The Sea Gypsies had been hoping that precisely this confirmation would allow them to combat a bid by six local businessmen to eject them from the land.
The Sea Gypsies say they have been living in the area for seven generations at least, but have no official documentation. The businessmen have Chanote papers.
On Friday the new Director General of the DSI, Pol Gen Chatchawan Suksomjit, along with other senior DSI officers came to the village to return their ancestors’ bones to the Sea Gypsies.
They received a warm welcome from some 100 villagers, along with local officials and staff of the Chumchonthai Foundation, which has been trying to help the villagers.
A spiritual leader of the village received the box of bones, which will be re-interred in a special ceremony.
The DSI took on the case after the People’s Movement for a Just Society (Pmove) submitted a petition on the villagers’ behalf to Yingluck Shinawatra when she was Prime Minister.
The Rawai Sea Gypsies claim they have lived on the disputed land for at least seven generations, building homes there and living their their own unique lifestyle. Just over 2,000 people in 247 households now live in the village.
When claims were made to ownership of the land, backed by Chanote land papers, some of the Sea Gypsies attempted to fight the claims in court.
But without documentary evidence they were unable to strike down the land papers, and the judge had no choice but to accede to the arguments of the “owners”, and ordered nine of the villagers to leave the land.
The nine are now in the process of appealing that decision and the bone DNA evidence, it is hoped, will tip the case in their favour.
The Chanote papers are based on SorKor 1 papers issued in 1955. The Sea Gypsies say that their community was already on the land before that date, but proving that claim has been difficult.
Those helping the Sea Gypsies, including the DSI, hope to prove that the Sea Gypsy claim is true and that the original SorKor 1 papers were issued based on false information provided to Land Department officials.
If that can be shown, then the villagers can move to have the Chanote papers voided.
Gen Chatchawan said the DSI would hand over any other evidence it finds to the Sea Gypsies, to aid them in their court battle.