De Beers Opens New York Store Amid Bushmen Protest
Plans by De Beers to expand its diamond retail empire with the opening of a new shop today on Fifth Avenue in New York will be dogged by controversy after a human rights group called for a boycott.
Survival International said it had enlisted the American feminist Gloria Steinem to join a picket line urging people not to enter the shop.
The charity, which campaigns on behalf of tribal peoples, is protesting at De Beers' alleged involvement in the eviction by the Botswana government of the last remaining Gana and Gwi bushmen from their homes in the central Kalahari game reserve.
Survival International organised a similar demonstration when De Beers opened its first standalone shop in Bond Street, London, in 2002. The company already had three in-store concessions in Tokyo.
The diamond company said yesterday that previous boycotts had not dented sales in Britain and argued it was unfair to target the retail arm because it was an independently managed joint venture with the luxury goods group LVMH in France.
De Beers said: "Survival International's misleading and dishonest claims are based on supposition and hearsay. They have failed to attract any significant, internationally recognised support from other civil society organisations and De Beers challenges them to provide any credible evidence to support their claims."
De Beers accused Survival of threatening to inflict "untold damage on one of Africa's success stories, dependent on its diamond revenues for the fight against HIV/Aids".
De Beers said it has a licence from the government of Botswana to search for minerals but has discovered no commercial deposits. Even if it had it would not need to "arbitrarily remove or resettle any communities", it said.
But the charity says the denials by both De Beers and the Botswana government should not be taken seriously. Stephen Corry, director of Survival, said: "We encourage De Beers to pressure the Botswana government into reversing its disastrous policy. We will not stop our campaign until the Bushmen are allowed back on to their land."
The group has called for British model Lily Cole to quit her role as the advertising face of De Beers. It claims it persuaded supermodel Imam to halt her contract last year but De Beers denies this was the reason for her going.
Survival International said it had enlisted the American feminist Gloria Steinem to join a picket line urging people not to enter the shop.
The charity, which campaigns on behalf of tribal peoples, is protesting at De Beers' alleged involvement in the eviction by the Botswana government of the last remaining Gana and Gwi bushmen from their homes in the central Kalahari game reserve.
Survival International organised a similar demonstration when De Beers opened its first standalone shop in Bond Street, London, in 2002. The company already had three in-store concessions in Tokyo.
The diamond company said yesterday that previous boycotts had not dented sales in Britain and argued it was unfair to target the retail arm because it was an independently managed joint venture with the luxury goods group LVMH in France.
De Beers said: "Survival International's misleading and dishonest claims are based on supposition and hearsay. They have failed to attract any significant, internationally recognised support from other civil society organisations and De Beers challenges them to provide any credible evidence to support their claims."
De Beers accused Survival of threatening to inflict "untold damage on one of Africa's success stories, dependent on its diamond revenues for the fight against HIV/Aids".
De Beers said it has a licence from the government of Botswana to search for minerals but has discovered no commercial deposits. Even if it had it would not need to "arbitrarily remove or resettle any communities", it said.
But the charity says the denials by both De Beers and the Botswana government should not be taken seriously. Stephen Corry, director of Survival, said: "We encourage De Beers to pressure the Botswana government into reversing its disastrous policy. We will not stop our campaign until the Bushmen are allowed back on to their land."
The group has called for British model Lily Cole to quit her role as the advertising face of De Beers. It claims it persuaded supermodel Imam to halt her contract last year but De Beers denies this was the reason for her going.
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