Lebanon must dismantle the political and institutional system that allowed Hezbollah to maintain its weapons outside state control if it is to build a strong and functioning State, Kataeb Political Bureau member Alain Hakim said.

“We are looking toward Lebanon’s future,” Hakim said in an interview on Voice of Lebanon radio. “The Kataeb has always focused on what Lebanon should look like in the future. We do not want to build a state that is incapable of functioning. We want a strong State built on solid institutions.”

Hakim questioned whether Lebanon was prepared to break with the system that had allowed Hezbollah to retain its weapons.

“Do we want to rebuild the Lebanese State the way it was in the past? And is the Lebanese State ready to dismantle the system that allowed Hezbollah to maintain its weapons?” he asked.

Hakim said dismantling that system was the first step toward resolving the country’s long-running sovereignty crisis.

“The priority today is to dismantle the old system that allowed weapons to exist outside State control,” he said. “That is the first step toward a solution. To do that, we need a state that can enforce the law, exercise oversight and hold people accountable.”

He said the Kataeb was looking beyond the immediate question of weapons and preparing for what Lebanon should look like once they are brought under State control.

“What we are looking toward is the phase after weapons have been brought under State control,” Hakim said. “That does not mean we are ignoring the present. We are dealing with it while preparing for what comes next and working to build a State based on institutions and the rule of law, without political settlements.”

“Previous temporary settlements have damaged Lebanon,” he added. “This is not only the Kataeb’s vision. It is also the vision of a new generation, particularly those who have been forced to leave the country.”

Hakim said the Kataeb’s positions had consistently been clear and outspoken, but that other political forces had become accustomed to operating within a weak-state model.

“Our positions have always been clear and courageous,” he said. “But some people have become accustomed to a weak state. The political movement led by Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel was very clear on this issue, and the proof is that everyone stood against us.”

Hakim said Lebanon could not expect a different outcome if it continued to build its institutions on the same foundations that had governed the country in the past.

“We cannot change anything if we continue building the state on the same foundations as before,” he said. “That model will fail, and that is precisely what we reject.”

He argued that while Hezbollah may still enjoy some form of political protection, it no longer had legitimacy to maintain an armed presence outside state authority.

“Hezbollah may still have some protection today, but it no longer has any legitimacy whatsoever,” Hakim said. “The government’s decisions have made clear that Hezbollah stands outside the law. But how can an organization that is outside the law prevent the Lebanese Army from entering Ali al-Taher?”

Hakim said the question of the legality of Hezbollah’s presence remained a recurring issue within the Kataeb’s Political Bureau, while Justice Minister Adel Nassar was carrying out his responsibilities on the matter.

“But this is not the responsibility of one ministry alone,” he said. “The responsibility belongs to the government and the entire Lebanese administration.”

He accused some political forces of trying to dilute the sovereignty crisis in the same way they had previously dealt with Lebanon’s economic crisis.

“Some people are now trying to dilute the sovereignty crisis, just as they did with the economic crisis,” Hakim said. “But the Kataeb and President Joseph Aoun are determined not to allow that to happen.”

Hakim said the approach to Hezbollah should begin with dismantling the system that had allowed its weapons to exist outside state control.

“That is the first step toward a solution,” he said.

On negotiations with Israel, Hakim said the current situation should not be viewed through the conventional dynamic of victor and vanquished.

“Fast negotiations usually take place between a victor and a defeated party, which is why they tend to produce quicker results,” he said. “But that is not the situation we have today. Hezbollah is the defeated party, not the Lebanese State. The Lebanese state is therefore not the weaker side, and the course of its negotiations with Israel demonstrates that.”

Hakim also said Hezbollah had little incentive to leave the government because it could use its presence inside the political system to obstruct State decisions.

“Hezbollah does not want to withdraw from the government because it knows it can obstruct its work from within,” he said.

For Hakim, the solution ultimately rests with the Lebanese Army consolidating State authority across the country.

“The only solution today is for the Lebanese Army to stand firmly on Lebanese territory,” he said. “The army is capable of taking control of the situation in the near future, but it must work to dismantle the system that has allowed Hezbollah to maintain its weapons.”