up for diamond manufacturers. "The diamond industry is vital to the South African and southern African economy," he said at the time, echoing De Beers's statements. "We would be concerned that an international campaign on these issues did not damage this vital industry." Moreover, Mandela made clear that the industry's stance on human rights should be taken through its "own initiative." When, in 2000, U.S. Representative Tony Hall pushed a bill that would have forced all diamonds sold in the United States for more than $100 to be accompanied by a certificate naming the country of the stone's origin, a diamond executive testifying before Congress used Mandela's words to argue that such a measure would harm diamond-producing countries. "Former President Nelson Mandela has expressed concern that his nation's vital diamond industry is not damaged by `an international campaign,'" Eli Haas, president of the Diamond Dealer's Club, told a House subcommittee. Eventually, in 2002, under an agreement known as the Kimberley Process, diamond companies agreed to ensure that all diamonds came from legally mined fields and that the proceeds did not go to fomenting civil wars. But it remains unclear how much good the Kimberley Process is actually doing. A recent U.N. report found that conflict diamonds from Cite d'Ivoire are entering the market through Ghana and Mali, and a study by usaid estimates that as many as half of the diamonds emanating from Sierra Leone are still being smuggled out illegally. The problem, according to experts, is that the Kimberley Process does not have any independent verification or enforcement mechanisms. "The diamond industry doesn't ask many questions," says Corinna Gilfillan of Global Witness, an NGO focused on natural-resource exploitation. "They're just looking to get the best deal." And yet, Mandela has continued to lend his support. He recently penned a note praising De Beers on its community service work. "I congratulate De Beers, a world leader in diamonds, with its roots in South Africa, for the way it continues to demonstrate its credentials as a good corporate citizen in so many areas of concern," he wrote. The letter, unsurprisingly, appears in De Beers's corporate brochures. The diamond industry's campaign against Blood Diamond is just the latest phase, then, in an ongoing fight to stave off bad publicity and increased scrutiny. Zwick (who once interned at The New Republic) received a letter earlier this year expressing concern about the project from the chairman of the Kimberley Process and the head of the World Diamond Council (WDC), an industry group that represents major diamond companies. The WDC also hired Sitrick and Company, a p.r. firm that specializes in crisis management. And, in June, a Los Angeles Times blog reported that Sitrick had enlisted--surprise--Mandela to respond to publicity generated by the film's release. (A spokesman for the WDC disputes this, saying that the former South African president is speaking out on his own.) Mandela's pronouncements on behalf of the diamond industry are, at some level, perfectly understandable. After all, he was president of South Africa, and part of any president's job is to look out