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Diamonds are a girls best friend. Now how many times have I heard that. Diamonds are usually sold and given as a token of love and affection. Depending on the size of the diamond, it may also be an indication of how wealthy you are. There is, however, a dark corner to this stone. A dark corner that leads to a life of greed, corruption and brutality. Illegal diamond dealers see war as an opportunity where profits can be made. Blood diamonds or conflict diamonds as they are also called, are purchased from places in the world of conflict laced with rape and mutilation. One such place was Sierra Leone. In the year 2000, civil war engulfed the South African country. From 1992 the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) had terrorized locals to seize power and control of the diamond mines. Rebels who were guilty of committing unspeakable atrocities, including the disemboweling of pregnant women, traded the diamonds for weapons. Despite United Nation sanctions and the fact that illegal diamond trade supported these rebels who tortured raped and murdered, the trade in blood diamonds flourished. Illegal diamond dealers took the opportunity to make a fortune from the situation and some smuggled the rough diamonds into Western Europe. It was understood that anyone at all connected were dealing these diamonds illegally because all of the proceeds from the mines went to the rebels. This was a dangerous business. We are talking about diamond trade in African countries where there was no law except those pronounced by the military regimes. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was founded by members of the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone who seized power from the elected government of Sierra Leone via a coup d'état on May 25, 1997. Johnny Paul Koroma (a.k.a. JPK), was the leader of the AFRC. The AFRC membership comprised mainly of soldiers of the Sierra Leone Army. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was founded in Libya in 1988-1989 and led by Foday Sankoh. It began organized armed operations in Sierra Leone in or about March 1991. Not long after the AFRC seized power, the RUF joined with the AFRC. Liberia is just across the border from Sierra Leone. As it was too dangerous to deal directly with the source of the diamonds in Sierra Leone, dealers would go through other sources therefore buying the diamonds without knowing of their origin. One such channel was through the corrupt regime of Liberian President Charles Taylor who is now on trial for war crimes. With the United Nation sanctions in place, diamond smugglers risked arrest and heavy fines if caught. Diamonds were therefore shipped under false documents. Couriers arrived with cash and left with diamonds in their body cavities. To cover their tracks and the origin of their illicit cargo, the smugglers traveled a twisted route across Africa. These rough diamonds could land dealers profits as high as five times their outlay. One destination for these gems was none other than the worlds oldest diamond market, the Belgium city of Antwerp. If that sort of profit was not enough, the boldest of the dealers would attempt to go to the source of the diamonds. One way to reach the source was to go through the most powerful man in Liberia at the time, the feared Liberian Security Commander General Benjamin Yeaten, accused of murder and a wanted man in Africa. It was through this man that the dealer could reach the source of the diamonds. The person who controlled the diamond mines in Sierra Leone, Issa Sesay. Issa Hassan Sesay was senior officer and commander in the RUF,Junta and AFRC/RUF forces. He answered only to Foday Sankoh and Johnny Paul Koroma and was one of the key perpetrators in a civil war which claimed 120,000 lives and left tens of thousands of people mutilated. His reign of terror from 1992 to 2003 was sustained by the illegal trade in blood diamonds. This man recruited child soldiers and was overseer to a savage spree of rape and murder. The RUF terrorized locals, torturing, raping and mutilating men, women and children to seize power and control of the diamond mines in Sierra Leone. The diamonds were then traded for weapons. In 2009, Issa Sesay was tried as a war criminal, convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 52 years in prison. The only problem for the smugglers dealing with these type of characters was that the chances of never making it out of the country alive were excellent. They took the ultimate risk and yet the rough diamonds that come out of the ground look nothing like the cut and polished gems we see. To see a flawless jewel through the deceptively drab exterior of a rough diamond takes a rare skill and greed is a very powerful emotion. Unfortunately, the price humanity was forced to pay for such beauty is not recoverable. You are welcome to a site with other articles of interest at Church Buildings For Sale, Commercial Buildings For Sale and Abandoned Buildings For Sale.
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blood diamonds, blood diamond, Issa Sesay, sierra leone, rough diamonds, diamond mines, illegal diamond, Sierra Leone diamond mines, civil war in Sierra Leone,
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