The action by the American Gem Trade Association is in response to allegations that Osama bin Laden has used sales of the blue gemstone to finance his terrorist operations.

The gem association used its wholesale trade show at the Tucson Convention Center to gather industry officials and U.S. and Tanzanian government officials to discuss the matter in meetings held throughout the day.

The group planned to make specifics of its plan public today at its show, part of the ongoing Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase.

"Our goal is to restore confidence in tanzanite and ensure transparency and accountability in all aspects of the trade," American Gem Trade Association Executive Director Douglas Hucker said. "We are very, very pleased with the results of the work we are doing," Hucker said.

But he declined to elaborate, saying details of the plan were still under discussion.

Separately, local officials of the showcase's biggest retail expo say they planned to require dealers selling tanzanite gemstones to certify that their stones are not linked to terrorist sources.

"We are going to ask all the dealers in the show to certify to the best of their ability that theirs are not 'conflict' stones," said Jim McGlasson, president of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, said last week.

McGlasson said the society also has no plans to drop a large tanzanite specimen from the African gemstones exhibit that is the featured theme of the group's show, which runs Feb. 14 through Feb. 17 at the Tucson Convention Center.

McGlasson said society officials are strongly opposed to the sale of tanzanite that may have come from terrorist sellers, as they have opposed the sale of "conflict diamonds" sold by Angolan or Congolese rebels to finance their insurrections.

But like other gem-industry officials, McGlasson said he believes most tanzanite is free of terrorist ties. Much of the tanzanite on the market was mined 30 years ago, shortly after the mineral was discovered, he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Islamic extremists loyal to bin Laden were buying tanzanite stones from miners and middlemen, smuggling them out of Tanzania to free-trade havens such as Dubai and Hong Kong. The newspaper quoted local miners and government officials.

Following that report, three of America's largest jewelry retailers - Zale Corp., QVC Inc. and Tiffany & Co. - suspended sales of tanzanite.

In mid-January, the Journal reported that a diary of a personal secretary to bin Laden reveals that his al-Qaida terrorist network may have been using the popular blue gemstone to help finance its operations as early as 1995.

The newspaper cited a day planner confiscated by the FBI from Wadih el Hage, a former Tucson resident convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison last year in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

* Contact David Wichner at 573-4181 or at wichner@azstarnet.com