DIAMOND COUNCIL RESPONDS.

Byline: - Bob Strauss

Diamond merchants were naturally concerned to hear that a big star like Leonardo DiCaprio was making a movie about conflict diamonds, the raw stones whose illegal trade has fueled atrocity-ridden African wars. Bad for an overwhelmingly image-conscious business, to say the least.

But while a war of words between the jewel industry and the makers of ``Blood Diamond'' appeared inevitable, it hasn't quite panned out that way.

``One of the things that's gratifying has been that there actually was a very marked change on the part of the diamond industry in its attitude toward this film,'' noted one of the movie's producers, Marshall Herskovitz. ``It started out being very antagonistic, and the implied threat was that they were somehow going to go against us and sort of bad-mouth what our efforts were. And in midstream, they made a real change in their strategy and in their attitude toward this.''

In September, the World Diamond Council, which represents more than 50 mining companies, trade associations, manufacturers and retailers, launched the Web site diamondfacts.org in order to educate consumers on what the industry is doing to ensure that conflict diamonds are certifying every stone's war-free origin.

A statement from the WDC explains the organization's current position on ``Blood Diamond,'' which tells a fictional story set in 1999 Sierra Leone.

``The World Diamond Council has no issues with the movie,'' the statement reads. ``It is a powerful portrayal of an important chapter in African history. But it is history, not current events. Things have changed substantially in Sierra Leone since the late 1990s.

``While there is still much to be done, Sierra Leone is now at peace with an emerging democracy and a stable government. In the years since the period depicted in the movie, the World Diamond Council, the diamond industry, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and individual governments have worked diligently together to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds and the misery it funds. As a result, more than 99 percent of world diamond production is currently certified to be from conflict-free sources.''

``We didn't set out to make this movie to destroy the diamond industry,'' said Paula Weinstein, another of the film's producers. ``What we hope comes out of it is that people will indeed check the source of their diamonds and know that, as consumers, they have power.''

Actress Jennifer Connelly, who appears in the film and works with Amnesty International USA, said she had done research and could certify that the diamond earrings she was wearing were conflict free. ``I don't think that the film suggests a boycott on African diamonds -- there are human-rights implications in the boycotting of African diamonds as well. What I got out of the film is a desire to be a more ethical consumer.''

Asked if he would buy diamonds again, however, DiCaprio said, ``I don't know. Probably not. But that isn't to say that consumers shouldn't go out and do that, because ultimately diamonds are a source of economic stability in Africa. What they're specifically trying to target are these conflict diamonds that have funded these warlords and caused this civil strife.''

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