Golden Dawn Immigrants-Fake NeoNazi’s

All those links were sent to me on Twitter and I am more than glad to post them,I do beleive I will find more on those people due time.No threats allowed according to the WP policy or the HR declaration. So please stay vigilant of what you are going to post :)I checked all blog categories so that the post can get the most views possible. Regards!

“##Spiros Macrozonaris## IMMIGRANT Golden Dawn Deputy leader in Montreal, Canada” :

Facebook profile :

INTERESTING FACEBOOK POST MR. MACROZONARIS, HE CANNOT EVEN WRITE GREEK! BAD NAZI BAD! :

His NON 100% PURE GREEK son’s Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/macrozonaris?ref=ts&fref=ts

1. Greek Immigrant who married a “foreigner” >>>>>French-Canadian Doris Morrissette, they bore a son, Nicolas Macrozonaris (World-Class Sprinter – CANADIAN Olympian 🙂 ..who unfortunately is not 100% Pure Greek…

2. Conversations with Nicolas on Twitter, lead to nothing, he is ‘pretending’ that he has NO knowledge of what Golden Dawn supports and believes YET he states that he does not condone his fathers “actions”

Twitter @Macrozonaris TWEETER CONVERSATIONS with Nicolas –>

###### MUST WATCH #####
Video from CBC Montreal, from week of Oct 12th – INTERVIEW with Spiros Macrozonaris – next to him sits LOOSER Ilias Hondronicolas : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-3rbLI4K78

#Ilias Hondronicolas ———> on PHOTO second guy from the left :

#MORE HONDRONICOLAS:

(FRIENDS WITH ELENI ZAROULIA SHARING HER PHOTOS!)
( MUST SEE )

#MORE PAPAGEORGIOU:

