a peace deal with the Kabila government in April 2002 but then refused to assume his position as interim Prime Minister in Kinshasa. The diamond wealth controlled by Mr Bemba's Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC) has contributed to his ability to keep fighting. The exact routes for commercialising these diamonds remain a mystery for the most part. Rumours persist that Mr Bemba sends his diamonds through South Africa directly, but there is more evidence that they pass initially through the Congo's neighbours before entering the international market. Bangui was noted as an obvious destination. - Approximately US$ 50-60 million worth of diamonds mined in rebel territory in eastern and northern Congo 'disappear' into the global rough diamond pipeline every year, the report says. Mr Dietrich holds it "possible that the Central African Republic is being used for laundering diamonds derived from Congolese rebels, or that Bangui is used as a primary transit zone." Belgian imports had declared as originating in the Central African Republic have surpassed the country's official exports by a factor of three over the past few years, with the exception of 2001 when they were only double official exports, the report found. According to the report, there were two possible scenarios, or a mixture of them, that may explain the use of the Central African Republic for the laundering or transit of conflict diamonds, and the significant variation between Central African Republic's exports and Belgian imports. First, foreign companies not active in the Central African Republic could fraudulently declare the country as the provenance of their diamonds. Second, Central African diamond dealers could be involved in smuggling of illicit diamonds, which would be declared in Belgium with a Central African provenance. - In each case there is fraud, tax evasion and possibly United Nations sanctions busting, the Canadian report establishes. The Central African Minister of Mines however rejects the possibility that Congolese diamonds are laundered through official circuits in the Central African Republic, basing his assumption on the difference between the average quality of Central African and Congolese diamonds. Mr Dietrich concludes that, while there is no documented evidence that Central African dealers currently purchase conflict diamonds from the Congo, "anecdotal evidence suggests that this is a very real possibility." Such diamonds likely would however not be laundered through the Central African Republic's official exports, so as to evade government tax. - It is more probable that they would be smuggled into and then out of Bangui, and only then declared in Belgium, Mr Dietrich says. "This problem may not seem to be the responsibility of the Central African government, but the use of Bangui as a transit point for conflict diamonds has severe repercussions for the country's diamond trade." - If the government of the Central African Republic ignores good evidence that certain companies are dealing with rebel groups in the Congo, then it will be seen to be complicit in this trade, he warns. "Diamond dealers, whether licensed or not, using Bangui to deal with Congolese rebel groups will taint the Central African Republic's legitimate diamond economy."
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