When the colonial conquest of South Africa was completed, many black communities suddenly found themselves defined as the property of white men who, through pieces of paper written by other white men, not only owned their land but the people, too. All companies that operated at the time benefited from the policy, including De Beers, which now wants to do an intellectual gymnastic routine and claim it never benefited from apartheid. The diamonds mined using the slave labour of the late 19th century until the not-so-distant past were actually blood diamonds, as now defined in terms of war-related sparkling stones.
Related Links:
* Mbeki awards one-off payments to apartheid victims
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=397639
* Apartheid suit aims at
chemical giants
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1347584,00.html