Jesse Jackson Meets, Prays With 3 POWs

With air raid sirens wailing on a day of intense NATO bombing, the Rev. Jesse Jackson embraced three U.S. prisoners of war in a Serbian military judge’s chambers Friday evening and led a prayer for their freedom.

“Help is on the way and hope is in the air, and soon--very soon--you will know peace and family,” the civil rights leader said in a huddle with the servicemen in the first video of the trio aired since their capture a month ago.

But the Yugoslav government’s chief spokesman, Deputy Foreign Minister Nebojsa Vujovic, told reporters that the servicemen’s release is “not on the agenda,” indicating that they will be held until the end of the conflict over Yugoslav repression of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority.

Jackson said he will appeal directly to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in a meeting scheduled for today.

“Their release,” Jackson said, “could be a strong diplomatic gesture” that might lead to compromise concerning Kosovo. NATO is demanding autonomy for Kosovo, a withdrawal of Yugoslav troops from the Serbian province and a return of refugees under protection of an international peacekeeping force.

The three Army soldiers were seized along the Yugoslav-Macedonian border March 31, a week after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization started bombing Yugoslavia, and were shown the next day on Serbian television with bruised faces and cuts. They are Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, 24, of East Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Stone, 25, of Smith’s Creek, Mich.; and Spc. Steven Gonzales, 21, of Huntsville, Texas.

Pool video, cleared by Serbian censors, showed what Jackson called separate, “militarily tight” encounters that totaled 25 minutes. All three prisoners wore camouflage fatigues, as they did when they were captured. They said they have been isolated from each other in individual cells, each containing a bed and a small table.

Stone, who appeared first, had a fading bruise on his left forehead, which he called “a mark from our capture.” He appeared tired.

Stone told Jackson that the soldiers were “eating enough to get by.” He described a spare routine: Wake up “just before or after sunrise,” shower and shave after breakfast, and have a daily visit with a senior officer.

Stone said he had nothing to read until the International Committee of the Red Cross brought letters from the prisoners’ families and literature on the Geneva Convention covering prisoners of war. Yugoslavia finally allowed two Red Cross delegates, including a doctor, to visit the men Tuesday.

Gonzales said he felt mentally drained, but he looked more rested than Stone. An air raid siren wailed during Gonzales’ session, and the judge pressed for an end to the visit. But Jackson managed to meet briefly with Ramirez and pray for two minutes with all three.

Ramirez looked healthy but somewhat dazed at the rush of events. He sent wishes to his family, and his eyes filled with tears. “Hopefully, I get to see you guys soon,” he said.

Jackson gave the men Bibles and taped messages from their families.

Vivian Ramirez, who spoke to reporters outside the East Los Angeles elementary school where she works as an instructional aide in the library, said she was ecstatic when she saw the videotape. She said her son looked better than he did when he was captured a month ago. “He’s a little thin but a lot better,” she said.

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Times staff writer Nancy Trejos in Los Angeles contributed to this report.