Yellowknife (Sep 12/03) - While the international diamond trading community has confirmed De Beers stopped buying diamonds from conflict zones in 2000, the company's prior conduct is subject to debate.

Linda Dorrington, manager of public and corporate affairs for De Beers Canada Corporation, said De Beers "has never been involved in conflict diamonds," but after repeated questioning, added the issue was a "grey area."

Dorrington added De Beers has led the movement called the Kimberley Process, a government and industry supported certification process which allows authorities to identify and certify the origin of diamonds.

Susan Isaac, a project officer with Partnership Africa-Canada's diamonds and human security project, said De Beers was buying diamonds on the African open market in the late 1990s.

"Between 1992 and 1998 UNITA (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola) generated $3.7 billion from the sale of diamonds while fighting a civil war in Angola," said Isaac.

"At that time they (De Beers) were buying Angolan diamonds on the open market in West Africa," she added.

"They may have known, they may not have known. They weren't asking questions. They didn't care. They didn't care where it came from or how it came from Point A to Point B," said Isaac.

When the issue was brought to the world's attention, De Beers did make a conscious decision to close its diamond-buying offices in Africa.