It said the decision to call off the ceasefire was due to the statement credited to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ''offering to provide military support to the illegal government of (President) Umaru Yar'Adua in further oppressing the impoverished people of the Niger Delta''.
''Mr Yar'Adua, in a fraudulent appeal to the G8 leaders in Japan, misled the international community into believing that the unrest and agitation in the region is due to oil theft which encourages 'blood oil'.
''The international community and independent researchers are very well aware that the unrest in the region is as a result of over five decades of oil exploration that has developed other parts of Nigeria to the detriment of the environment and people of the Niger Delta.
''The United Kingdom is part of this problem with the politics it played pre-independence that gave leverage to some sections of the country which has helped in marginalising and exploiting the region today,'' MEND said.
It warned: ''Should Gordon Brown make good his threat to support this criminality for the sake of oil, UK citizens and interests in Nigeria will suffer the consequences.''
MEND announced the ceasefire after a string of daring attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, including that against the country's largest offshore oil production facility, the over 200,0000bpd Shell-operated Bonga oil field.
Meanwhile, Nigeria's former external affairs ministers and UN official Ibrahim Gambari has resigned as chairman of the steering committee for the planned peace talks in the Niger Delta.
The decision to quit, after a barrage of criticism trailing his appointment by the federal government, was contained in a statement he issued in New York.
"I wish to be excused as the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Summit," he said in the statement, details of which were published by the local media Thursday.
"I wish to put on record that I did not seek the position and I am not desperate to retain it. I felt it was my patriotic duty to accept the appointment and to discharge my duties to the best of my abilities,'' Gambari said.
Alluding to the scathing criticism of his appointment, he said: "However, in spite of the best intentions of the President as well as my own commitment in accepting the position, my appointment has attracted what appears to be a well-orchestrated and relentless opposition from some quarters, institutions, groups and individuals who may nonetheless be central to the resolution of the crisis in the Delta.
"As a result, my name has become the issue in place of the attempt at finding a just and lasting solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta.''
Critics of Gambari's appointment, including key stakeholders in the oil region, said his role as Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN under the regime of the later military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, disqualified him from serving as a peace broker in the Niger Delta.
More specifically, they said his alleged vilification of Niger Delta's prominent son and environmentalist Ken Saro Wiwa - who was executed by the Abacha administration in 1995 - as a common criminal ruled him out of such a role.
Indications are that the federal government has started shopping for a replacement for the political science professor and veteran diplomat.
Lagos - 10/07/2008
Pana
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