Sierra Leone's troubling stones

In recent months, the Sierra Leone government's control over the diamond fields, along with UN sanctions on Liberia, have reduced, but not stopped, smuggling.

Today, only licensed prospectors are allowed to mine in Kono. The teams are kept 200 meters away from bridges, to protect their foundations. They work in clearly defined plots. Police patrol the muddy pits to make sure that all finds are registered in government books and later taxed at the requisite rate of 3 percent.

Meanwhile, the RUF offices in Koidu are boarded up. A half-dozen aid organizations offer rehabilitation programs for ex-combatants. A new food market has opened in "New Lebanon," a slum named for the diamond dealers who once lived there. And on an empty street corner downtown, the police have put up a sign: "No parking. No stopping."

"We are reasserting our authority. We have control. There is law and order," insists Amadu Mamsaray, assistant secretary at the Ministry of Mineral Resources. But he later acknowledges that not all is so rosy. The 23 supervisors and 27 policemen sent to Koidu – paid $50 to $75 a month – are not given housing, and are not happy.

"The supervisors are corruptible," allows Mr. Mamsaray. "They aid and abet because they have no incentive not to," he sighs.

The venality is not just local, says Sierra Leone's ambassador to the US, John Leigh.

"The West's appetite for diamonds, wherever they come from, is corrupting us," he charges. "The diamond industry has to help on the buying side. They have to be vigilant in implementing the diamond certification scheme," says Mr. Leigh, referring to the international agreement to allow only diamonds legally registered and certified in their country of origin, by the government, onto the international market.

The West, Mr. Leigh says, is ignoring this problem at its own peril. Leigh says the Lebanese Hizbullah guerrilla organization, and possibly also Al Qaeda, are using the illegal diamond trade as a way to launder money. Several senior Western diplomats in Freetown, as well as industry insiders, confirm that such laundering is taking place in Sierra Leone.

Back at the diamond pits in Koidu, one of the laborers acknowledges that he was once a "boss man." He says he never gave any thought to international terrorism, and never much considered the connections between diamonds and war. All he knows is that not too long ago, life seemed easier. "Good times," he reminisces, pointing to the bridge where he once sat beneath his umbrella.

Another laborer has strapped a yellow bandana around his head, emblazoned with the name of President Kabbah's political party. He lost his sister in the war. His home was razed. He left school. He glances over at the former rebel with disdain. "Those days are over," he says. "You have hurt us enough."

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