Yes, thank you.
There is a role to be played for Canada, but that has to be post-independence.
By the way, quite a number of southerners were educated in Sudan and there are thousands of them. They speak the Arabic language very well indeed. If you speak to them and see them, you will think they are northerners because of the cultural understanding they have, and the relationship between them and between those who are educated and their peers in the north. There is a lot of common experience in the past, where there was war or no war.
With regard to the relationship between the two states in the future, there is a positive role to be played, not a political one only but also a developmental one. The most important thing is to look to the future stability of the south before we look at the north. In the south there is a problem, although later in the conference in Juba they came together. Dr. Lam Akol, the spearhead of the conflict with Salva Kiir, came to the conference and there was a communiqué saying that now they agreed on a consensus for government, and so on.
So there is a need for stabilization in the south, domestically because of the tribal conflicts and tribal rivalry between the three important and major tribes: Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk. Each one has its aspirations, and so on. Even the minority tribes fear the domination of the Dinka. The Dinka are the most rich and they are in large numbers. They are also warriors. So there is a fear among the minority tribes in the south with regard to domination. There has to be some kind of involvement for countries that could be trusted to build peace and have development play a role.
Democracy is important in the northern part of Sudan. If any country or international community plays a role to have democratization in both countries, including peace and stability, I think the future of both countries will be good because the resources are there. What is lacking and what's feared is the instability between the two countries.
There is an idea for the future. Because of the relationship of hundreds of years between the south and north, apart from the maltreatment or anything like that—that is something for the historical record—a dual citizenship for the people of the two countries could also play a good role. There is a chance for that if things go smoothly.
I think there are ways to do things. I think Canada could do something in that discussion, but Canada needs to get the people there who would be able to do that job. That's also another thing. The instruments are more important than the objectives and ideas, and so on.