July 2001 Africa News Headlines

Monday, July 23, 2001 - Web posted at 11:32:57 GMT

UN sanctions on Unita to stay until peace

LUANDA - International sanctions against Angolan Unita rebels are hurting their military capability and will remain in place until peace is achieved, the head of a UN delegation monitoring the rebels said on Friday.

"We feel that the sanctions imposed against Unita are hurting its military capacity," delegation head Juan Larrain told reporters at the end of two days of discussions with government officials.

Sanctions were first imposed in 1993 to drive Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) to the peace table.

"Since this objective has not been achieved the sanctions cannot be lifted," Larrain said.

Savimbi has waged a 26-year civil war against the Luanda government using the gem-rich regions of northeast Angola to buy weapons through other nations.

Diamond industry officials estimate Unita earned some US$2 billion from the sale of smuggled stones between 1992 and 1998.

Larrain said Angola's efforts to improve its diamond certification scheme would hopefully work to isolate the so-called blood or conflict diamonds.

"Our work is not to affect the legitimate diamond business, which could be used as a source of prosperity and development for Angola," he said.

The government reorganised Angola's US$740 million legal diamond sector last year in an attempt to halt the blood gem trade and increase governmentrevenue.

Larrain said he believed current sanctions were adequate although he said Unita still managed to evade them to a limited extent.

But he declined to name countries or officials who may be illegally aiding Savimbi.

"We will first present these allegations to the governments and give them the right to reply," Larrain said, adding that an assessment of the allegations would be contained in a report due in mid-October.

Members of the diamond industry - most notably diamond giant De Beers - vowed last year not to buy blood diamonds to avoid being tainted by rebel gems.

The industry and key nations like South Africa and Botswana are anxious to devise effective policing measures before diamonds, like fur coats, become a target of worldwide protests and boycotts.

- Nampa-Reuters

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