Zimbabwe has met the minimum requirements to legally trade diamonds from its controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, according to the monitor appointed by the Kimberley Process (KP), dpa quoted the world watchdog for conflict diamonds as saying The announcement by monitor Abbey Chikane in a report obtained by the German Press Agency dpa is a major boost for President Mugabe's administration's bid to escape a ban on exports from the fields - where human rights groups say the army in 2008 carried out the brutal eviction of thousands of illegal diggers, with many reported fatal shootings. Chikane himself became immersed in controversy during his trip as he became implicated in the arrest last week of a human rights activist who helped publicise the 2008 abuses. Chikane claimed he also had his bag broken into by Mugabes secret police, who, he said, accompanied him constantly on his tour. Chikane said that the KP monitor is now ready to supervise export arrangements of diamonds from Chiadzwa in eastern Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe belongs to the 300-member body but in September last year narrowly avoided being expelled. Instead the country received a year-long ban on selling Chiadzwa diamonds while mining authorities set up transparent, secure mining and processing systems, and eliminated rampant smuggling over the nearby border with Mozambique. A final decision on whether Zimbabwe can sell Chiadzwa diamonds will be made at a plenary meeting of the KP in November.
