Kataeb party on Wednesday commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bachir Gemayel and his comrades, in a central ceremony in Sassine Square in Achrafieh.

The ceremony was attended by President Amine Gemayel and his wife Joyce, Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel and his wife Carine, Solange Gemayel, Lawmaker Nadim Gemayel Youmna Gemayel and her family, Patricia Gemayel, Amine Pierre Gemayel, Lawmakers: Selim Sayegh, Elias Hankach, Rami Fanj, Nehmat Frem, Fouad Makhzoumi, Achraf Rifi, Michel Mouawad, Adib Abdel Massih, Jean Talouzian, Paula Yaacoubian, Melhem Khalaf, Nabil Bader, Waddah Sadek and a delegation from the Lebanese Forces including: Lawmakers George Adwan, Ghassan Hasbani, Georges Okeis, Nazih Matta, Elias Stephan, Razi Al Hage and Jihad Pakradouni as well as the Saudi ambassador Walid Bukhari , President of the Bar Association Nader Gaspar and former lawmakers Fares Souaid, Nazih Najem and Mesbah AL Ahdab.

It was also attended by Vice President of the Kataeb Party Georges Jreij, the party’s Secretary General Serge Dagher, Former Economy Minister Alain Hakim, Kataeb political bureau members, Dr. Fouad Abou Nader, Executive Director of Bachir Gemayel Foundation, Alfred Madi, Head of Pharmacists’ Syndicate Joe Salloum, President of Bickfaya Municipality Nicole Gemayel .

Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel paid tribute to former President-elect Bachir Gemayel on the 40th anniversary of his assassination, saying that telling the truth is the first step in bringing about change.

“No matter how challenging it is, I'm here to ask you for the truth. In the land of lies, Bachir took this stance and told the truth. This approach continues in us because he lives in our hearts,” Gemayel said on Bachir Gemayel’s 40th Martyrdom Commemoration.

“From 2005 to 2016, the Lebanese Republic was subjected to negotiations, parliamentary and presidential election disruptions, government formation interruptions, Beirut's occupation, and black shirts. This continued until the Lebanese Republic was subjugated by Hezbollah as a result of the presidential compromise in 2016,” he pointed out.

“Bachir's project was centered on establishing a state, enforcing the law, and choosing the right man for the right place. This is Bachir's strategy as well as the Kataeb's strategy, for which its comrades were killed,” he noted.

“As we return to you from the land of heroes and more than ever, we will say that Lebanon is divided between our Lebanese Republican State and Hezbollah's State, each of which has its own sovereignty, funding sources, and even economy,” he added.

Gemayel said that what Lebanon was experiencing daily is the result of Hezbollah’s sway over the State.

“We do not want a president to start a civil war, we have had wars, but the problem is between the Lebanese State and Hezbollah; we don't want to live another day like the six years that have already passed or have the State subservient to Hezbollah,” he affirmed.

“We don't want "Abou Melhem," who spends six years roughening out the edges and sustaining a fleeting illusion of staying in office. Instead, we want a president who upholds the principles of the Republic and its constitution and raises his right hand upon taking the presidency oath,” he said.

“This stage requires coordination and communication between each other, as the presidential elections are a pivotal stage to extend sufferings or to achieve change,” he stated.

“The choice is yours, “Mr. Hassan.” If you want to live with the rest of the Lebanese in equality and under the roof of the Lebanese Republic and its constitutions, we should all elect a president who should start adopting a rescue workshop,” he said addressing Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

“But if you want to impose a change in the identity of the Lebanese republic and impose humiliation on the citizens, then you bear the responsibility for the differentiation of the rest of the Lebanese. We are not ready to live this way,' he added.