The visit by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to Lebanon is part of the political and economic support that French President Nicholas Sarkozy intends for this country.

Much has been said about the notion that France's recent opening up to Syria and its new bilateral ties mean that the International Tribunal to try the killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri will end up being buried. However, whoever believes that such a development is likely should be careful of making a mistake; the new US administration of President-elect Barack Obama and the French president do not want to see such a thing. Yesterday, on the eve of Fillon's visit to Beirut, Claude Gueant, a key member of Sarkozy's inner circle, affirmed that France was committed to revealing the truth about Hariri's assassination and trying the killers.

This affirmation comes despite Syria's exit from its isolation through its new-found relations with France, which currently heads the European Union, and the possibility of the US administration being open to dialogue with Damascus.

The UN chief investigator in the Hariri case, Daniel Bellemare, can only complete his mission until he obtains an extension for another three months, before becoming the state prosecutor at the Tribunal, which will be established in 2009. Bellemare wants to arrive at a result; thus, he has requested an extension. If he did not have information that would permit him to attain such a goal, he would not have requested this extension. He is a judge and has not revealed what he has to anyone. He visits all of the capitals to obtain the needed technical and logistical support, and nothing more. The rumors have ranged from talk of there being hundreds of suspects in the case, to the idea that Bellemare "has nothing." This is all unfounded speculation, because he has told nothing to anyone. He is a judge who is well known for his honesty and professionalism; Bellemare is an official who knows that if he reveals the details, they will be used, and modified, and analyzed "in the Lebanese way," especially by the local media.

Certainly, no world leader will abandon the necessity of discovering the truth about the Hariri case, whatever the result of the investigations and whatever the impact for Syria's relations with Lebanon and key Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and its ties with European states and the US. All of them have the common denominator of revealing the truth about the al-Hariri assassination, and everyone wants to know about the other recent criminal acts of violence have been linked to this major crime.

Learning the truth by itself is of fundamental importance for Lebanon. Punishing the killers is also of key importance. However, if they cannot be tried, for one reason or another, or if they are liquidated or in a place where they cannot be handed over to anyone, then at the least the truth is what every free Lebanese citizen who is keen to protect the dignity of his country and its people wants.

Truth and international accountability are two inescapable issues, a fact that has been repeatedly assured by President Nicolas Sarkozy (speaking for the EU) and his general secretary Claude Gueant. It is also France's historical commitment to Lebanon.