Isn't it ironic? No

(You'll already have noticed that today I have been mostly reading the AlertNet blogs.)

Great post by Megan Rowling on Darfur:
The naming of Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's state humanitarian affairs minister, by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as one of its first war crimes suspects in Darfur reminded me of the song Ironic by Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette on her album "Jagged Little Pill". If you've never heard it, here are a few of the lyrics:

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
... And isn't it ironic... don't you think?"


If you're already thinking, what's so ironic about these situations - well, that may be the point. As outlined in a Wikipedia entry dedicated to the song, arguably the only thing that's truly ironic about Ironic is that it contains no irony.

You might be wondering what on earth this has got to do with Darfur's four-year-long humanitarian crisis...

Haroun was Sudan's state interior minister during the height of the conflict in Darfur. According to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the evidence his team collected showed that Haroun funded Darfur's Janjaweed militia from an unlimited budget that was not publicly audited and was seen personally delivering arms, ammunition and well-guarded boxes to the militia.
(Read the rest, and be sure to follow the wikipedia link.)

More on Darfur: "Darfur Needs More Than Words" Nick Grono in European Voice; Jeff W: Sudanese and Iranian genocide deniers' coalition; Jeff W: Cries of Rage; Eric Reeves on the ICC.

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Another post by Megan Rowling talks of violence in Iraq threatening the literacy of its children. My problem with this post is that it doesn't give weight to the fact that the "insurrection" has systematically set out to target schools and colleges - particularly those where girls and women are educated - in its campaign of terror.

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Finally, Nina Brenjo on Serbia's war crimes acquittal.

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Previously: Latte-drinking liberals and the Darfur genocide; George Galloway on Darfur; Slow Motion Genocide; Sudan divestment; Sudan versus Iraq; Chomsky on Srebernica; Western Sahara; Belarus and Darfur; Sudan at Passover; Pinochet-Good Riddance; The trial of Saddam Hussein.

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