Zim accord is "litmus test" for African solutions

from the LATimes:

....The accord, brokered by regional leaders in the Southern African Development Community, has become a litmus test for "African solutions for African problems," the idea that indigenous solutions work better in Africa than those imposed by the West.

Critics argue that African-brokered power-sharing deals such as those signed after Kenya's violent 2007 elections and Zimbabwe's disputed vote last year have set a precedent that leaders in Africa can cling to power when voted out, just by refusing to leave office.

They say bodies such as SADC and the African Union have done little to protect democracy or stop violence and human rights abuses, tending to side with incumbent leaders such as the long-ruling Mugabe, whose regime has been accused of unleashing violence to stay in power and denying food to opposition villagers.

Tony Reeler, analyst with the independent Research and Advocacy Unit in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, called last month's agreement "another SADC railroading job."

"With SADC, it's unity at all costs," he said. "I think that what's tending to emerge is that African solutions tend to be partisan, one way or another, and that's what we're seeing here.

"I think Zimbabwe is testing African solutions for African problems very harshly."...