The Darkness of Blood Diamonds Fueling Civil Wars

Violence Diamonds are supposed to be symbols of love, commitment, and joyful new beginnings. But for many people in diamond-rich countries, these sparkling stones are more a curse than a blessing. Too often, the world’s diamond mines produce not only diamonds – but also civil wars, violence, human rights abuses, worker exploitation, environmental degradation, and unspeakable human suffering. Not long ago, the public started to become aware that large numbers of diamonds are mined in violent and inhumane settings. Consumers are now demanding, with ever greater urgency, that their diamonds be free from bloodshed and human rights abuses. So far, however, the diamond industry’s response has been woefully inadequate. Diamonds with violent histories are still being mined and allowed to enter the diamond supply, where they become indistinguishable from other gems. Violence, human rights abuses, and other injustices remain an everyday aspect of diamond mining. Fueling Civil Wars In just the past two decades, seven African countries have endured brutal civil conflicts fueled by diamonds: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Diamonds intensify civil wars by financing militaries and rebel militias. These groups also fight with each other to control diamond-rich territory. The tragic result is bloodshed, loss of life, and shocking human rights abuses – from rape to the use of child soldiers. Diamonds that fuel civil wars are often called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds. Although many diamond-fueled wars have now ended, conflict diamonds remain a serious problem. Civil conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, and the DRC continue to this day. So far, the war in the DRC alone has cost more than 5 million lives. In addition, millions of people are dealing with the long-term consequences of these wars: friends and family members lost, lives shattered, and physical and emotional scars that will last generations. Human Rights Abuses Diamond mining is plagued by shocking violence and human rights abuses. Killings, beatings, rape, torture, child labor, forced labor, and other abuses all too frequently take place in connection with diamond mining. Often, these abuses happen in the midst of civil wars. But human rights violations are also a regular part of diamond mining in countries that are not officially at war. At Brilliant Earth, we believe it is important to break the link between diamonds and all forms of violence. The diamond industry’s attempt to stop violence tied to diamond mining resulted in the establishment of the Kimberley Process, an international diamond certification scheme, in 2003. Unfortunately, the Kimberley Process only places a ban on diamonds that finance rebel movements in war-torn countries. When diamond miners are killed, tortured, raped, or beaten by their own governments – or when children are forced to mine for diamonds – the Kimberley Process does not take action. Instead, it certifies these diamonds as “conflict free” and allows them to be shipped to consumers around the world. Zimbabwe Despite killings, torture, and other outrageous human rights violations in Zimbabwe’s diamond mining operations, the Kimberley Process certifies Zimbabwean diamonds for export and allows them to be sold in jewelry stores worldwide. Human rights abuses in Zimbabwe starkly illustrate how the Kimberley Process is failing to stop the bloodshed that so often accompanies diamond mining. The trigger for these abuses was the discovery of a massive diamond deposit in 2006. The Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe potentially could produce $2 billion in rough diamonds per year – or over 10% of the global diamond supply. In 2008, the Zimbabwean army decided to seize the Marange diamond fields for itself. In a violent takeover, the army massacred more than 200 local diamond miners, at times shooting live ammunition from helicopters. Since then, the army has forced local adults and children to mine for diamonds on its behalf. Soldiers punish diamond miners who disobey with indiscriminate violence, including killings, beatings, rape, and torture. Profits from this shocking system of mining diamonds are being used to enrich military leaders and help keep President Robert Mugabe, a brutal dictator, in power. In mid 2009, the Kimberley Process finally ordered a review mission to Zimbabwe. The investigation confirmed that Zimbabwe was guilty of serious human rights violations. In response, the Kimberley Process temporarily banned Marange diamond exports. However, the Kimberley Process has since allowed exports to resume. Meanwhile, the army continues to force people to mine for diamonds and even run torture camps for uncooperative diamond miners. Côte d’Ivoire Diamonds are prolonging a bitter civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, also known as the Ivory Coast. Since 2004, the war has been mostly at a stalemate, with the north controlled by rebels and the south by government forces. To prevent diamonds from funding the conflict, the Kimberley Process and the United Nations placed a ban on the export of Côte d’Ivoire diamonds in 2005. Rebels, however, have not abided by the ban. The Kimberley Process has been urged to tighten controls, but has done very little. Every year, rebels smuggle about $20 million worth of diamonds into neighboring countries. Rebels exchange these diamonds for weapons and other supplies. Diamond mining is thus helping to strengthen the rebels and extend the conflict. In 2010, a disputed presidential election led to a constitutional crisis. Rebel soldiers swept southward in support of Alassane Ouattara, their preferred candidate and the rightful election winner. In the five months of fighting that followed, at least 3,000 people were killed and atrocities were committed by both government and rebel forces. These atrocities are still being investigated, but diamond-funded weapons likely contributed to the bloodshed. Angola A decade after the end of a brutal diamond-funded civil war, Angola is now a member of the Kimberley Process and the world’s fifth largest diamond exporter. But a flourishing diamond trade has not made Angola a more responsible diamond producer. Angola’s diamond fields are once again the scene of horrific violence. In recent years, diamond miners from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been streaming into northeast Angola to mine for diamonds. Most miners cross the border illegally and do not have legal permission to mine. Angolan soldiers, as well as private security guards for mining corporations, have been brutally cracking down on these foreign miners. Thousands of miners and their families have been beaten, tortured, sexually abused, and even killed. Soldiers routinely demand bribes, beating and killing those miners who do not cooperate. In 2009, the Angolan army launched an operation that, over a seven month period, led to the violent expulsion of 115,000 Congolese miners. In 2011, a United Nations monitor documented 21,000 cases of serious human rights violations – including rape, beatings and torture – among miners who recently had been expelled. The monitor also found evidence that Angolan soldiers are systematically raping Congolese women and girls. Central African Republic A toxic mixture of diamonds, corruption, and ethnic tensions is tearing the Central African Republic apart. This small country in the middle of Africa now has two rebel groups using diamonds to finance their insurgent activities. Rebel groups have been violently seizing control of diamond mines and even fighting with each other to control diamond mining territory. In 2011, diamond-fueled violence flared up near the diamond mining town of Bria, in the eastern part of the country. Clashes between rebels led to the deaths of at least 50 people. It is now clear that diamonds from the Central African Republic are contributing to chronic instability. Nevertheless, the Kimberley Process continues to certify diamonds from the Central African Republic as conflict free. Democratic Republic of Congo Of all the conflicts in the world today, the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the deadliest by far. Since the late 1990s, rebel armies have been exploiting the country’s gem and mineral resources and funneling the profits toward insurgent activities. To date, more than 5 million people have died as a result of the war. Many more people have been raped, terrorized, and uprooted from their homes. Diamonds helped start this conflict, and they continue to fuel the violence. Partnership Africa Canada, a leading human rights organization, has documented how rebel soldiers are exploiting diamond-rich areas in eastern Congo. These diamonds are sustaining a civil war that, well into its second decade, is still tearing lives apart. Army abuses Zimbabweans to control diamond fields-HRW * Police and army use brutal force, rights group says * HRW says income funnelled to Mugabe party officials * Minister says reports of killings false By Tiisetso Motsoeneng JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Reuters) – Zimbabwean police and army are using brutal methods to control diamond fields, forcing children and adults to work and beating local villagers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday. In a report on Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields, it said the military, which remains under the control of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF under a power-sharing deal, killed more than 200 people in a takeover of the fields in late 2008. “The police and army have turned this peaceful area into a nightmare of lawlessness and horrific violence,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Zimbabwe’s new government should get the army out of the fields, put a stop to the abuse, and prosecute those responsible.” Mugabe’s unity government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is under pressure to create a democracy and improve Zimbabwe’s human rights record to get billions of dollars from Western donors demanding political and economic reforms. The new administration says it needs $10 billion to rebuild a shattered economy and win the confidence of millions of Zimbabweans who have faced years of bare hospitals, potholed streets and staggering unemployment. But foreign investors and donors are likely to remain cautious for months, if not years, piling pressure on old foes Mugabe and Tsvangirai to work together and enact reforms, including greater government transparency. “Some income from the fields has been funnelled to high-level party members of ZANU-PF, which is now part of a power-sharing government that urgently needs revenue as the country faces a dire economic crisis,” the report said. Zimbabwe’s Deputy Mines and Mining Development Minister Murisi Zwizwai told a business seminar that reports of killings in Marange were false and “contrary to allegations, nobody was killed by security”. Industry experts say legal diamond output and sales account for less than 10 percent of Zimbabwe’s mining earnings, but have potential to join gold and platinum among country’s big earners if the government clamps down on smuggling. Foreign investors are looking anew at mining opportunities mineral-producing Zimbabwe, especially deposits of platinum, gold and diamonds. While some have ventured back, others are waiting for the legal framework to be strengthened. Human Rights Watch said it based its findings on more than 100 one-on-one interviews with witnesses, local miners, police officers, soldiers, local community leaders, victims and relatives, medical staff, human rights lawyers, and activists in Harare, Mutare, and Marange district in eastern Zimbabwe. “Those interviewed said that police officers, who were deployed in the fields from November 2006 to October 2008 to end illicit diamond smuggling, were in fact responsible for serious abuses — killings, torture, beatings, and harassment — often by so-called ‘reaction teams’, which drove out illegal miners,” it said. (Writing by Michael Georgy) REUTERS Blood Diamonds From Zimbabwe Human rights observers agree: diamonds from Zimbabwe are blood diamonds. Zimbabwean diamonds are tainted by human rights violations including torture, forced labor, child labor, sexual violence, and murder. They are also helping to keep a brutal dictator in power. Unfortunately, the discovery of a massive diamond deposit is about to make Zimbabwe the world’s leading diamond producer. Unless something is done, blood diamonds from Zimbabwe will soon flood the market. Sadly, the Kimberley Process (KP), the international diamond certification scheme created to halt the blood diamond trade, has failed to put a stop to Zimbabwe’s horrendous mining practices. The KP certifies Zimbabwean diamonds as “conflict free,” allowing human rights abuses to continue and giving its stamp of approval to torture, rape, and murder. As a result, consumers are at a greater risk than ever of buying a blood diamond. 1. Diamond fields in Zimbabwe could be the most valuable ever discovered. In 2006, villagers in the Marange district of eastern Zimbabwe discovered a massive diamond deposit. By some estimates, the Marange diamond fields could produce as much as 40 million carats a year—worth about $2 billion, or over 10% of the global diamond supply. The total value of Marange gems may be as high as $800 billion, making the Marange diamond fields the richest ever found. If predictions are correct, Zimbabwe will become the world’s leading diamond exporter within a few years. Zimbabwe’s astonishing diamond resources could help lift millions of people out of poverty and transform Zimbabwe’s economy. But in Zimbabwe’s case, such vast diamond wealth has led to human misery on an equally grand scale. 2. Zimbabwe’s diamonds are linked to grave human rights abuses including torture, forced labor, sexual violence, and murder. In 2008, the Zimbabwean army seized control of the Marange diamond fields, at times shooting live ammunition from helicopters. More than 200 local miners were massacred. After the takeover, the army began running mining operations itself. Local residents, including children, were forced to mine for diamonds in slave-like conditions. Killings, beatings, torture, and sexual violence were used by the army to keep local residents working and maintain a climate of fear. Despite widespread international attention, little has changed. The military has not withdrawn from the Marange diamond fields. Serious human rights abuses continue, including forced labor, torture, beatings, and harassment. In October 2011, the BBC confirmed that the Zimbabwean military runs secret camps where diamond miners who fail to hand over their earnings are tortured, beaten, and raped. 3. Zimbabwean diamonds are helping to sustain a brutal dictator. Top military officials and political allies of President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s despotic leader, are smuggling Marange diamonds out of the country and keeping the profits for themselves. Mugabe is depending on diamond revenues to fill the coffers of his political party, ZANU-PF, as national elections near. In power since 1980, Mugabe has used his office to torture, harass, and kill his political opponents. His wrongheaded policies have led to mass impoverishment, the outbreak of epidemics, and the death of thousands of people. In 2010, the United Nations rated Zimbabwe last on its index of human development. Mugabe is considered a target for prosecution for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court. 4. The Kimberley Process certifies blood diamonds from Zimbabwe as “conflict free.” In November 2009, the KP placed a temporary ban on the export of Marange diamonds. Zimbabwe was asked to withdraw its army from the Marange diamond fields, end human rights abuses, and curb smuggling. Zimbabwe clearly has not complied with KP demands. To add further insult, in June 2010, Zimbabwean police raided the offices of an organization working directly with the KP to document human rights abuses in the Marange diamond fields. Farai Maguwu, the organization’s director, was arrested and jailed. He was later released, but only after his designation as a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International. Despite Zimbabwe’s complete lack of compliance, the KP has bowed to political pressure. In November 2011, it lifted the ban on Marange diamonds. Zimbabwe is now permitted to export these blood diamonds with “conflict free” certification. As diamond industry veteran Martin Rapaport notes, “Instead of eliminating blood diamonds, the KP has become a process for the systematic legalization and legitimization of blood diamonds.” 5. Zimbabwean diamonds are about to flood jewelers’ inventories. The KP’s decision in 2011 opens the floodgates to blood diamonds from Zimbabwe. Since 2006, Zimbabwe has stockpiled an estimated $1.7 billion in Marange diamonds. These diamonds are now being released into the international diamond supply. In future years, as production ramps up, more blood diamonds worth billions of dollars will be entering the diamond supply chain. Safeguards to prevent U.S. consumers from purchasing blood diamonds remain inadequate. A study of jewelry retailers found that 56% of jewelers do not even have an auditing procedure in place to prevent the retail of conflict diamonds. Those jewelers claiming to sell “conflict free” diamonds almost always rely on the faulty KP certification. In fact, KP certification provides no protection against the purchase of a blood diamond from Zimbabwe. Financial Overhaul Bill Takes Aim at Dirty Gold The financial regulatory bill signed into law by President Obama last month primarily aims to overhaul the guidelines that govern Wall Street. While we will leave it to the political pundits and the economists to provide commentary on the bill’s implications for the U.S. financial system, we would like to highlight a little-noted provision in the bill that affects the market for luxury jewelry. Hidden away in a section entitled “Miscellaneous Provisions” is a measure requiring large, publicly-traded companies to report to the federal government whether certain “conflict minerals” in their products come from the Democratic Republic of Congo or the surrounding region. Since 1998, a civil war in Congo has claimed more than 5 million lives, making it one of the deadliest wars in history. As we wrote in our blog last December, the conflict has been fueled, in large part, by contestation over mineral resources. The goal of the provision is to create a degree of transparency and accountability surrounding minerals in these regions. The provision in the financial bill targets several minerals—including tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold—that are mined in Congo and that have been contributing to the bloodshed. Many of these minerals are typical components of products such as laptops and cell phones. Gold, of course, is a major component of jewelry. However, most major jewelry retailers in the United States are presently unable to say with any certainty whether the gold in their jewelry comes from Congo. We attribute this untenable situation to indifference and lack of initiative, as well as to the difficulties inherent in tracing a fungible metal like gold back to the source. At Brilliant Earth, we use only recycled gold and fair trade gold in our jewelry, allowing us to be certain that none of our gold originates in Congo and that it meets the highest of ethical standards. We, at Brilliant Earth, hope this bill will use government leverage to speed up the process of creating a more transparent and accountable gold supply chain. Although the bill does not ban the sale of gold from Congo, it should give consumers and jewelry retailers the information they need to avoid buying and selling such gold. Potentially just as important, the bill may spur reforms that will make all gold, not just gold from Congo, more easily traceable. In many places, although gold is not contributing to civil wars, it is not being mined in a way that is ethical or environmentally responsible. Jewelry buyers deserve to know where their gold comes from and the conditions under which it is mined so that they can make informed decisions. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has until April 17, 2011 to promulgate regulations that will clarify the meaning of the bill’s measures against Congo gold. Much of the effectiveness of the law will depend on the regulations that the SEC adopts. As the law is implemented, Brilliant Earth will continue to fight for increased transparency in the gold supply chain and to support efforts to develop responsible sources of gold. READ MORE AT:http://www.brilliantearth.com/confict-diamond-trade/

