Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Saturday that the assassination of President Bashir Gemayel 43 years ago was not only the elimination of a political leader but also an attempt to extinguish a national dream, one that continues to live on among the Lebanese.

“His killing was not merely the elimination of a president or a political leader, but also an attempt to kill an authentic Lebanese dream. Yet dreams do not die with those who carried them, they remain alive in the hearts of those who believe in them and work to make them a reality,” Aoun said in a statement marking the anniversary of Gemayel’s assassination in 1982.

Aoun described Gemayel as “a symbol of determination and resolve to build a strong and united Lebanon,” saying he believed in the Lebanese people’s ability to overcome divisions and work together for a free and independent nation.

“His vision for Lebanon was that of a State strengthened by its institutions, just in its laws, and advanced in its progress,” the president said.

Decades later, Aoun added, the principles Gemayel championed “remain among the national constants that unite the Lebanese, foremost of which is a free, sovereign, and independent Lebanon; a country where all its people can live in dignity and security, and a Lebanon made strong by the unity of its people and the solidarity of its components.”