[Jewelry making - Article 00363] - Re: [Orchid] Tanzanite mis-information

[TOMPAHPE]

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    Dear Fellow Orchidians, Hopefully this release will clarify this
    issue. 

    Please also note there is absolutely no evidence linking diamonds
    either - that was also pure speculation. For more info on conflict
    diamonds, please see the list of URLs at the end of this post. 

    Finally, I'd like to pass along that Afghanistan's Corundum mines
    (Jegdalek) were of no interest to the Taliban and the 7,000 year old
    Lapis Lazuli mines, along with Spinel, Aquamarine & Emerald mines
    were within Northern Alliance territory. 

    Anyone is welcome to email me privately on these matters - I'll do
    my best to direct inquiries to reputable information sources I've
    relied on through my experiences as a member of our trade's press. 

    Respectfully, Jeanette K 


    The Tanzanian Mineral Dealers Association Press Release November 21,
    2001 Re: Alleged Tanzanite Connection to al Qaeda The Tanzanian
    Mineral Dealers Association (TAMIDA) represents 90% of the tanzanite
    dealers in Tanzania who handle the majority of the tanzanite
    transactions at the source.  An article by Robert Block and Daniel
    Pearl that appeared in the Wall St. Journal on November 17th, 2001
    is causing great upheaval in our tanzanite industry and could
    seriously harm our trade because of allegations by the authors that
    supposedly link tanzanite gemstone sales to al Qaeda operatives.  

    What follows are our opinions about the story: 

    1.  We are disappointed and alarmed by the story in the Wall Street
    Journal on November 17, 2001. It represents a classic reflection of
    the American media's present obsession with linking anything that
    they can, with terrorism. a.  Robert Block, a WSJ staff reporter
    based in South Africa, whose visit to Tanzania and whose intentions
    are under investigation by the Tanzanian authorities, apparently
    concocted a story that has no foundation in reality and is obviously
    ground in cheap sensationalism, rather than facts. 

    2.  In any crowd, anywhere in the world, it is not unusual to find
    either pro bin Laden or anti American sentiments, or vice versa.
    This does not mean that people in Mererani's tanzanite trade are for
    bin Laden, or are forced to sell to Muslim extremists. Tanzanians
    have also not forgotten that bin Laden murdered their fellow
    citizens in 1998. 

    3.  Obviously, the writers did not consider the economics of these
    alleged connections. It makes no economic sense for anyone to buy
    tanzanite here and ship to a market like Dubai that is not even
    known for or deal in tanzanite, when they can easily send dollars,
    bought officially, to whomsoever they please, anywhere in the world. 

    4.  Tanzanian Muslims have other priorities such as food; shelter
    and education that take precedence over bin Laden and his
    activities. Therefore the whole premise of trading in tanzanite for
    bin Laden is illogical. 

    5.  Mr. Magayane, a zonal mines officer, and not a spokesman for the
    Ministry of Energy and Minerals, was quoted in the Wall St. Journal
    story. In a sworn affidavit he denies having told Block anything
    about a tanzanite connection with bin Laden. He denies categorically
    the quotes attributed to him. 

    6.  Upon investigation of the radical Mosque described in the story,
    TAMIDA has found it staffed by a young cleric, 27 years of age
    called Mudir Omar Suleiman of the Ansari sect of Sunni Muslims. He
    denies having talked to any American or South African reporter,
    period. In fact, he says he does not know much about tanzanite nor
    does he deal in it He came to Merelani this March of 2001.  He has
    sworn to this in his religious capacity and his sworn statement is
    on file with TAMIDA. 

    7.  "Sheikh" Omari, as described in the article, is in fact not a
    Sheikh, and Aman Mustapha, also so described, appears to be an alias
    because three days of intense investigation has failed to uncover
    anyone by this name. Mudir Omar also does not know of this
    individual and is definitely not a teacher at the mosque. Further,
    the Mosque described in the story is not under construction, but
    rather a completed shack of corrugated sheets and discarded timber. 
    Mudir Omar asks people to look at this humble mosque, which barely
    holds 30 people, and states that if he were dealing in Tanzanite,
    the mosque would not be in this condition. 

    8.  Because of the author's inconsistencies, lack of understanding
    of our trade, and because of the story's tone, TAMIDA feels that
    Block's report smacks of ulterior motives and cheap sensationalism.
    It is a journalistic failure at best. Everything in the report
    appears concocted, even the opening photograph of someone holding up
    a piece of tanzanite rough with a pair of diamond tweezers in the
    wsj.com highlights That is akin to a neurosurgeon using a cleaver.
    Inaccuracies in the story were rampant, from the legends the authors
    related, to the technical data they supplied. For example, the
    temperatures used to obtain permanent color changes in tanzanite are
    closer to 1050 degrees rather than the 400 degrees, which the
    authors stated as fact.) Like so much else in the story, this points
    to shoddy or sloppy research. Statistics regarding official export
    quantities of 12000 lbs and that 90% of the tanzanite is being
    smuggled besides the official exports, makes the veracity of this
    article suspect. It is a physical impossibility to smuggle what was
    never produced. With Blocks figures, Merelani had to produce 55 TONS
    of rough tanzanite a year. This would mean that a 20% yield, would
    have placed 55 MILLION carats of cut tanzanite into the market place
    last year. . 

    9.   Block refers to a United States A I D funded report on this
    Tanzanian industry's susceptibility to abuse. This has been used out
    of context and has been MISQUOTED. We feel that Block's proclamation
    of Afgem's desire to change this so-called abuse by money
    launderers, drug dealers and arms dealers by branding tanzanite
    further raises the prospect of ulterior motives. It puts into
    question the integrity of the author, the article, and Afgem's role
    in this matter. 

    10. We denounce this unfortunate indiscretion on the part of Block
    and the Wall St. Journal and appeal to the better judgment of our
    customers and the American public. We ask anyone interested in
    tanzanite to view the story for what it is - a tabloid feature that
    mistakenly got printed in the Wall Street Journal. 

    11. TAMIDA would like to signal the same US-AID funded study (EAGER:
    Equity and Growth through Economic Research), which recently
    concluded that were no associations between the tanzanite trade and
    money laundering, drug and arm dealings or terrorism. Please refer
    to TANZANIA'S PRECIOUS MINERALS BOOM: ISSUES IN MINING AND
    MARKETING, EAGER research paper 3/2001. 

    12.  TAMIDA unequivocally assures the world that tanzanite has no
    murkier ties to al Qaeda than caviar, olive oil or Toyota trucks. 

    13. Tanzania and tanzanite's ties to the U.S. market are through the
    dealers of the world who are 98% Israeli, Indian, German and
    American, many of whom also happen to be Jewish. In addition,
    tanzanite can be easily traced from the mine head to the store. We
    wish to assure QVC, Zale Corp, U.S. and world jewelers, as well as
    thousands of proud tanzanite owners around the world, to rest
    assured that tanzanite has absolutely no connection to terrorism. 

    Simon Sam Mollel   Chairman TAMIDA P o box 15136 Arusha, Tanzania 
    255 27 250 8462  FAX

www.worlddiamondcouncil.com
www.conflictdiamonds.com
www.jewelersofamerica.org/ja_industry/ conflictdias.html 
www.diamonds.net 
www.sierra-leone.org 
www.debeersgroup.com 
www.bbc.co.uk

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