James Joyce Ramble Race Director Martin Hanley announced that this year's event focuses on the plight of Sri Lankan journalist, J.S. Tissainayagam, who has been detained arbitrarily by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lankan Police in Colombo since 7 March 2008. He is being held on suspicion of involvement with the armed opposition group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, but has yet to be charged with any crime.Mr. Tissainayagam is suffering from a serious eye condition that can lead to blindness and has been granted access to his lawyer only twice since he has been detained.

Since the resumption of fighting, Sri Lankan journalists and other media workers have been prime targets for attack. Emergency regulations issued by the Sri Lankan President have been used to silence critical media and generally violate freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.

Hanley said, “We believe that an event such as ours can have impact in the areas of fitness, competition, cancer research, literacy, the arts, human rights and community—all values of a vibrant democracy. The James Joyce Ramble takes the position that human rights are central to the sustenance of these democratic values”.

“Our focus remains on journalists, whose safety all over the world has become a great concern for those who believe in and practice democracy. The killing, torturing and imprisoning of journalists contribute to the inevitable erosion of freedom of speech and expression, which are protected in the USA by the First Amendment, and internationally, by Article 19 of The Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately these are violated regularly throughout many parts of the globe and even right here in the United States”, he said.

The Ramble is known for its unique consciousness- raising efforts to the memory of the late Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl, to the thankful release of Christian Science Monitor freelance journalist Jill Carroll, and, last year, to Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist who was shot dead in October of 2006 in Moscow. This year it dedicates its memory to Lasantha Wickramatung, the latest in a long line of Sri Lankan journalists who have been murdered or silenced over the past two decades.

Since 1989 the James Joyce Ramble added to its mission the effort to make people aware of the sanctity of human rights. The event has petitioned on behalf of such writers as Vaclav Havel, Xu Wenli, Burma’s Aung San Suu Ky, and many others. It has been covered by ESPN, Sports Illustrated, National Public Radio, The New York Times and Runner's World magazine.

The 26^th Annual James Joyce Ramble 10K is at Dedham’s Endicott Estate on Sunday, April 26^th.  It has online registration presently open at www.ramble.org.

All children, eighteen or under, who have parents deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq are invited to run as guests of the event and can register on the morning of the event.

All event information is at www.ramble.org.

If you should like to be involved as a volunteer please call 781.329. 9744.