Chimurenga forever:Fight Fight Fight

I dont like this world I am living in and I know you dont like it too.  I dont like fascism in my daily life you dont like it either,I dont like it either,I dont like playing the pawn role and you dont like it either. RISE UP PEOPLE  just rise up.

Y’all think I do really care about hits?
Wrong

Views?

Wrong again

I dont give a shyte about hits.I do give one, about you getting the point I dont five a fruk about breaking news ,breaking ones are old news. JUST WAKE UP

 

W A K E    UP     D O    S O M E T H I N G   I T S    U P   T O  Y O U

Big pharma takes aim at deadly counterfeits

 

By Katie McQue [Source]

GATEWAY TO AFRICA | In Africa the cost of all medications, including generic drugs, exceeds the means of most and many people are faced with a grim choice: purchase counterfeit medications, ingredients unknown, or go without treatment.

With 30% of the total available pharmaceuticals in Uganda believed to be counterfeit, the country, like many others, is struggling to keep control of a business that is both deadly and lucrative.

“A lot of deaths occur. But nobody reports these and nobody is going to investigate,” said Suraj Ali, a partner at the Ugandan legal firm Muwema & Mugerwa.

The situation in Uganda is typical in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the reasons are economic. In regions of high prevalence of poverty the cost of all medications, including generic drugs, exceeds the means of most. Few people have medical insurance, and they are faced with a grim choice: purchase counterfeit medications – ingredients unknown – or simply go without treatment.

