One of Lebanon’s biggest losses was Journalist Gebran Tueni. A young charismatic bold man who was not afraid of the truth, who was fighting day and night for Lebanon’s independance and became the voice of all freedom fighters.

He died, people cried and cheered for him during his funeral, then forgot about him.
Politicians dont mention his name, people only remember him when they see his poster on Annahar building.

It is sad, that our martyrs be forgotten this way, specially rare people like Gebran.
His oath truly expressed what the 14th of March was all about. Everyone felt that way and Gebran as always was capable of expressing it perfectly.

“In the name of God

We, Muslims and Christians,

Pledge that united we shall remain

To the end of time

To better defend our Lebanon”

Gebran Tueni
March 14, 2005
Martyrs’ Square

From Hakim’s speech today in Harissa:

“Before Maroun el Rass and Khiyam and Bint Jbeil, there was Ain El Remmaneh and Bella and Achrafieh and Qnat.”

We are the Resistance, We are its fathers and mothers and children and grand children.
We always were the Resistance and we will forever stay this way.
Amen

Today was a turning point for the LF and for the Lebanese politics.
Today the LFers showed everyone that they are still faithfull to their martyrs and to their living martyr and leader Dr.Geagea.
Today the LF showed everyone they are not a minority and Dr.Geagea proved to his ennemies he does not fear them and will resist democratically and politically anyone threatening Lebanon’s national unity and sovereignty, and proved to his allies that he will take the initiatives if they dont and he will not accept the LF to be a second rank party.

Finally he answered Nasrallah and whatever he said i believe expresses how every patriotic Lebanese would feel :

“When We find a solution to Hezbollah’s weapons, we ll be able to build the state and not the other way.”

“If Nasrallah thinks finishing the resistance cannot be done by force, keeping the Resistance’s arms by force is a wrong bet.”

“They say that no army in the world can make us give u our weapons, we tell them no weapons in the world will make us approve the legitimacy of those weapons.”

“They say that the resistance has more than 20 000 missiles and is stronger than it was before the war started, we tell them the power is not by how many missiles you have, but by having a united goal an destiny as Lebanese”.

“They say whomever is betting on weaking the resistance is a loser, we tell them whomever is betting on weaking the government is wrong”.

“They say it is wrong that UNIFIL interfers in internal Lebanese issues, we tell them it is wrong for any foreign forces ( and not just the UNIFIL) to interfer in our internal affairs.”

” They say that they are proud of their friendship with Syria and Iran, we tell them we are proud of our frienships with the whole world”.

And finally,

“They say whomever is feeling that his plan and strategy were achieved is talking about victory and whomever is feeling he failed is talking about failure, and we clearly tell them, our choice was the victorious one since we asked for the Lebanese army supprted by UNIFIL to be spread in the South at first while Hezbollah refused, but even though we were victorious,
we do not feel this victory because this war was a disaster on all of us and mainly the Lebanese people and our future is at sake because of this war.

All Christian parties were represented except Aoun of course even though invited.
Bkerke should be uniting all of us Christians and the only person missing was Aoun.

Thank you Hakim and May God Bless all our martyrs.

I hope we can focus now on closing our internal fights and achieving our own unity democratically inside the LF so we can move on as one strong united Christian team.

What a shameful day for Lebanon !

Today we witnessed the biggest non-Lebanese gathering organized by Hezbollah to praise a nonexisting victory … a victory for Iran and Syria and all the fanatic Islamist parties in the world, a victory for Lebanon’s ennemies .. a victory claimed by a LEBANESE party.

Nasrallah started his speech claiming the Resistance has more than 20 000 rockets !
We just put an end through diplomacy to a destructive war and Mr.Nasrallah is threatening Israel with thousands of missiles …. Is it for Lebanon’s interest ? i dont think so.

Nasrallah attacks the US and the world and praises Chafez, the most corrupted leader in America and warns the UNIFIL from messing with the resistance weapons.
Is this for Lebanon’s interest? i dont think so.

Then he continues attacking the government saying is it uncapable of uniting the Lebanese or rebuilding Lebanon. Why dont u join the army and join the government as a POLITICAL party and then you can judge. Hezbollah is the one weaking the government and setting obstacles on its way, it is the one underestimating its army and not surrendering its weapons.

You want us to be united ? stop working on ur own and join the ELECTED government.

What is amazing is how Hezbollah takes everything for granted.

He does a war without the government’s approval.
He organizes a huge demo without the minister of interior permision.
He calls hiimself the Party of God without God’s approval.
He claims a divine victory without God’s recognition.

Who told you God wants this victory ? Who do you think you are ?
Stop reading too much mythology and give up ur destructive plans.

Stop threatening the Lebanese and the government with your weapons.
Show us how courageous you are and prove yourself politically, not by the power of your rockets.

You are a virus to our community and this day will always be remembered as a shameful and black day in our history.

