they worked for the RBZ. They had free access to the diamond fields and were sometimes escorted onto the fields by senior police officers.161 After buying diamonds from unlicensed local miners outside any legal framework from September 2006, in January 2009 the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe classified diamonds as a national strategic reserve asset, which the RBZ would export exclusively.162 There is no official record of the RBZ’s exporting diamonds from Marange, except for an indication in the RBZ’s own records that the production of Marange diamonds was still in its infancy.163 The classification removed from the MMCZ its statutory responsibility to control and market diamonds in Zimbabwe on behalf of the state.164 For over two years, the RBZ had been engaged in the diamond trade without legal authority to do so. By having the RBZ supplant the MMCZ and take control of the purchase and marketing of diamonds, the bank formally consolidated its control over this natural resource. Human Rights Watch believes that the revenue the RBZ derived from diamond mining in Marange, even before it had license to mine and trade in the gems, helped to underwrite the army’s abusive activities in Marange, including the Chiadzwa massacres in OctoberNovember 2008. A soldier from the ZNA’s No.1 Commando Regiment told Human Rights Watch: We were all preparing to go on annual leave at the end of October when a “signal” was circulated informing us that our annual leave had been cancelled and that immediately we were to be deployed to Marange diamond fields on a special mission funded by Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono.165 Several other soldiers from the three separate army units involved in the operation confirmed to Human Rights Watch that they received separate salaries, travel, and subsistence “bush” allowances from the RBZ.166 Soldiers on mission in Marange were told 161 Human Rights Watch interview with police officer L.D., Mutare, February 23, 2009. 162 “Turning our difficulties into opportunities,” RBZ Monetary Policy Statement, January 2009. 163 Ibid. 164 Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe Act (Chapter 21:05). 165 Human Rights Watch interview with soldier T.G., Harare, February 2, 2009. 166 Human Rights Watch interviews with soldiers T.G., A.G., F.N., and P.M., Harare, February 2, 2009. Diamonds in the Rough 50