The big pharmaceutical firms are worried. “When you visit a market in Tanzania, you see that they are being sold everywhere,” Ed Wheatley, AstraZeneca’s investigations director for the region, said at June’s Visiongain Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting conference, in which representatives from major drug makers gathered to deliberate the problem.

This big problem is also a big business – it is widely estimated that counterfeit drugs have an annual turnover of US$75 billion worldwide, with a profit margin of about 70%. This means that the global share of counterfeit medications is 10% of the pharmaceutical market. Around the world 200,000 people die annually due to counterfeits.

Most of the fakes hail from factories in China, India and Pakistan, and counterfeiters are more concerned with matching the packaging than the ingredients of the original. Criminals steal hospital vials with branded labels, print their own hologrammed boxes – even buy tablet-making presses on eBay.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 32.1% of these drugs do not contain any active ingredients; 20.2% have incorrect quantities of active ingredients; 21.4% include wrong ingredients and 8.5% have high levels of impurities or contaminates.

The loss of sales and reputation is significant, as users of the fake drugs may still associate their illness with the genuine article. In some countries, drug makers can also be liable for harm caused by fakes.

In Germany, for example, a company can be called to account if it can be proven that it did not utilise all the possibilities provided by state-of-the-art technology to prevent counterfeiting. In most US states, any part of the manufacturing and sales chain can be liable for damages to the consumer arising from faults in a product’s construction, manufacturing or labelling.

Given this risk it is understandable why pharmaceutical companies are keen to intervene in the African counterfeit market. Some assist local governments with on-the-ground intelligence, leading to raids and prosecutions. This assistance is necessary in countries where awareness is low, resources devoted to the problem are scarce and corruption is high.

“There is a lot of corruption,” Ali said. “A lot of the magistrates are underpaid and they get bribed.

“We have a national drug authority that is supposed to prevent counterfeiting, but it is underfunded,” he added. “There are very few inspectors; they don’t have the equipment to check drugs properly… Things find their way into the country – the borders are very porous.”

 

Oil Deals In Africa

 

TRAFIGURA, controversial commodities conglomerate and the third largest independent oil trader in the world, has bought BP’s assets in Namibia.

The deal, struck through the Trafigura subsidiary, Puma Energy International, yesterday was confirmed by Mines and Energy Minister Isak Katali.
Trafigura, who has been accused of kickbacks in South Africa and found guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam before reportedly dumping it in the Ivory Coast, has recently been named in a high-powered ploy to try and secure the contract to supply half of Namibia’s fuel.
According to confidential documents leaked to the media, Trafigura is backing Erumbi Energy, a consortium spearheaded by business mogul Aaron Mushimba, brother-in-law of Founding President Sam Nujoma, and Tjeripo Hijarunguru, former chief executive officer of Agribank. Erumbi wants a joint venture with Namcor and in the process muscle out Glencore as partner who supplies 50 per cent of the country’s fuel needs.
Namcor received the proposal via Presidential Affairs Minister and Attorney General Albert Kawana. With it, Kawana drew a diagram, of which The Namibian has a copy, to illustrate how the deal would work.
Kawana listed Trafigura and Sonangol, the state-owned petroleum company in Angola, as strategic partners. On the Namibian side, Kawana listed the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL), the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), the Swapo Women’s Council and Kalahari Holdings as part of Erumbi. According to Kawana’s sketch, the Namibians would hold 51 per cent of the shares, while Trafigura and Sonangol would share 49 per cent.
Erumbi has offered to refinance Namcor, returning the company to solvency.
Namcor also had its eye on BP’s assets, hoping it would be able to boost income by entering the local retail market.Source
Documents show that Government initially was in favour of Namcor’s bid. In a letter to BP International’s Group Chief Executive, Anthony Hayward, on March 16, former Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina wrote that “the Government of Namibia accordingly hereby undertakes to provide Namcor with the requisite financial assistance in order to facilitate the acquisition of 100 per cent of BP’s fuels and lubricant marketing business in Namibia”.
Namcor successfully completed the first round of bidding with an offer of N$637,5 million. Beukes then wrote to Katali, who in the meantime replaced Nghimtina, asking for a Government guarantee.
The Cabinet Committee on Treasury (CCT) met in June to consider the deal. A month later Cabinet released a statement saying the CCT “was not convinced that buying BP Namibia is economically viable for Namcor in light of the fact that Namcor is already facing cash problems, while the projected cash flow for BP Namibia does not confirm the acquisition as a feasible proposal”.
Cabinet refused to back financially, forcing Namcor to withdraw from the process.
In addition to Namibia, Trafigura has also bought BP’s assets in Botswana and Zambia.

 

Rational Conflict Resolution: What Stands In the Way?

 

by Johan Galtung, 14 May 2012 – TRANSCEND Media Service

Basel, Switzerland, World Peace Academy

Six conflicts, four current, one past and one future are shaping our present reality. Conflict is a relation of incompatibility between parties; not an attribute of one party. It spells danger of violence and opportunity to create new realities. Thus, to understand the shoa the narratives of unspeakable German atrocity and infinite Jewish suffering are indispensable. But so are the narratives of German-Jewish relations, Germans to others, Jews to others. Failure to do so blocks rationality: if conflict is in the relation, then the solution is in a new relation. This is not blaming the victim. What matters most is changing the relation. Are we able?

View this document on Scribd

First case: USA vs Latin America-Caribbean. The recent meeting of the Organization of American States ended 32 against 1, USA. The 32 wanted Cuba readmitted and decriminalization of marijuana. Obama vetoed both; the relation a scandal, overshadowed by a sex scandal.

Solution: The USA yields to democracy on both, negotiates some time for the transition, and a review clause after 5 years. The USA also welcomes CELAC–the organization of Latin American and Caribbean states without USA and Canada–with OAS as a meeting ground for equitable and amicable South-North relations. Washington would be embraced by CELAC and the whole world. A sigh of relief. And the world could continue its fight against the far more lethal tobacco.

What stands in the way? A falling empire clinging to the past, fear of looking weak, elections, huge problems like a crisis economy and social disintegration: Charles Murray Coming Apart and Timothy Noah The Great Divergence. Backyard treatment of the US backyard.

Second case: Israel vs Iran; the nuclear issue; war or not. Uri Avnery[i]: “–in our country we are now seeing a verbal uprising against the elected politicians by a group of current and former army generals, foreign intelligence [Meir Dagan, Mossad] and internal security [Yuval Diskin, Shin Beth] chiefs–condemn the government’s threat to start a war against Iran, and some of them condemning the government’s failure to negotiate with the Palestinians for peace.”

