UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has delayed the release of a UN report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and failed to indicate when it would be made public. The decision by Annan came as Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said he "might" appeal to the international community to help "unveil the truth" about Hariri's murder against a backdrop of a series of bombings near Beirut in the last week which have left three people dead. Annan received the report into Hariri's death yesterday from the UN fact-finding mission to Lebanon, led by Irish Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald. He was due to deliver the report to the UN Security Council last night, but decided to postpone the move at the last minute. A UN spokesperson in New York said: "The Secretary General just wanted a little bit more time to prepare the ground for this report." He declined to comment further. But a UN insider described the closely held findings of the inquiry as "one of the most powerful reports the United Nations has ever done."
Speaking earlier this week Annan had said "a more comprehensive investigation" into Hariri's death "may well be necessary." Speculation is rife the report will indicate a raft of failures in the immediate aftermath of the murder by Lebanese and Syrian officials including tampering with evidence and failing to properly seal off the murder site. But speaking earlier Lahoud said: "I am determined to employ all efforts, use all means and to rely on all international and Arab bodies to get at the truth." The president added he was ready to "punish severely all perpetrators, managers, partners, accomplices and those who have been incompetent." Lahoud's statement represents a huge volte face from his previous position where he insisted an international probe amounted to interference in Lebanese internal issues. Lebanon's political opposition has blamed Lebanese-Syrian intelligence agents for Hariri's assassination. Both the opposition and the Hariri family have been demanding an international commission of inquiry into the assassination. Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt said last week he learned the UN team reported Lebanese authorities had "concealed data" in connection with the Hariri investigation.