In ‘Venezuela Drops Out: The Withdrawal Method’ a large Kimberley Process delegation visited Venezuela to discuss the country’s continued participation in the Kimberley Process. Venezuela, a mid-size diamond producer, has recorded almost no diamond exports in four years and no imports at all, despite export data to the contrary from other countries. ‘Guinea Coup: Something New or Déjà vu?’ reports that following the death on December 22 of Guinea’s long-time strongman president, Lansana Conté, a military coup took place under the leadership of Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. Conté, Guinea’s second president in the 51 years since it achieved independence from France, had presided over a relatively peaceful but extremely impoverished country, one increasingly fraught with corruption and economic instability. ‘Zimbabwe Diamond Atrocities: Kimberley Process not interested in Human Rights’ states that the government of Zimbabwe, no stranger to violence, has killed dozens of artisanal alluvial miners in order to clear them from the country’s diamond fields. Urgent requests for action from NGO and industry observers in the Kimberley Process, supported by several governments and the European Union, have fallen on deaf ears. ‘Is Congo Burning? Yet another Resource Conflict’ reports on renewed fighting last August in the Kivu provinces of DRC having escalated in recent months, mainly the work of the Congrès National pour le Défense du Peuple (CNDP), led by Laurent Nkunda. The newsletter then concludes with ‘KP Plenary Meets in India: Venezuela “Settled, ” a book review and an article on media watch.
