Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel on Sunday said that his party “never fought a battle outside its own towns”, renewing a call for all weapons in Lebanon to be placed under the sole authority of the State.

Speaking at a ceremony in Sin el Fil, Gemayel said every battle involving Kataeb fighters — from Sin el Fil, Ain al-Remmaneh, Chekka, Zahle, Ashrafieh, Sannine, and Aintoura — was fought “in our own towns” to defend residents against attack.

“We never attacked anyone or fought in areas unrelated to us,” he said. “All the battles fought by the Lebanese Resistance were in our towns. We were attacked, and we defended ourselves.”

He rejected comparisons between Kataeb’s wartime role and that of groups who “fought battles unrelated to Lebanon, went to Syria or elsewhere for causes that have nothing to do with Lebanon, or fought for power.”

“We did not fight for power,” Gemayel insisted. “We fought to defend Lebanon, our communities, our towns, our people, and our families.”

Resistance, he said, “was not a hobby, a luxury, or because we were better than others,” but “a duty we were forced into” and fulfilled “with courage and a big heart,” at the cost of thousands of martyrs — including 77 from Sin el Fil branch and a total of 5,513 Kataeb members.

“Without the resistance of these heroes, Lebanon would not exist today.”

Gemayel said none of those men and women would have taken up arms “if there had been a State telling us: we are here, the army is here, and we will not allow anyone to attack you.” He recalled what then-President Suleiman Frangieh had said: “We cannot defend you, defend yourselves.”

By contrast, he said today’s army commander and President Joseph Aoun affirm that “the State is in charge, the army is here to protect all Lebanese.” That, Gemayel argued, removes any excuse for factions to maintain their own arsenals.

“Your weapons are outside the law and constitution,” he said, addressing non-State armed groups. “The army’s weapons are legitimate, constitutional, national, and for all Lebanese. Your weapons obey foreign orders that have nothing to do with Lebanon. They brought disasters to the country and dragged Lebanon into wars it had no stake in. The army’s weapons defend only Lebanon and never involve the people in reckless adventures.”

Gemayel accused such arms of being used mainly “to overpower other Lebanese,” citing the May 7, 2008 events, “daily bullying,” election intimidation in the south and Bekaa, and assassinations — including that of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — “documented in an international court ruling naming those responsible.” These weapons, he said, “failed to defend Lebanon” and “destroyed your own leaders, families, homes, and towns.”

“Enough fearmongering!” Gemayel said. “Every time we reach out and say we want to build the country together, you reject it, as if you don’t want us to be partners in the State. We don’t want revenge or to do to you what was done to us when we relinquished our weapons. We haven’t forgotten exile, killings, or assassinations, but we want to build Lebanon.”

He lamented that after losing the war in the 1990s, Christian parties were excluded from power until 2005 — Amine Gemayel and Michel Aoun in exile, Samir Geagea in prison, Dany Chamoun killed, Raymond Edde in exile, the Kataeb under tutelage, the Lebanese Forces dissolved, Christian resistance banned.

“No one told us: ‘Come, let’s open a new page,’” he said.

Gemayel said the “absence of equality” remains the root problem, with illegal arms denying parity among Lebanese.

“You shouldn't have a right that I don’t have,” he said. “Asking you to hand over your weapons to the army is not an insult to your dignity; real dignity is all of us being under the authority of the State.”

Calling for an end to “arrogance,” he added: “Our dignity matters too. The dignity of all Lebanese matters. We are not asking you to give up your rights. We're only asking you to be like everyone else, accept the extended hand, and help build the country together, instead of reproducing grudges and conflicts. No community should be punished because it has been taken hostage by wrong policies.”

Describing the Kataeb as “an honest, direct, transparent, open,” Gemayel said the party defends all Lebanese “whatever their affiliation” and aims to secure “a better future for our youth” through economic, development, agricultural, industrial, educational, and health initiatives.

“We can make Lebanon the most beautiful country in the world, but to achieve that, we must stop repeating rhetoric that drags us back a hundred years. This is 2025. We are not in the Middle Ages. While the Arab world is moving forward by 100 kilometers, we remain stuck in outdated rhetoric.”

He said a large part of the Kataeb’s goals had been advanced recently through the Cabinet’s decision to limit arms to the army and through the positions taken by the president and government.

“This is a new era in our national life,” he said, defending the party’s support for President Aoun. “For 60 years, we've defended legitimacy and the presidency. During the Syrian occupation, the president was nothing but a clerk for the Syrians. Kataeb never was, and never will be, subordinate to Syria or Iran. But when the president is sovereign, reformist, and Lebanese, the least we can do is stand with him.”

“Whatever is said, we will remain Lebanese,” Gemayel concluded. “We will remain committed to partnership, to rejecting exclusion, and to equality among Lebanese. We are the only party that has never strayed, never wronged the country or its sovereignty, and never even erred in our words. We will remain so. We need everyone who believes in this party to stand with us in the next stage to build the most beautiful country in the world.”

Gemayel's remarks came during a commemoration for Kataeb martyrs held in Horsh Tabet, Sin el Fil, attended by former President Amine Gemayel, MPs Elias Hankach, municipal officials, party leaders, Kataeb veterans, representatives of allied political groups, and families of the fallen martyrs and the wounded.