Bachir Gemayel - Early Activities in The Kataeb Party

Early Activities in The Kataeb Party

Bachir became a member of the Kataeb Party when he was 12 years old. Bachir realized the dangers that surrounded Lebanon in 1958, so he spent a lot of time with the organized forces of the Kataeb Party. He attended the meetings organized by the Kataeb Student Section, and he was the president of the Kataeb Circle in St. Joseph University between 1965 and 1971.

In the late 1960s, he underwent military training in Bikfaya, and he was appointed the military leader of a Kataeb group. Then, in the early 1970s, he formed the “Bikfaya Squad” where he became acquainted with the basics of military resistance. In 1968, he participated in a student colloquium organized by the newspaper Orient, following events which occurred across Lebanese universities between the Islamic and leftist students supporting Palestinians in Lebanon on one side, and Lebanese and nationalist students (who Bachir represented) on the other.

After the continuous battles between the Lebanese Army and the PLO, Bachir gathered a group of students, and they started training in far mountains. This was the basis of what will later form the Lebanese Forces. At this time, he was under the command of William Hawi.

In 1970, Bachir was briefly kidnapped by Palestinian militants in Lebanon and taken to the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp. He was released 8 hours later.

Bachir became a member of the “BG Squad” formed by William Hawi. He was a revolutionary in the party. He became close with Jean Nader, leader of Achrafieh at that time, and he became the Vice President of Achrafieh. This situation continued from 1971 till 1975.

Bachir became the head of the “BG Squad” after its members found him as a leader more close to their views. This group was formed of 12 specially trained members such as Fouad Abou Nader, Fadi Frem, Elie Hobeika and others. They were fierce fighters, and they were known for their violent battles. This group was out of the direct control of the party. He had his own views and principles, and he wanted to run for the Vice Presidency of the party, but his men said to him that they want him as the leader of the “Lebanese Forces” and not the VP of a party. In addition, many members of the party did not want him as the VP because he was the son of Pierre Gemayel, the founder and president of the party. The elections were cancelled and they weren’t done until after his assassination.

He submitted his resignation from the party in 1976, but it was rejected. This was because the Kataeb Party had approved the entrance of the Syrian Army to Lebanon to stop the war, but Bachir refused this and he was strongly against the Syrian intervention because he believed that Syria wanted to annex Lebanon. He came to this conclusion because the Syrian officials repeatedly stated that Lebanon is part of Syria and that the Syrian Army doesn’t need anyone’s permission to enter Lebanon. Plus, at that time, the Syrian educational system used to teach that Lebanon is a Syrian district.