Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Colonial political rule in Angola
Essay the role played by the foreign powers in the angolan civil war
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Colonial political rule in Angola
Blood Diamonds
Until 1974, Angola had been a colony under Portuguese jurisdiction since 1576. “The combined forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence succeeded in their struggle in removing the Portuguese colonial government in April, 1974”[1]. A bloody transitional period ensued throughout the next year, where a struggle for control of Angola’s government erupted between these three groups. The FNLA quickly disappeared from the scene, and the main battle for power evolved between the MPLA under Jose dos Santos and UNITA under Dr. Jonas Savimbi.
The struggle for control over the Angolan government progressed into a civil war, which continues today. Early in the conflict as a continuation of the Cold War in Africa, the MPLA received aid from the Soviets and Cuba, while UNITA was funded by South Africa and the United States, whose interests were mainly geared toward removing the Cuban military presence in Angola. However, the end of the Cold War “had a significant effect on the foreign involvement in Angola, and as superpower patronage begins to dry up both sides need new sources of revenue”[2].
The United States and South Africa eventually ceased funding UNITA’s movement, and the rebel group had to find its own way of funding its cause. One of the major factors that politically and economically financed the civil war is the exploitation of Angola’s natural resources, namely its petroleum and diamonds. Director Paulinho Neto of Endiama, Angola’s diamond sector, stated, "If there is no war and free circulation of people and goods, we could easily become the second largest producer in the...
... middle of paper ...
...
[14] Kimberly Delegates, “Kimberly Process Certification Scheme” November 5, 2002
http://www.diamonds.net/news/newsitem.asp?num=7177&type=all&topic=Conflict
[15] “Kimberly Process” http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/default.asp
[16] “A Rough Trade: The Role of Companies and Governments in the Angolan Conflict, a
Report by Global Witness” December, 1998 Global Witness
http://www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/diamonds/downloads/art.txt
[17] 18 Zachary, G. Pascal. “Conflict-Rree Diamonds: A Competitive Edge?” Business for
Social Responsibility Magazine, Nov 12, 2002.
http://www.bsr.org/BSRResources/Magazine/Columnists.cfm?DocumentID=27923
[19] MacAskill, Ewen “Diamond States Bar War Zone Stones” November 6, 2002.
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,834258,00.html
“The diamond was long marketed as a symbol of purity. However, this image was tarnished by the revelation that diamonds were being used to finance and perpetuate conflicts” (Goreux). A portion of the world’s diamonds come from areas where war and blood shed are an everyday occurrence. Conflict diamond mining is a horrific infringement on basic human rights that rebel groups commit on a normal basis and it needs to come to an end. Only a small amount of natural resources have captured the attention
Synopsis The movie Blood Diamond starts with a man and his son walking down a road in Sierra Leone. It is obvious that the man Solomon is a loving father to his son Dia. They talk about Dia’s future as a doctor until Solomon spots a car full of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) soldiers coming down the road. The RUF soldiers are there to kidnap young men and turn them into child soldiers as well as take some of the grown men to work in the diamond fields. The RUF is cutting off the hands of some of
follows the bloody past of the blood diamond, otherwise known as the traffic and conflict diamonds. These diamonds are nicknamed blood diamonds due to the amount of people murdered and innocent blood shed over groups wanting to get their hands on these rocks. The documentary shows us just how horrifying these beautiful gems, the symbols of wealth and love, are obtained. Many people, of any age, out in the hot sun, forced to work and dig just to find a few diamonds buried deep in the earth. Men, women
find that this war was primarily caused by the diamonds in the country. In efforts to preventing such a tremble in this or any other country again, many solutions to this issue have been brought up from around the world. A war named Blood Diamonds had hit in Sierra Leone, causing many tragic events to occur including the 50,000 people dead. In efforts for the war to be named Blood Diamonds, the war had been caused mainly by the easily extractable diamonds in Sierra Leone. Attacks of the Revolutionary
has had on African societies and culture, millions of Diamonds were traded for millions of lives each year, is explained extensively in this paper and in many different pieces of literature. There are many different types of diamonds that vary in value. Koh-I-Noor is one of the most expensive diamonds and the Cullian is another that can be bought at the price of 400 million (3,106.75 carats) and it is one of the largest diamonds found. Diamonds represent wealth, love, and elegance, while the history