Diskin: “Israel is now led by two incompetent politicians with messianic delusions and a poor grasp of reality. Their plan to attack Iran will lead to a world-wide catastrophe. Not only will it fail to prevent the production of an Iranian atom bomb–it will hasten this effort–with the support of the world community.

Uri Avnery on the not exactly dialogical, talmudic response:

“They did what Israelis almost always do when faced with serious problems or serious arguments; they don’t get to grips with the matter itself but select some minor detail and belabor it endlessly. Practically speaking no one tried to disprove the assertions of the officers, neither concerning the proposed attack on Iran nor the nuclear issue. They focused on the speakers, not on what was said: Dagan and Diskin are embittered because their terms of office were not extended. They felt humiliated–venting personal frustration”. Then Diskin on Netanyahu: “a Holocaust obsessed fantasist, out of contact with reality, distrusting all Goyim, trying to follow in the footsteps of a rigid and extremist father-altogether a dangerous person to lead a nation in real crisis” according to Avnery.

Solution: A Middle East nuclear free zone with Iran and Israel; 64 percent of Israelis are in favor, Iran the same provided Israel is in it. Could also be a model for the Korean peninsula. Agreement to try, a sigh of relief all over, both countries would be embraced.

There are problems: under whose auspices and whose monitoring. How about Pakistan and Ali Bhutto’s “islamic bomb”, impossible without India that has superpower denuclearization as condition?

There are answers, all worth discussing, in depth, seriously.

Israel is wasting its time. A wonderful talmudic tradition, a precious freedom of expression–generally very present in Ha’aretz–and misused for personal abuse instead of for solutions to very real crises. Like Peter Beinart, The Crisis of Zionism, and Gershom Gorenberg, The Unmaking of Israel (2011).

What stands in the way? The horrors of the past defining the discourse. Like some Iraqis use the Baghdad massacre in 1258, some Israelis use the holocaust as a framework for world events, blind to the differences, and to what could have been done at that time. And many let this pass not to hurt Israeli-Jewish feelings or for fear of being labeled as anti-Semites or holocaust-deniers. Not Dagan, Diskin and some generals. Nor real friends searching for solutions: not anti-Semites, nor holocaust deniers, nor prisoners of the past.

Third case: Israel vs Palestine. I have argued since 1971 a Middle East Community of Israel with five Arab neighbors, Palestine recognized according to international law, 1967 borders with some exchanges, Israeli cantons on the West bank and Palestinian cantons in northwest Israel. Solution: A two-state Israel-Palestine nucleus within that six-state community within an Organization for Security and Cooperation in the Middle East (or West Asia). Model: Germany-France 1950, + EEC as of January 1 1958, + OSCE from 1990 onwards. Open borders, a council of ministers, commissions for water, border patrols, economy; capitals in the two Jerusalems; right of return, also for Palestinians: numbers to be discussed, as Arafat insisted.

What stands in the way? Key Israeli and Arab contra-arguments: “Surrounded by hostile Arabs we cannot let them in that close, they overpower us numerically, push us into the sea” says one; “The Jews penetrate us economically and run our economies”, says the other.

There are answers: Decisions would have to be by consensus. Start slowly with free flow of goods, persons, services and ideas; settlement and investment perhaps later. Build confidence. Change a relation badly broken by naqba into a peaceful, evolving relation.

Fourth case: A recipe for disaster: minorities, outsiders in key niches like economy-culture: Turks vs Armenians, Hutus vs Tutsis, Indonesians vs Chinese. But not Malays vs Chinese due to Mahathir’s discrimination in favor of the majority. Israel would gain from lifting the Arabs out of this social rank discordance; also a feature of Germany. Add the Versailles Treaty humiliation, Hitler and willing executioners.

Solution? Cancel the Versailles treaty in 1924, lift the German majority through education and employment into equality and we might have avoided World War II in Europe. What is rationality? Not justify, but explain, understand, and then remove the causes!

What stood in the way? Very few thought of this.

So much for a major fourth conflict of the past. Fifth case: rampant US anti-Semitism, now latent, using scapegoating to explain the decline of the USA and Israel; failing to grasp solutions for their eyes, both lost in the past, one in glory, one in trauma.

Imagine USA losing even more: support from allies, the magic of being exceptional-invincible-indispensable gone, torn between misery at the bottom and incredible riches at the top, the dollar no longer a world reserve currency, etc. A real fear right now: rampant anti-Semitism in the USA. This must be handled constructively, not by churning out anti-Semitism certificates, scaring US congressmen from questioning Israel, thereby jeopardizing US democracy itself. The tipping point from christian zionism to an anti-Semitism against Israel, Wall Street and American Jews in general may be close.

Solution: The US mainstream media become more pluralistic, less monochromatic, opening up to a range of discourses and solutions. Criticism of Israel and Wall Street is not enough, constructive solutions are needed. A solution culture, not a blaming culture. Like the ideas above for USA vs CELAC, Israel vs Iran, Israel vs Arab states. Nothing extreme, outlandish, and much to discuss.

But mainstream media constructive discussions are few in the US. There are hundreds of points to be made, like there once were when Europe was emerging from the ruins of World War II. Instead of degrading and humiliating Germany two brilliant French invited them into the family (now with its problems). Let thousand good ideas blossom! There is too much about the Cartagena sex scandal and too little about new ways of lifting the bottom of US poor into dignity, reducing the ever increasing inequality devastating the US economy.

What stands in the way? Clinging to the past, vested interests, the war industry, a blaming culture rather than a solution culture. But vast majorities and new and old media should be able to overcome.

Sixth case, very much related to this: debt bondage. China-Japan-EU vs USA; Germany vs Greece-Italy-Portugal-Spain-Ireland (GIPSI); the World Bank vs the Third World, with John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man as a gruesome illustration.

Yes, I have mentioned that fabrication by the Russian secret police, the Protocols–a conspiracy revealed long time ago. But like Mein Kampf condemnation is not enough, better know what one talks about. The Protocols read like a textbook on how to get others into debt bondage, starting with making workers believe they can be better paid and how these entitlements as they are called in the US debate can push a country into bondage. The first reaction to credit is a sigh of relief, the second is not knowing how to cut expenses or make some income to service the debt. The third is hatred mobilizing old traumas–look at Greece and Germany.

