The Bashir Gemayel Foundation on Sunday marked the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Lebanon’s slain president with a ceremony in Ashrafieh, where his supporters vowed to carry forward his vision of a sovereign and independent State.

The commemoration in Sassine Square began with prayers for the martyrs who fell on September 14, 1982, followed by recordings of Gemayel’s speeches and a musical panorama tracing the history of the Lebanese resistance.

“For the first time in 43 years, we are actually celebrating September 14,” said MP Nadim Gemayel, the late president’s son. “The entire axis responsible for his assassination has collapsed and ended up in the garbage heap of history.”

“No settlement project has succeeded. The road to Jerusalem never passed through Jounieh. Ashrafieh never bowed, and it never will.”

He accused rivals of distorting the concept of resistance, insisting that his father had embodied its true meaning.

“Bashir defended the State of Lebanon. The State is not to be feared. Those who fear it do not know its meaning and have instead built their strength at its expense,” he said.

The lawmaker stressed that Lebanon must remain engaged in a rapidly changing region.

“We want to demarcate our borders with Israel, restore trust with the world, and play our role as a bridge between East and West,” he said, calling for the revival of the 1949 Armistice Agreement with Israel.

Gemayel concluded by saluting Lebanon’s martyrs, saying his father’s vision was “still alive and achievable.”

“Here we were, here we will remain, and we will stay so that Lebanon may live,” he told supporters gathered in Ashrafieh.