and elect the President of the Republic,
He added : "Implementation of the first initiative, which calls for the immediate election of a new President of the Republic of Lebanon is the correct approach since it is the first step called for in the initiative even though there are other issues on the table “
Geagea stressed the fact that since all parties have expressed their support for General Michel Suleiman as the president, it is time to translate this support into action by going ahead and electing him immediately and without any further delay .
Lebanon has been without a president since November 23, 2007, when the term of the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud expired.
Geagea condemned the road side bomb attack against the Irish UNIFIL peacekeepers in Rmaileh today, saying it is neither "innocent nor isolated" incident but falls into the "general context of the 22 incidents that took place in Lebanon during the past three years".
Two Irish U.N. peacekeepers were slightly wounded in a roadside bomb targeting their vehicle.
Hopeful signals from Hezbollah
Resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, a member of the Hezbollah group praised the Arab initiative and told Voice of Tomorrow radio station” it brought a new wave of optimism and we hope this could translate into a settlement in the interest of all the Lebanese in which there is no victor no vanquished”
Al Markaziyah news agency also said that so far Hezbollah has not issued any negative response to the Arab plan , and according to its sources the group is looking positively at the Arab initiative as a whole basket that contains solutions to all the outstanding issues .
In a related development the opposition has contacted General Michel Suleiman to arrange for a meeting to inform him about their reaction to the Arab initiative before Arab League Chief Amr Moussa shows up tomorrow in Beirut