By Daniel Flynn
LAGOS (Reuters) - Niger Delta rebels on Tuesday promised tohalt attacks on the oil industry if the Nigerian governmentwould allow U.S. President Jimmy Carter to act as a mediator inthe simmering conflict.
The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta(MEND), whose campaign of violence helped lift oil prices a newrecord on Tuesday, said that Carter had accepted its offer tomediate in the conflict "on the condition that the Nigeriangovernment and any other relevant stake holder invites him."
The Carter Centre's Vice-President for Peace Programs, JohnStremlau, said the former president would take such a requestfor all parties seriously but it was "woefully premature tosuggest he will plunge himself into mediating this conflict".
MEND, whose campaign of violence has cut output in Africa'slargest oil producer by around a fifth, publicly approachedCarter earlier this year to act as a negotiator.
"We are ready to call off all hostilities and hold atemporary ceasefire in honour of President Carter should theNigerian government accept President Carter's initiative," MENDsaid in an emailed statement.
"However, if as expected, the government fails to seize onthis new opportunity for peace, our actions will continue tospeak volumes beyond the Nigerian shores."
Carter failed in a previous attempt to mediate in therestive Delta in 1999, but is familiar to many senior membersof the different militant factions.
The Carter Centre informed MEND on Monday it would considermediating in the long-running insurgency only if all sidesrequested it.
"The absolute first condition (for mediation) is that theNigerian government has to approach us," Stremlau told Reuters.
OIL JITTERS
The bombing of a Royal Dutch Shell flowstation in thesouthern Nigerian state of Bayelsa on Saturday -- which causedlittle damage to oil infrastructure -- marked MEND's fifthstrike in just over a month and the attacks are expected toworsen as the trial of militant leader Henry Okah begins nextmonth, analysts say.
On Tuesday, oil hit a new record high of $122 a barrel,lifted by fears of fresh militant strikes in Nigeria (Africa'sbiggest exporter), supply concerns in Iran and a forecast fromGoldman Sachs stating prices could hit $200 a barrel because oflagging supply growth.
MEND has accused Nigerian authorities of mistreating Okah,who was deported from Angola in February, and denying himaccess to his lawyers.
"There is definitely a link to the Henry Okah trial in theresurgent violence," said one security analyst in Nigeria. "Howit develops will depend on how they treat Okah and the finaldecision at the trial."
The militant group, which is split between a number ofdifferent factions, dismissed the stalled Niger Delta Summitorganised by President Umaru Yar'Adua in an effort to bringpeace to the vast, lawless swampland. It said it would notattend a meeting later this year in the capital Abuja.
"The Niger Delta Summit is failing because the governmentis talking to the wrong people," said Rolake Akinola, senioranalyst for West Africa at Control Risks. "It is a problem ofYar'Adua's leadership style."
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say onthe top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
