Hundreds of journalists, members of the Arab community and supporters gathered in downtown Bucharest Sunday to call for the release of three Romanian journalists and their translator kidnapped in Iraq. A media freedom group draped large portraits of the three kidnapped journalists on the walls of the National Theater in downtown Bucharest. The three _ Prima TV cameraman Sorin Miscoci and reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, and reporter Ovidiu Ohanesian of the daily Romania Libera _ were kidnapped on March 28 with their Iraqi-American translator Mohammed Monaf. A Romanian lawmaker Sunday offered to travel to Iraq and trade places with the hostages. Dan Voiculescu, one of the richest Romanians and a Senator who heads the Humanist Party, a small liberal group in the ruling coalition, said in a statement that if the kidnappers accept the offer, «I am ready to become their prisoner in exchange for the three youngsters.» He has also called for the Romanian troops to be immediately withdrawn from Iraq. A new opinion poll commissioned by Voiculescu's own Antena 1 television, shows that 70 percent of Romanians favor withdrawing the troops from Iraq to save the journalists, while 18 percent say the troops should stay put. Before the latest hostage video, polls showed Romanians evenly split on whether their troops should remain in Iraq. -- SPA 2335 Local Time 2035 GMT
