"Taint of Burma's genocide gems", 10 Dec 2017

... Burmese gemstones used in high-end jewellery made by famous western brands are now at the centre of the international outcry over the persecution of Rohingya Muslims. Cartier... assured shoppers... that it would no longer buy gemstones from Burma after campaigners exposed the company... [The] company said it...stopped purchasing gemstones from the country last Friday....after a campaign to boycott “genocide gems” over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims... Tiffany & Co has already said that its longstanding policy is not to buy gemstones from Burma. The controversy...comes as fashion experts have described a surge in demand for rubies... Activists from the International Campaign for the Rohingya (ICR) plan next to target Bulgari...  [Gems] are controversial for the role they play in the funding of Burma’s armed forces, which are driving Rohingya from their villages. Burma’s gem industry was previously the target of European Union and American sanctions, but these were lifted... after the generals released Aung San Suu Kyi... Cartier...said...that [they were] not prepared to discuss the policy... “Cartier’s decision to stop buying Burmese gems demonstrates how ordinary people can directly sanction Burma’s army,” said...ICR. “There’s no market for genocide gems.” Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Bulgari did not... comment.