7 reported that the army had killed at least 214 miners, and said soldiers were involved in the smuggling of diamonds. 24 By November the army was firmly in control and they turned rapidly to forming syndicates, 25 often using forced labour, including women and children. In February 2009, the new power-sharing government was formed. As HRW pointed out in the summary of “Diamonds in the Rough”, the government could “generate significant amounts of revenue from diamonds, perhaps as much as US$200 million per month, if Marange and the other mining centres were managed in a transparent and accountable manner”. HRW called on the new government to remove the military from Marange and to restore security responsibilities to the police, according to internationally recognised standards of law enforcement. 26 As a former participant in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), HRW said members of the KPCS should demand that Zimbabwe comply with the scheme’s minimum standards and that “the KPCS should take urgent measures to audit the Zimbabwean mining sector, ensure that individuals involved in smuggling return their ill-gotten gains, and act to prevent any further abuse in both the extraction and onward sale of Marange diamonds.” 27 (See Human Rights section for more information). 5 POWER, PATRONAGE AND ARMY OPERATIONS It was time for President Robert Mugabe and his small clique of hardliners and generals known as the Joint Operations Command (JOC), to take stock. To understand Marange in the context of the complex and contorted political and economic landscape of Zimbabwe, it is necessary to sketch an overview of President Mugabe’s modus operandi from when he first came to office - and his dexterous use of a combination of patronage, fear and the militarisation of the country to retain power. ZANU PF consolidated its power after independence in 1980 by being centralised, conspiratorial and ruthless. After winning the election, the party simply went back to doing what it knows best. 28 24 Rapaport, ‘Timeline of Events at Marange Diamond Fields’, February 2011: http://www.diamonds.net/cms/Zimbabwe/docs/Marange_Timeline-041110-_2_ 25 Human Rights Watch, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’, June 2009, pg 37: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough 26 Human Rights Watch, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’, June 2009, pgs 4 and 5: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough 27 Human Rights Watch, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’, June 2009, pg 5: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2009/06/26/diamonds-rough 28 Mail & Guardian, ‘UK names clique of six men behind campaign of terror’, 23 June 2008: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-06-23-uk-names-clique-of-six-men-behind-campaign-terror