Letter From the Grave
Last Thursday, Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper the Sunday Leader, was assassinated on his way to work by two gunmen riding motorcycles. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to pay with his life for his sharp critcism of his governemnt and thier “war of [...]
Updated: The Cockroaches Take Over
Giles Ji Ungpakorn, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, has kindly allowed us to publish his analysis of the current political crisis in Thailand. See below. (Update: Mr. Ungpakorn susequently had to flee the country due to Lese Majeste charges. This post was temporarily removed while I was still living in Thailand after [...]
The Red and Yellow Teams are Done with Nonsense for Now
Yellow team members practice Tai Chi to pass the time at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport
This is a blog. Therefore, I am allowed to say whatever I want and set aside professionalism whenever I feel like it. This is one of those moments.
The airport takeover in Bangkok by the yellow team has come to a close, [...]
Help Burma
Here is a good place to donate for Burmese victims of Cyclone Nargis.
Friends have been streaming in with various reports from Burma. Most of us have been denied visas. The situation is not good for the Burmese, and the junta’s comportment is, in my opinion, tantamount to genocide. The world’s dumbfounded silence and the media [...]
News Direct from Burma to My Doorstep
I received a telephone call Wednesday morning, from a friend, who shall remain annonymous for obvious reasons. He was franticly trying to find a Machintosh computer. “I’ve just arrived from Burma and I need to send my photos to the press. Can you help me?” “Come.” I said, without question. “Get in a taxi and [...]
AllJazeera: Inside Myanmar: The Crackdown
UNPRECEDENTED FOOTAGE:
Media Blackout = Mass Murder?
An assassinated monk floating in a river.
As far as we can tell Burma is not issuing any visas at the moment. The junta has shut down communication with the outside world and the main stream media has stopped reporting what little information does manage to seep out. There are reports that as many as 2,000 [...]
Video of Japanese Journalist Shows Deliberately Shot
New footage has emerged of Kenji Nagai being what appears to be quite deliberately gunned down by Burmese forces at near point blank range, contradicting the junta’s official statement that he was hit by a stray bullet.
The events of the last few days shows plainly that the Burmese junta has absolutely no care for [...]
Burmese Kill 2 Foreign Journalists
Purported to be the Japanese journalist shot dead by Burmese troops….doesn’t look like much of an accident.
Although not yet confirmed by the Embassy of Japan, the Japanese video journalist killed in the recent incident is Kenji Nagai of APF. It was also reported that a caucasian man believed to be a German photojournalist was assasinated [...]
Saffron Revolution: Burma on the Brink of Change?
Sign the petition
Several people have contacted me asking if I am plan to go to Burma. The answer is no. I know that even going down to the embassy to enquire about a visa would be a waste of time. It’s a miracle that they are giving tourist visas at all, but I think I [...]
EXPO NIPPON
Pul Charki prison, Afghanistan. © Anne Holmes
Hello. I am back from Afghanistan and in the process of putting together my exhibition for Japan. I will be showing photographs from Iran and Afghanistan, and displaying a series of paintings from last year as well. You can have a look at some of the new work by [...]
Bangkok Protest Scene
Since the September 2006 coup that deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, there have been numerous groups rallying on a regular basis. Some don’t agree with the way Thaksin was ousted, and some are his paid loyalists. And then there are those who despise Thaksin, but who would like to see an end to the cycle of [...]
Thaksin Speaks to Anti-Coup Rally via Webcast
© Anne Holmes
An estimated seven to ten thousand people rallied at Sanam Luang last night to watch a prerecroded webcast speech by ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Since June 2, crowds have been gathering nightly at the historical site in Bangkok in growing numbers to protest the disolution of the former PM’s TRT party. Tonight, an [...]
Boring Day
© Anne Holmes
There was no violence and no opposition to be seen on the day the courts announced they would disolve Thai Rak Thai and ban its party leaders from politics for 5 years. I hit all the spots with a few photojournalist friends of mine, and ended up having drinks by the river instead [...]
May 30: Playground or War Zone?
The May 30 Constitutional Court decision is likely to be one of the most important events since the September 2006 coup. Various groups are pledging to stage massive protests in favor of or against the ruling, which will decide whether or not to dissolve former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party, Thai Rak Thai.the 61 year-old [...]
Photographer Injured in South Thailand Bomb Blast
Veteran conflict photographer Philip Blenkinsop sustained minor injuries when a bomb exploded in South Thailand’s Yala province, early Tuesday morning. 11 others were injured in the blast. Violent incidents in the South, where 2,100 people have died since January 2004, have been near daily occurances for more than a year now. Some suggest that not [...]
YouTube to return to Thailand
After brokering a deal with YouTube, and threatening its parent company, Google, with a law suit, the popular internet media source is coming back to Thailand. The government banned the site in early April after a video poking fun at the King posted. It is illegal to insult the King in Thailand, a crime which [...]
Bombs of Bangkok
by Anne Holmes
Thailand was ushered into 2007 with a rather unsavory surprise this New Years Eve. Just as the sun was going down, three bombs detonated at various key points around the city, killing 2 and injuring several others. I had barely donned my end of the year threads when the phone rang with the [...]
Good Morning Tokyo
© Anne Holmes
Ohayo, Nippon. You are the favored contender in the competition with India for the country with the most contradictions. Your taxis have doors that open automatically, your toilets wash and dry your parts, your 7 elevens sell iPods, and your cars talk, but I can’t find an ATM that takes my cash card, [...]
Postcard from the Deep Blue
© Anne Holmes
Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been living on a tiny island inhabited by animist sea gypsies, that is surrounded by some of the most pristine waters in the world, that not only are inhabited by pirates, yes, pirates, but also boast the greatest variety of soft corals, and teem [...]
Cambodia Today: 30 Years After the Khmer Rouge
© Anne Holmes
Watch Quicktime Video
I arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, after a six day tour of the wondrous relics left by the ancient Khmer kingdom of Angkor: massive, towering, epic feats of architecture and sculpture which left me tingling all over with excitement at the capacity for beauty of this ever [...]
