Africa's diamond-producing nations should help subsidize the sale of rough diamonds to polishers, diamantaire Lev Leviev said Thursday.



Speaking at the World Diamond Council's (WDC) 7th Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Leviev pointed out that is was crucial to guarantee that polishing plants had a regular supply of rough diamonds. The diamantaire compared the need to safeguard the supply of rough diamonds to the steps the Russian government took to protect mines in times of crisis.



Polishing plants in Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa were forced to deal with "unsecured quotas and lack of subsidies versus insatiable demand," Leviev said, warning that unless governments intervened, the diamond polishing industry in those countries would see plants closed.



"It is preferable to sell the rough for one dollar less, thus helping to create a healthy industry, able to support the local economy," he told the WDC audience.



Leviev called the Kimberley Process, an international monitoring scheme set up to track human rights in the diamond industry and ensure that diamonds to not subsidize armed conflicts in any of the producing nations, "extremely vital."



The Kimberley Process, he explained, promises transparency and control over the supply chain that allowed diamond dealers to sell their products, remaining confident that they were not trading in conflict diamonds.



Only through subsidizing large companies, therefore providing employment to local residents, can the diamond industry combat illegal diamond mining and trading and keep diamonds out of the hands of participants in bloody conflicts.



"Citizens of African countries must not suffer since the diamonds are shining," Leviev declared.



Diamonds, he continued, should go to fulfill the prophecy "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore"