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U.N. Diamond Report Draws Criticism in Africa 
Friday, January 26, 2001 By Nicole Winfield     
UNITED NATIONS — African countries led by Liberia denied a U.N. panel's
charges that they are trafficking diamonds and guns with Sierra Leone's
rebels. 

"What is the motive behind these baseless allegations?" asked Gambian
Ambassador Baboucarr-Blaise Jagne. "Is there a hidden agenda to mount a
smear campaign against the Gambia?" 

Gambia was one of several countries named in a U.N. report on the role of
so-called "blood diamonds" in fueling Sierra Leone's brutal nine-year civil
war. The report estimates that Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front
rebels have earned between $25 million and $125 million a year from diamond
exports despite a U.N. ban, helping finance their war. 

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the
diamonds-for-weapons allegations and consider sanctions against countries
accused of involvement. 

The report did not implicate the Gambian government in the trade but
recommended an embargo on all diamonds exported from Gambia since 90 percent
of them are alleged to have come from Sierra Leone. 

Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast were also named in the report, accused of
harboring rebel officials or allowing their countries to be used as weapons
shipment points for guns that eventually ended up in the hands of rebel
fighters. 

The most vocal critic of the report was Liberia. 

The report said the gems-for-guns transactions could not have occurred
without the permission and the involvement of Liberian government officials
at the highest level. President Charles Taylor, the report alleged, was
"actively involved" in fueling the violence next door. 

Liberian Foreign Minister Monie Captan denied the allegations, demanded
proof of government involvement and noted that Taylor had offered to resign
if the United Nations showed a paper trail to back up charges of diamond
smuggling. 

Captan nevertheless outlined measures the government had taken in recent
days to answer the allegations — expelling Sierra Leone rebels, grounding
all Liberian aircraft and requesting U.N. monitoring of its airports and
diamond exports. 

But during a public meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, Deputy U.S.
Ambassador James Cunningham said Liberia's initiatives were too late. 

He urged the swift adoption of a resolution, sponsored by the United States
and Britain, that would impose a new arms embargo on Liberia, a ban on its
diamond and timber exports, a takeoff and landing ban on Liberian-registered
aircraft, and a travel ban on senior Liberian government and military
officials. 

"We are concerned that these last-minute announcements, in the face of
imminent council action after months of discussion, are a calculated ruse
designed to divide the Security Council rather than to signal any genuine
change of policy," Cunningham said. 

There appeared to be general support for imposing some measures on Liberia,
though France and China both said they wanted time limits on any embargo. 
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