The leader of the Kataeb party, Samy Gemayel. (Credit: Photo provided by the Kataeb)
BEIRUT — MP Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataeb party, declared what he described as the end of all forms of external guardianship over Lebanon for the first time in 35 years. "The guardianship of Hezbollah has ended, the guardianship of Iran and Syria has ended, and today Lebanon is free, free, free," he said.
He noted, however, that while the guardianship has ended, "we are still at the beginning of the road, and we have a lot of work to do, and the country's problems have not ended."
"We have a lot of work ahead, and the country’s problems have not yet been resolved. The weapons no longer constitute guardianship, but they still exist," Gemayel said.
On Sunday, Syrian rebels announced on Syrian state television the fall of President Bashar al-Assad and the "liberation" of the capital Damascus after a swift offensive that ended over five decades of the Assad family rule.
Speaking in Bikfaya at a meeting titled ‘Lebanon remains,’ Gemayel said "the Syrian people overthrew the dictatorship, and this is a victory for them, but we have the right to celebrate because what we experienced at the hands of the regime was heavy," he stated. He recounted the “suffering of the Lebanese people, beginning with the Syrian involvement in the Lebanese war in 1975, through battles in Achrafieh, Zahle and across Lebanese territories,” and recounted their continued military presence in Lebanon after the civil war ended before they were forced to head back to Syria in 2005.
Gemayel honored the 'heroic resistance of Kataeb fighters against Syrian occupation'
He highlighted the “heroic resistance of the Kataeb fighters against the Syrian occupation, symbolized by the presidency of Bashir Gemayel, who was assassinated by the Syrian regime.”
Gemayel also honored the Lebanese Army’s "resistance against Syrian occupation, particularly during the battles in Souk al-Gharb and Dahr al-Wahsh."
He remembered the officers who were executed when the Syrian army entered Baabda Palace on Oct. 13, describing this as "the last act of resistance against the Syrians." He lamented that some of these heroes remain in Syrian prisons to this day.
Shifting to political resistance, Gemayel recalled the exile of President Amin Gemayel and Michel Aoun, the imprisonment of Samir Geagea, and the assassinations of Kataeb leaders such as Boutros Khawand, whose fate remains unknown and is believed to be in Syria.
Gemayel noted the “shift from Syrian to Hezbollah’s guardianship following the Syrian army’s withdrawal on April 26, 2005.”
He paid tribute to the "martyrs of this struggle, including Gebran Tueni, Walid Eido, George Hawi, Mohamad Chatah, Wissam Eid, Wissam El Hassan, Samir Kassir, Pierre Gemayel and Antoine Ghanem,” who are all believed to have been assassinated by the former Syrian Assad regime.
Gemayel vowed to “reopen the files of assassinations and other crimes, including the [Aug.4, 2020 Beirut] port explosion and the assassination of his brother Pierre Gemayel.”
"Everyone who has extended a hand at Lebanon will be held accountable, and everyone who has hurt the Lebanese will be held accountable," he asserted.
He called on the state to demand “compensation for the harm inflicted on Lebanon by the Syrian regime and to ensure justice for the martyrs and their families.”
Gemayel concluded, pledging to “continue the fight for Lebanon’s sovereignty and freedom.”