Solution: debt forgiveness, and contracting fewer debts. The time horizon can vary, and it must be accompanied by mobilization of all internal resources to lift the bottom up from suffering and into some acquisitive power, rejuvenating countrysides with agricultural cooperatives, trade among GIPSI countries. The threat to EU today is not only a single currency with no treasury–much better would have been the euro as a common currency–but a debt bondage gradient in what should be a more egalitarian community. The material out of which aggression is made. Not only forgiveness but also stimulus would be in Germany’s interest relative to the EU periphery, and the same goes for China relative to the USA (possibly coupled to agreed reduction of their arms budgets), and to the World Bank in general.

What stands in the way? Long on neo-liberal market ideology, short on eclecticism, of all good ideas, for alternative economies.

Conclusion: Humanity has vast positive and negative experiences. We should all join building on them, wherever they can be found.

(*) Some recent statements of mine, quoted out of context, have hurt some feelings. I apologize most sincerely for that, it was entirely unintended. One such context was the Breivik case in Norway with its many ramifications. A deeper context are the six conflicts addressed in this presentation.

NOTE:
[i] Uri Avnery, “A Putsch against War.” TRANSCEND Media Service-TMS May 7 2012.
_______________

Johan Galtung, a Professor of Peace Studies, is Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University-TPU. He is author of over 150 books on peace and related issues, including ‘50 Years – 100 Peace and Conflict Perspectives’ published by the TRANSCEND University Press-TUP.

Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgment and link to the source, TRANSCEND Media Service-TMS, is included. Thank you.

 

Botswana: the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the eviction of Bushmen

• Thousands of Gana and Gwi ‘Bushmen’, and Bakgalagadi, have been forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve(CKGR) in Botswana. This is a gross violation of their human rights and is against international law. Unless they get their lands back, these Bushman tribesare unlikely to survive as peoples.• The government wrongly claims that these relocations are voluntary and gives several quite different reasons for them: these can be shown to be false
.1
• Diamonds have been found at a Bushman community called Gope(pronounced hop-ey), where test drilling has taken place and a rig and basic installation have been mounted. Diamonds have been found in test drilling nearother Bushman communities. There is, however, no mining at present in the CKGR.• The number of diamond exploration licences given out by the government inthe CKGR has increased dramatically since the Bushmen were evicted.
De Beers and Debswana
• Diamond mining in Botswana is controlled by a company called Debswana(ie. De Beers Botswana), which is owned on a 50/50 basis by the government and by De Beers.• Many of the directors of Debswana are senior political figures in Botswana.For instance, the deputy chairman of Debswana, Dr. A.R. Tombale, is the permanent secretary in the Botswana Ministry of Minerals, Energy & Water.Another director, Eric Molale, is permanent secretary to the president of Botswana. Another director, Serwalo Tumelo, is permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.• Diamond industry sources call this ‘interdependence’ and a ‘mutual beneficially [sic] relationship model’.
2

1 Civilisation in reverse, Stephen Corry, Mmegi, Botswana, 8-14 March 2002, reproduced inhttp://www.survival-international.org/bushman_press_mmegi3.htm2 Tacy Diamond Intelligence Briefs, Chaim Even-Zohar, May 2001.

2
• More simply, the president of Botswana has said, ‘The partnership betweenDe Beers and Botswana has been likened to a marriage. I sometimes wonderwhether a better analogy might not be that of Siamese twins.’
3
• De Beers is no longer a public company and operates with great secrecy: it is likely that only a handful of senior people know what the diamond (and precious metal) mining potential of the CKGR really is. Accurate information about this is not likely to be given to anyone else, either inside or outside Botswana. As the Financial Times says, ‘Anonymity is paramount in the diamond trade. The industry is secretive to the point of paranoia … Contract sand written codes are virtually unheard of.’
4
Discussing its plans to explore for diamonds near Debswana’s Orapa mine, the mining company African Diamonds stated, ‘Ground geophysical surveys suggest that some of the kimberlites [diamond-bearing rock] may be bigger than reported by De Beers.’
5
• De Beers keeps the price of gem diamonds high by severely restricting supply.As The Times has reported, ‘The company has vast diamond stockpiles, but keeps prices high with a tight control on the supply line.’
6
De Beers’s intention,therefore, might be not to mine in the CKGR for years, even decades, until other mines are exhausted: keeping the find in the ground, out of reach of other companies, might be eventually just as profitable for both the company and the government as actually extracting the diamonds would be. Indeed, at times, as much as 20% of Botswana’s diamonds have been stockpiled to restrict supply,so it makes economic sense not to mine the CKGR diamonds yet. Keeping them in the ground is cheaper, and safer, than stockpiling in vaults.• Botswana’s three main diamond mines, Orapa, Jwaneng and Letlhakane have turned the country into the world’s foremost producer of the gems; all will inevitably become exhausted in the future.
Sequence of events
• A diamond deposit was discovered at Gope in the early 1980s, and in 1982 DeBeers entered into a joint venture with another company (Falconbridge) to evaluate the find.• The Minister of Commerce & Industry announced the decision to relocate the Bushmen on 12 October 1986, but no action was taken.• A formal evaluation of the mine was completed in 1996.• Apparently coincidentally, the first enforced evictions started in May the following year. One Bushman community, Xade, inside the CKGR, which wasalready equipped with a school, clinic, airstrip, and borehole for water, was completely removed.
3 The disposable, Adam Welz, Noseweek, South Africa, May-June 2002.4 Hard edge to glittering rocks, Francesco Guerrera, Financial Times, 8 November 2002.5 Mmegi, 19 September 2003.6 ‘Clone stones – the flawless diamonds made to order’, The Times, p.5 T2, 27 October 2003.