Let us all march to Harissa and show our martyrs they died for us to stay and indeed we resisted and stayed !

Let us all march to Harissa and show them who has the Christian majority !

Let us all march to Harissa and show Hezbollah and his Syrian-Iranian allies that we are here to stay free and sovereign !

Let us all march to Harissa and show our ennemies and allies we are no one’s followers !

Let us all march and shout Gebran’s oath with our 14th of march allies !

Let us all march to Harissa and our Lady of Lebanon and ask her to give us more faith and determination to protect Lebanon and its Christians at all cost !

We might be weak politically facing Hezbollah, we might be having internal problems, we might have no influence on the international community, we might need months and years of reorganization and work, but our faith and commitment are above all those !

We should not be afraid of the truth, like Bash taught us, we should have attacked Hezbollah since Day 1 of war, we should have attacked everyone trying to mess with our sovereignty, at all cost, if they want war we ll give them war, we cannot compromise anymore on any issue.

Our future is at sake, Lebanon’s future is at sake.

I expect Hakim’s speech to be one of a true leader, the Hakim who got into jail, who i still see as the person who jailed himself to deliver others, pardon me Dr.Geagea but Hakim the leader cannot die and did not die in jail, but is refinding himself ( i hope so).

Let us all attend massively and praise first our martyrs and pray that they rest in peace and assure them that we are still here, second answer Nasrallah and his gang that Lebanon will never be theirs as long as there are Free Christians in Lebanon.

See you on the 24th of September 2006 for the big day.

Throughout the past 70 years of Lebanon’s history, several Christian parties were founded but very few lasted or at least maintained an influent and stable political status.

The two largest Christian parties that were founded after the 1943 pact and that witnessed the Lebanese war were the Kataeb and the Lebanese Forces, respectively founded by Sheikh Pierre Gemayel and his son Sheikh Bashir Gemayel and nowadays led (the LF) by Dr.Samir Geagea.

Kataeb was founded in 1936 and was a fierce defender of Lebanon’s independance and sovereignty and the Christian community. It attracted thousands of suppoters before becoming the largest Christian party ever formed.
However, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel was the uncontested leader and he took solely the political decisions for the whole party, which is an unhealthy issue regardless of how wise and great this man was.

Antoine Najm expressed this thought in an article written in Massira 2 years ago, and quoted Sir Winston Churchill saying: “How miserable is a visionary man, for he sees that a disaster will hit its party (for ex) in 10 years, and that party is too blind to see it, and after 10 years pass and that disaster occurs, he d be suffering the most for he has anticipated this disaster 10 years earlier” .

I cannot but relate what happened to the Kataeb back then to what is happening in the LF and express the same worries, because we are witnessing a similar scenario whereas the party is in the hands of one person and the visionary men calling for reforms and changes, similary to what Maurice Gemayel, a true visionary used to do, are being marginalized and put aside.

Dr.Najm back then expressed his thoughts to Joseph Abi Khalil, asking him what would happen to the Kataeb if Sheikh Pierre died ? specially after the serious accident Pierre had and was lucky enough to stay alive after it.

Similarly, what if Hakim has an unfortunate accident and dies ? What would happen to the LF ? Is it acceptable to keep the LF in the hands of one person ?

The issue here is not about doubting Hakim’s ability to run the LF and take the wise decisions since his history and great achievements speak for themselves. However the issue is about an institution that should be run by the LF militants in a democratic matter, because linking the party’s future to one person is a very risky issue and could lead to severe and fatal consequences and we have already witnessed the loss of Bashir Gemayel and how much it weakened the LF and the whole Christian community.

What should be done ?

A large convention should be organized where all militants are invited to participate to discuss a plan of work that will assure the party’s continuity for the future, and will not be dependant on individuals.

The title of this paper should be :
“Better Organization for more efficiency.”

A committe should be put in charge of organizing the event and leading the talks and should judge the party from an objective view in order to come out with a professional and fruitfull paper.The points that need to be handled are as follows:

- Self critique of the party and accountability study to evaluate the financial status.
- Evaluating the current political situation and the party’s capabilities.
- Setting long term political goals for the party.
- Writing a plan of action to achieve the needed goals.

We dont need dedicated leaders with uncontested powers.
We cannot depend on one person to lead us and be blind followers.

We should become a democratic institution whereas all militants vote for their president and interact with each others and the leadership and influence the political decisions and main streams taken by the party.

The Kataeb back then did not listen to Antoine Najm nor Maurice Gemayel and was doomed the day Sheikh Pierre died, and this could happen to the LF in few years if we dont start working on building an institution and not a one man party.

The Kataeb back then lost a golden opportunity to change and adjust itself without stepping away from its principles. However the only factor responsible for this mistake was the leadership’s selfishness that refused to form a strong committee to reassure continuity for the future. Sheikh Pierre used to say “je veux des donneurs de sang et non des donneurs d’idees”.
I disagree because the minds are the ones that forge the future of any party.