A diamond. This precious stone consisting of a clear, typically colourless crystalline form of pure carbon has the ability to allure and captivate, due to its rigidity, beauty and sparkle. Thus, it has become internationally recognized as a symbol of love, romance and marriage. However, a substantial portion of diamonds purchased globally, unfortunately originate from regions, particularly in central and Western Africa where war and blood shed are perceived as an everyday occurrence. This very
circulation of diamonds across the world that were bought from mines that used the funds to help create a military that would enslave many parts of Africa. These diamonds, widely known as ‘blood diamonds,’ can be found in almost every corner of the world. These days, it is hard to find a diamond that doesn’t have a conflicting history. I made this report to investigate the questions: • Are there any alternatives to diamonds in circulation? • How can you tell if a retailer stocks blood diamonds? My findings
Blood Diamond What human rights issues were illustrated in the film? Ans. 1) Genocide, child soldiers, slavery. Solomon was forced into slavery in a diamond mine, working in terrible conditions against his will by Captain Poison. After Solomon escaped his son Dia was captured by Captain Poison and he too was forced into slavery as a child soldier, Dia was brainwashed by the RUF and forced to take part in the torture and murder of innocent civilians, he was drugged and mentally
Blood Diamonds Problem Diamonds mined illegally caused a lot of problems, it caused wars and killed millions of people all for people to make money. Blood diamonds were used by rebel movements to finance wars against the government. The rebel groups successfully overthrew the government in 1999 and continue to cause conflict. They traded diamonds to buy weapons to terrorize and kill the civilians and forced them to dig in the mud along riverbanks with their bare hands to mine the diamonds. Background
movie "Blood Diamond" was released in 2006 and featured Leonardo Di Caprio as an arms smuggler whose main goal is to obtain a seemingly priceless diamond from a villager during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict diamond trade and reinforcing the Kimberley process and showing how it will stem the flow of conflict diamonds. Blood Diamonds explores the underground world of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, where rare diamonds are used
considered the ultimate symbol of love, the diamond has a darker story. "Blood" diamonds or "conflict" diamonds are those mined, polished, or traded in areas of the world where the rule of law does not exist. They often originate in war-torn countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Côte d'Ivoire were rebels use these gems to fund genocide or other questionable objectives. Even with a system known as the Kimberly process which tracks diamonds to prevent trade of these illicit gems, infractions
The movie "Blood Diamond" was released in 2006 and featured Leonardo Di Caprio as an arms smuggler whose main goal is to obtain a seemingly priceless diamond from a villager during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The film, although it has been called mild in comparison to reality, depicts the brutality that inhabitants of diamond villages were subjected to. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, and won numerous other awards. The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict
estimated is over ten thousands for mining diamonds. The term “Blood Diamond” comes from rare rocks with a huge pay amount worth in a country's finances that are mined and shipped out of countries that are currently at war. The cost of these diamonds being mined and sold require lots of labor that is forced or is given a very small amount of pay. Blood diamonds need to stop being mined and sold because innocent people are being forced to mine these diamonds and dictator’s spare no one on their quest
Conflict Diamonds, also known as Blood Diamonds, are diamonds and other precious stones that are illegally harvested and utilized to privately fund wars. The majority of the time, blood diamonds are gathered in their raw forms in lesser developed countries, or countries ravaged with war, and are sold to wholesale buyers, where the diamonds are released into the market labeled as legitimate diamonds. Blood Diamonds are the root of many problems. Organized militia syndicates often utilize slavery
pressure no diamonds.” These were the words from Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish Philosopher, who had the simplest and most accurate quote relating to my topic of blood diamonds. This quote was referring to the scientific way to produce diamonds and the fact that pressure produces the best work out of people. Diamonds are made under pressure, and people need pressure to produce their best results. However, in the case of Sierra Leone, there is a great amount of pressure from the time a diamond is found