Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Saturday hailed the party's martyrs who gave their lives in defense of the country, saying that their martyrdom is what gives the motive to keep on struggling for the nation.

“The Kataeb Party is unique for its history spans over 83 years of Lebanon's history,” Gemayel said in his speech at the "Martyrs Day" event.

“The goal behind marking the 'Martyrs Day' is to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives and prevent the falsification of historic facts,” Gemayel highlighted.

“We will no longer allow anyone to falsify historic facts,” he affirmed. “History witnesses to the major role that the Kataeb party has played in the history of this country throughout several phases."

The Kataeb leader emphasized that history will bear witness that the first drop of blood to demand Lebanon's independence was shed by a Kataeb member on October 22, 1937, and that the person who sewed the first Lebanese flag, as we know it today, and the first person to sign it were Kataeb members.

Gemayel went on to say that the first martyrs who died during Lebanon's 1958 Revolution were 54 Kataeb members, and that the first martyr who died in the Lebanese civil war, on April 13, 1975, was the Kataeb-affiliated Joseph Abu Assi.

He added that history will recognize that it was the Kataeb politburo that decided toopt for resistance, and that President Bachir Gemayel died as a Kataeb member at the Kataeb's office in Achrafieh.

Gemayel also outlined the role that the Kataeb party played in confronting the Syrian occupation, adding that the Kataeb students were the first ones who set up a tent in the Martyrs' Square as part of the Cedars Revolution in 2005.

The Kataeb leader said that some keep bringing up the past struggle in order to justify present day settlements, affirming that Lebanon’s modern history will always bear witness of the Kataeb's refusal to engage in any settlements or to change its stances.

"Our history shows that this is not the first time that the Kataeb party gets isolated in Lebanon's political life. But, history also indicates that, every single time, everyone admitted eventually the correctness of the Kataeb’s struggle."

“I tell those carrying empty slogans in order to justify submission and complicity that their behavior is similar to the one that led Lebanon to civil war back in 1975," Gemayel warned, adding that postponing problem solving and burying one's head in the sand resulted in the destruction of Lebanon.

Gemayel cautioned against repeating the same mistakes of the past by undermining the state’s sovereignty and usurping power through intimidation, warning of attempts to alter Lebanon's identity by implicating the country into foreign axes, normalizing non-state arms, dragging Lebanon into international sanction lists, and enforcing a police state by suppressing the freedom of speech.

“Tempting adversaries with shares and presidential promises proved to be effective."

Gemayel stressed that the Kataeb's role today is to break the collective surrender to illegal arms, to be the backbone of a free opposition force that confronts all schemes to control Lebanon and to present an alternative to the flawed political performance that has been prevailing in the country over the past decades.

“Our project is simple. It is our right to live in a democratic, neutral, civilized, peaceful and sovereign country where people live in dignity and to be ruled by good competent and honorable people."

“Our founder taught us that the Kataeb does not compromise, does not bluff and does not surrender or fear. The Kataeb is a party that always speaks the truth, faces and rejects the status quo," he affirmed.