3
• Also apparently coincidentally, in 1997 less than two months after the eviction of Xade, the mining company Anglo American (which owns part of De Beers)sub-contracted the company, Nepcal, ‘to ferry mining and drilling equipment toXade and other destinations’ in the CKGR. When asked about this, AngloAmerican, ‘denied any knowledge of its activities within the reserve.’
7
In 2002,the company said it had indeed ‘drilled two exploratory holes in the CKGR in1997’ – one near Xade – but said it had had no contact with Bushmen (who had,of course, already been moved away). Concerning its contract with Nepcal, thecompany said, rather oddly, ‘We have not been able to verify beyond doubt the existence of such a contract.’
8
In June 2003 the Ghanzi District Commissioner said that ‘some prospecting companies had discovered diamonds in the area [of Xade]’.
9
This appears to be the same deposit referred to by the Danish organization IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs):‘Anglo-American has been granted a concession for exploration in 1997 near Xade, in the west of the reserve, where a promising deposit has been discovered at Xaxa.’
10
• In 1999, mineral exploration camps were set up within a few miles of Molapo,a major Bushman community within the CKGR.
11
• In 2002, further enforced evictions occurred, with more Bushman communities, including Molapo, removed in their entirety. Government officials destroyed another water borehole in a Bushman community, forbade all hunting and gathering, and emptied all the Bushmen’s stocks of water.• Almost the entire CKGR is now being explored for both diamonds andprecious metals, with the prospect ‘of further encroachment’ into the CKGR by mining activities said to be ‘highly likely’.
12

Description of the finds
• The CKGR lies in the middle of the world’s richest gem diamond fields.• The Gope find was originally described by industry sources as being very significant. For example, Barry Bailey, in charge of prospecting for De Beers,called it ‘moderately large’ in 1997,
13
and Matthew Hart, editor of a diamond trade journal, described it as ‘the best new target in the Kalahari’.
14

• Falconbridge, part-owner of the Gope deposit, estimates it would produce 1million carats per year.
15
This is the same as Letlhakane, the third-largest diamond mine in Botswana, and one of the most productive in the world.
16

7 Sunday Independent, South Africa, 31 August 1997.8 Letter from Edward Bickham, Anglo American, to Survival, 11 December 2002.9 “Animals, not diamonds, caused Basarwa to be moved”, Botswana Gazette, 18 June 2003.10 Christian Erni, ‘Resettlement of Khwe communities continues’, IWGIA Indigenous Affairs, July-Dec 1997.11 Seeking sustainable strategies: the politics of resource rights among the central Kalahari San, Robert Hitchcock.12 Gope Environmental Impact Assessment, May 1999, section 4.9.13 Forced march into oblivion, Fred Bridgland, Sunday Telegraph, November 1997.14 ‘Diamond’, Matthew Hart, Fourth Estate, 2002, p.71.15 Falconbridge Ltd 1999
Annual Report.
Toronto: Falconbridge Ltd. p. 30.

4
• Falconbridge estimates that the Gope deposit would produce 20 carats of diamonds per 100 tonnes of ore, and contains 77.3 million tonnes of ore.
17
Thiscompares with the Ellendale mine in Australia, which produces 6.2 carats per100 tonnes and contains 90 million tonnes of ore
18
;the Kelsey Lake Mine in theUS, which produces 3.4 to 4.6 carats per 100 tons of ore and contains 18.7million tons of ore
19
; and De Beers’s three Kimberly (S. Africa) mines, whichtogether produce 18 carats per 100 tons.
20
It also compares favourably with DeBeers’s planned new mine in Ontario, Canada, which it estimates will produce22 carats per 100 tonnes of ore from a total of 28.7 million tonnes, at a planned rate of 600,000 carats per year.
21
• The Bushmen’s ancestral land lies at the heart of the richest diamond-producing area in the world. Kalahari Diamonds, currently surveying theCKGR, says ‘the prospect of a major new diamond discovery is extremely likely’.
22
• As well as Gope, there are other known finds on Bushman lands. For example,there are ‘substantial’ deposits in the Kukama (also spelt Gugama) area where test drilling has been carried out.
23
• De Beers has already spent a large amount of money studying the Gope site(including contracting an anthropologist, James Suzman, to study Bushman land rights in the CKGR).
24
• In June 2001 De Beers’s company secretary Sheila Khama said, ‘The company reserved the right to review the economic viability of the project from time to time so as to decide whether or not to proceed with full scale mining.’
25
• Early in 2002 De Beers said it had no plans to mine ‘for the foreseeable future’
26
; later that year it described the find as ‘sub-economic’ (sic).
27
However, at the end of 2002, a De Beers spokesperson stated, ‘We can’t say we will never mine it.’
28

In 2005 De Beers’s head of public affairs, Andrew Bone,said, ‘We do hope to return and have a mine there one day, that would begreat.’
29
• In November 2000, De Beers took out a retention licence on Gope. These licences, valid for three years but renewable, had been created by a new mining law in that year: their purpose is to ‘allow a company that has completed an
16http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/debswana/accessed 18 Mar 2005.17 Falconbridge Ltd 2000
Annual Report
. Toronto: Falconbridge Ltd. p. 28.18http://www.kimberleydiamondco.com.au/printable/printable.cfmaccessed 10 Mar 2005.19http://www.coloradomining.org/cattany121202.htmlaccessed 10 Mar 2005.20http://www.maykuth.com/Africa/diam1008.htmaccessed 10 Mar 2005.21 The North Bay Nugget, Canada, 16 Nov 2004, p.A4.22http://www.kalaharidiamonds.com/kalahari_strategy.phpaccessed 21 Mar 2005.23

2nd draft management plan for CKGR & Khutse Game Reserves, Dept of Wildlife & National Parks, 1998,p.29.24 Desktop investigation into the status of Bushmen in Botswana, Suzman & Pedder, Windhoek, 1998.25 Botswana Gazette, 14 June 2001.26 Letter from the Chairman of De Beers, N. Oppenheimer, to Survival, 15 March 2002.27 Letter from De Beers’s public affairs consultant, F. de Villiers, to Survival, 1 July 2002.28 De Beers spokesperson Tracey Peterson, quoted on http://www.busrep.co.za, posted 20 November 2002.29 Andrew Bone speaking during debate at Bedales school, UK, 21 January 2005.

View this document on Scribd

A girl’s best friend: De Beers Diamonds & Scandals

For decades, De Beers has been the preeminent name in diamonds.

Thanks to a stockpile of the world’s rough diamond supply, indelible marketing schemes and even negotiations with foreign governments for their diamonds, De Beers — owned by the Oppenheimer family since the 1920s — has been the most important name in one of the world’s most lucrative businesses for almost a century.

But with recent news of the Oppenheimers selling out to fellow mining company Anglo American, it’s time to look back at the billion dollar rise and fall of a monopoly that has crushed competitors and cash-strapped governments since the 1800s.

Diamonds became a symbol of love thanks to De Beers, which is fitting, since De Beers became what it is today because of a love story: the love of money.

In the beginning, the diamond trade took place mostly in India and Brazil. With the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the trade simultaneously took off and become much less profitable
In the beginning, the diamond trade took place mostly in India and Brazil. With the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the trade simultaneously took off and become much less profitable

Up until the mid-1800s, diamonds were a rarity and could be seen only on the hand of a monarch. But the diamond rush that began in South Africa in the second half of the 19th century flooded the market with diamonds, which, as any good businessman knows, kills demand.

