The government of Egypt wanted the referendum for the self-determination of Southern Sudan to be delayed for a number of years for fear that an independent unstable South would interfere with the White Nile waters.
Egypt’s position was disclosed through a diplomatic message WikiLeaks posted in its website.An American diplomat wrote to Washington-DC saying that Egyptian government officials were lobbying for a referendum delay of four to six years in order for Southern Sudan to be a viable state and not to affect Egypt’s share of Nile waters.
WikiLeaks has disclosed this week some 250 thousand secret messages from the USA diplomatic channels and the cable from Cairo was among them.