Antwerp 2007 Diamond Conference
The gala dinner, with Princess Mathilda in attendance, provided two interesting speeches.
Johnson Seirlieaf, the president of Liberia, stressed the tough situation of her country.
Only recently the international community allowed it to start export its rough diamonds after years of strife. Underlining the country's situation, she expressed appreciation for a quarter of million dollars contribution to help set up rough diamond facility, an amount most countries can afford to spend very easily.
No doubt the star of the evening was Sir Bob Geldof, who delivered a fiery speech.
"A cow in Europe, an unnecessary cow, some of them in your plates right now, gets a $2.50 subsidy in Europe, while a human in Africa gets $0.50, per annum!"Geldof said as he criticized the West's treatment of Africa, not providing it with necessary economic assistance.
"It's a pebble, a polished pebble", he said about diamonds, adding that peoples lives are dependent on what is decided by the crowd."He also criticized the weaknesses of the Kimberley Process. "Al it takes is a country that doesn't care(about KP) and some of their representatives are sitting in this room."
He called for a Marshall plan for Africa, which helped resurrect Europe and Japan after WW II.
Despite a feeling among attendants that Geldof rained on the industry's parade, he got a standing ovation from the crowd.
Johnson Seirlieaf, the president of Liberia, stressed the tough situation of her country.
Only recently the international community allowed it to start export its rough diamonds after years of strife. Underlining the country's situation, she expressed appreciation for a quarter of million dollars contribution to help set up rough diamond facility, an amount most countries can afford to spend very easily.
No doubt the star of the evening was Sir Bob Geldof, who delivered a fiery speech.
"A cow in Europe, an unnecessary cow, some of them in your plates right now, gets a $2.50 subsidy in Europe, while a human in Africa gets $0.50, per annum!"Geldof said as he criticized the West's treatment of Africa, not providing it with necessary economic assistance.
"It's a pebble, a polished pebble", he said about diamonds, adding that peoples lives are dependent on what is decided by the crowd."He also criticized the weaknesses of the Kimberley Process. "Al it takes is a country that doesn't care(about KP) and some of their representatives are sitting in this room."
He called for a Marshall plan for Africa, which helped resurrect Europe and Japan after WW II.
Despite a feeling among attendants that Geldof rained on the industry's parade, he got a standing ovation from the crowd.
posted by ziv at 9:37 AM
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