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Zimbabwe's first draft constitution has sparked outrage with legal experts equating it to an orchestrated attack on the country's moral, cultural and revolutionary pillars, a report says.

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More calls for diamond ban

2009-07-31 21:01

Special Report

Zimbabwe mermaids appeased at pumphouse

Water is flowing again to a small, arid town in northern Zimbabwe after a traditional ceremony was held to appease "mermaids" who had been terrifying engineers trying to start the pumps.

War vets battle dispair

A dusty road leads to the village of Wedza, where veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war eke out a meagre living on their farm cooperative, which after a promising start now brings only despair.

Cape Town - Global Witness, which monitors the exploitation of natural resources, on Friday backed calls for a ban on trading in Zimbabwe diamonds due to human rights abuses in the mining of the gem.

A review by the Kimberley Process, set up to stop the trade in blood diamonds, visited the country earlier this month and reportedly recommended Zimbabwe's suspension from the scheme, which would ban international sales of the country's diamonds.

Global Witness campaigner Elly Harrowell said clear human rights abuses "entirely incompatible with the values and requirements of the scheme" had been uncovered in Zimbabwe.

"The Marange diamond fields have been the scene of horrific human rights violations, military activity, and rampant smuggling over the past year," she said.

"If member governments fail to take prompt and effective action by suspending Zimbabwe, consumer confidence will be seriously shaken, which will be a blow for diamond exporting countries and the industry alike."

Suspension would not be enough to solve Zimbabwe's problems, said Harrowell: governments participating in the Kimberley Process would need to actively support efforts in Zimbabwe to clean up their diamond industry.

The Kimberley Process was launched in 2003 to curb the flow of conflict diamonds into the mainstream market following wars in countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone.

- AFP

Read more on: zimbabwe

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Monday 16-24°C

More calls for diamond ban

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