Home Blood Diamond Liberia and Sierra Leone

Liberia has been a channel and vector point for the illicit diamond trade since the 1950s, and the concept of "blood diamonds" was partially a Liberian creation.Around the time of the 1998 United States embassy bombings, al-Qaeda allegedly bought gems from Liberia as some of its other financial assets were frozen.Having regained peace, Liberia is attempting to construct a legitimate diamond mining industry. In 2001, the UN applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August 2003, Taylor stepped down as president and, after being exiled to Nigeria, faced trial in The Hague. On July 21, 2006 he pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The UN has lifted sanctions and Liberia is now a member of the Kimberley Process. Sierra Leone diamonds are well-known between the jewelry world to be one of the best quality diamonds available today. This is perhaps the major reason that blood diamonds have wreaked the havoc they have had over so many years. The first diamond was found in Sierra Leone in the 1930s. Since then, a story of brutality and violence has extended in this small West African country. In 1968, Siaka Stevens became the prime minister of Sierra Leone. Recognizing the cost of their diamonds, he made a large profit out of illegal diamond mining and trading. In the ensuing years, additional and more diamonds were being exported illegally rather than through legal.