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Zimbabwe Rejects U.S. Claim That Diamond Mine Uses Forced Labor

De Beers Diamond Sales Falter as Small Stones Struggle to Sell

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Zimbabwe accused the U.S. of ignorance after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it’s blocking rough diamond imports from the Marange fields because they were produced with forced labor.

“It’s unfortunate that the U.S. authorities have been misinformed or misled to believe that Zimbabwe is mining diamonds through forced labor,” government spokesman Nick Mangwana said Tuesday by text message. “As a government we have a very strong revulsion towards any form of slavery or servitude. To even suggest that Zimbabwe has some form of corporate forced labor is either mischievous or simply ignorant.”