Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea Friday urged Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to join the majority government and elect a new head of state next fall without Syria's influence. "This is the perfect time for resigned ministers to rejoin the government, irrespective of political deals Â… Gen. Michel Aoun's bloc is the only parliamentary bloc not represented in the government and it should join it," Geagea told a news conference.He blamed Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime for the assassination Wednesday of MP Walid Eido, saying the crime aimed at "decreasing the number" of March 14 majority legislators so that the coalition wouldn't be able to elect a new president next fall. He declared support for a call by Premier Fouad Siniora's government to organize by-elections to choose successors to lawmakers Walid Eido and Pierre Gemayel, who were assassinated
Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud's extended term expires on Nov. 22. Geagea vowed that the March 14 alliance, which is backed by most Arab and western states, would achieve its targets of setting up a sovereign and independent state. "That would require lots of efforts and, unfortunately, lots of blood. We are ready for whatever sacrifices are needed. This is our country and we wouldn't let the dragon swallow it," Geagea said.