The LF will never mature if it stays this way and its not a financial or personal matter that should stand on its way. This article is not simply a call for the LFers but mainly for the LF and Christian youth to learn from others’ mistakes and form and join parties based on strong belief and commitment, not on worshipping the leader.

I believe this year’s memorial of Bash’s assasination is a special one.
For years we kept believing in Bash’s dream, thoughts and cause and praised the sacrifice he did and prayed for his soul, yet we never were truly capable of materializing his thoughts until this year.

Bashir Gemayel was the leader Christians hoped for, the leader that would take full responsability for any act against Christians and Lebanese and actions speak louder than words.
I dont wanna go on praising Bash, i prefer talking facts from now on because we are all sick of those empty talks.

Charles Malek resumed leadership in an article he entitled ‘Leadership’ and whomever knows Bashir would find him in every line of Malek’s article.

“greatness itself is laughed to scorn. You should not be great today- you should sink yourself into the herd, you should not be distinguished from the crowd, you should simply be one of the many”

Bashir was never distinguished from the crowds, he started his BG unit with few Kataeb regular members, he used to work on the ground with the people, the children. He fought wars on the ground with his men, he was truly one of them and only their support got him that early to leadership.

“The commanding voice is lacking. The voice which speaks little, but which when it speaks, speaks with compelling moral authority”

How true, we hear long speeches and politicians condemning attacks or some unjust acts, yet no one pointed our the truth like Bash did.

“Respect at all is gone! If you ask whom and what people do respect, the answer is literally nobody and nothing”

Respect is earned and only credibility and honesty in ur work will get you this respect.
Can you name me one Lebanese that gets everyone’s respect today ?
Can you name me one Lebanese or foreign politician who disrespects Bashir except of course for pro-Syrian rotten parties ?

“One wonders who of those living today will be remembered a thousand years from now- the way we remember with such profound respect Plato, and Aristotle, and Christ, and Paul, and Augustine, and Aquinas”

With all due respect, We lost Samir Kassir and Gibran Tueni and Hariri and lots of other politicians and intellectuals this year but who will remember those men after 5 or 10 years ??
Bash was assasinated in 1982, yet he is getting more and more popular a year after the other.
This is the mark of a pure leader, a true leader.

“A great leader suffers in a hundred different ways, and keeps his suffering to himself”

Bashir lost a piece of his heart when Maya was killed, yet managed somehow to keep his suffering for himself and translate it into more political enthusiasm to serve his country.
How many politicians would do that ?

“A great leader knows there is a higher and there is a lower, and he always seeks the higher, and indeed the highest. “

Bash’s young age never seemed to stop him, he was in charge of a Kataeb branch in his early 20s and became president in his mid 30s. Nothing stood in his way, he always had a way out which leads us to a second quote in this article
“A great leader overcomes himself, rises above himself, daily, minutely.”

He was kidnapped by Palestinians, had his daughter killed, had several fights with his dad cause of his plans on which Pierre disagreed, had several obstacles on his way but overcame them one by one and learned from each mistake.

“A great leader is very polite, but he never tones down the truth just to please others. “

Couldnt have said it better, just listen to Bash speeches and see how he politely insults everyone working against Lebanon and he addresses the crowds in such an honest and straight way.

“A great leader never craves the approval of the world- in fact he often intentionally provokes its disapproval.”

Bash attacked the US, Vatican, Europe, Syria and every single country that tried to mess with Lebanon’s sovereignty or security. He forced himself as the next president without compromising one bit in his speeches.

“A great leader is very simple, but the moral force of his conviction shines through every tone of his voice and every gesture of his hand.”

Badde minkoun t2oule el 7a2i2a, 2ad ma kenit so3be hal 7a2i2a tkoun …..

“A great leader is absolutely fearless- fearless because he fears only God. “

He lost his daughter yet remained brave, he was kidnapped yet remained determined, he was threatened yet remained decided to go on till the end. Nothing made him change his habits, neither his ennemies or his closed friends.

“A great leader is decisive, yet with the utmost tentativeness and tenderness. “

He was firm and strict, but always listened to everyone before coming up with decisions.

Finally i leave you with the last three quotes which speak for themselves

A great leader leads those who are not even aware that they follow him, but only rejoice in the fact that he leads them.

A great leader heals….

Nothing can ever be accomplished, except through fearless courage in the face of the greatest terrorization. This is the now-forgotten way of how really to live- I mean, the way of the Cross. The world needs today the unterrorized man- indeed, the unterrorizable man.

Bashir Gemayel was a true leader, one to remember and learn from, not just praise and pray for once every year. He is in safe hands now, and watching us struggle to find the Bashir inside each of us.

May he rest in peace and may he inspire us to lead our country and society the way he did.

Bashir lives in us.