It would take some ingenious plotting and advertising to keep the diamond’s reputation as intrinsically valuable and desirable, which is where De Beers comes in.
The story of De Beers starts with English-born businessman Cecil Rhodes, who broke into the diamond business in South Africa by renting water pumps to miners before buying diamond fields of his own
The story of De Beers starts with English-born businessman Cecil Rhodes, who broke into the diamond business in South Africa by renting water pumps to miners before buying diamond fields of his own

Rhodes, sensing he had ventured into an untapped market, bought up diamond fields, including one owned by two brothers named “de Beer.” In 1880, he bought the claims of fellow entrepreneur and rival Barney Barnato to create the De Beers Mining Company.

The tendency in diamond mining is to combine with smaller groups to form larger ones. Individuals needing common infrastructure form diggers committees, and small claim holders wanting more land merge into large claimholders. Thus, it only took a few years for De Beers to become the owner of virtually all South African diamond mines.
In 1888, De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was formed, creating a monopoly on all production and distribution of diamonds coming out of South Africa

De Beers took on many forms around the world as its influence in the diamond trade grew. To control supply and demand—and thus, prices—Rhodes created distribution arms through “The Diamond Syndicate,” including “The Diamond Trading Company” in London and “The Syndicate” in Israel.

Diamond claim holders and distributors joined up with De Beers because their interests were the same: create a scarcity of diamonds and high prices will follow. And while other commodities have seen price fluctuations over the years, diamonds prices have climbed since the Great Depression.
By the time Rhodes died in 1902, De Beers controlled 90% of the world’s rough-diamond production and distribution, but it was Ernest Oppenheimer who made the company an empire

Oppenheimer, a rival diamond producer with his own production company (Anglo American Corporation, which will reappear later in the story) essentially bought his way onto the board of directors over the years. By 1927, he was chairman of the board.

Under Oppenheimer, De Beers and its Central Selling Organization established exclusive contracts with suppliers and buyers, making it impossible to deal with diamonds outside of De Beers.

The structure of the business remained the same for much of the 20th century: A De Beers subsidiary would buy the diamonds. De Beers would determine the amount of diamonds they wanted to sell, and at what price, for the whole year. Each producer would then get a cut of the total output, and buyers would take their diamonds to be resold in places like Antwerp and New York.
A worldwide decline of diamond prices in the 1930s led the Oppenheimer family to begin their world famous marketing campaign, “A diamond is forever.”
A worldwide decline of diamond prices in the 1930s led the Oppenheimer family to begin their world famous marketing campaign, “A diamond is forever.”

View this document on Scribd

Henry, son of Ernest, traveled to New York in 1938 to meet with advertising agency N. W. Ayer. The United States was seen as the next big market for diamonds, and a very effective game plan was formed to sell diamonds to Americans: convince them that diamonds equated love.

Through advertising, men were convinced that the size of the diamond in an engagement ring showed how much they loved their fiancée. Movie stars were shown wearing diamonds in the relatively new motion pictures. And the most effective piece of advertising came in 1947, with the creation of the tag line “A diamond is forever.” This later become the company’s official motto.

As a result of these campaigns, the number of brides receiving engagement rings, and diamond prices in the U.S., increased dramatically.
De Beers forged new international markets using similar advertising campaigns in places like Japan, Germany and Brazil

Having conquered the United States by the 1960s, De Beers set its sights on new territories.

Japan never had a tradition of romantic marriage, making diamonds a tough sell for brides. And even by 1959, no imported diamonds were allowed into the country by the postwar government. But by using slick advertising, playing up diamonds as a symbol of the modern West, or a way to break from traditional Japanese norm, De Beers was able to build a billion-dollar-a-year industry.

By 1981, almost 60 percent of Japanese brides wore diamonds, up from 5 percent in 1967.
When faced with a threat to their diamond monopoly, like one from the Soviet Union, De Beers simply bought up their inventory to maintain complete control

The discovery of diamonds in Siberia in the 1950s was a threat to the control De Beers kept over the diamond supply. Rather than compete with Russian diamonds, De Beers offered to buy almost everything that came out of Siberia — funneling all the world’s diamonds through a “single channel.”

Even though Russian diamonds were smaller, their use in “eternity rings” and other miniature jewelry proved very successful, and allowed for a lucrative partnership between De Beers and the USSR.
The creation of “Debswana,” a joint venture between the company and the nation of Botswana, meant a significant shareholding claim in De Beers by the African country

De Beers in Botswana

Diamonds from Botswana were considered valuable enough to give the government of the country a 15 percent share in De Beers in 1969. All rough-diamond mining and distributing is done by Debswana, making it the biggest non-government employer in the country. The deal is still in place today, and there’s even talk of increasing Botswana’s share to 25 percent.

But by the beginning of the 21st century, diamond-producing companies had enough of De Beers’ monopoly, forcing a change in structure for the company

Numerous “revolts” against the De Beers cartel had occurred in places like Zaire and Israel over the years, which were mostly quashed by De Beers releasing stockpiles of diamonds similar to that county’s product, driving down demand.

But more recently, countries with enormous stockpiles of their own, like Russia, Canada and Australia, have refused to cooperate with the single channel system.

These problems, along with issues of flat prices, forced De Beers to switch up the company’s strategy. In the last decade De Beers has moved away from rough-diamond supplying and controlling the entire industry, instead focusing on promoting its own brand of diamonds and retail stores.

De Beers reported a 74 percent increase in profits in the first half of this year alone. And the number of De Beers stores worldwide has risen from just one in 2001 to 39 in 2008, with 17 in Asia alone.

Despite its high earnings and a lucrative transformation, in November De Beers ended its 80 year stranglehold on diamonds by selling a majority ownership to Anglo American plc

Anglo American, which previously had a 45 percent stake in the company, bought the De Beers Groups’ 40 percent share for $5.1 billion in cash. Anglo American, previously started by Oppenheimer, will take over De Beers from that very same family.

As for the reason of the sale: apparently, there is no one in the Oppenheimer family that wants to continue in the diamond business.
And yet, the De Beers empire marches on, opening their third store in mainland China on December 14th

A 55-square meter De Beers Diamond Jewellers store opened at the Times Square Mall in Dalian, China just days ago. According to the company, this opening follows the success of the two other De Beers stores in the country.

Although the people who made De Beers the world’s most powerful monopoly are no longer involved, the company itself will continue to be a billion-dollar business.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-de-beers-2011-12?op=1#ixzz20Jj5vREg