The Sea Gypsies are currently in a court fight with “a businessman” who claims to own the land under the village and a Chanote land paper for 90 rai of land to back his claim – a situation very similar to the ongoing battle over the Sea Gypsy village in Rawai.
That battle has involved high-profile investigations by the Department of Special Investigation and renowned pathologist Dr Porntip Rojanasunan.
After looking around the village on Laem Tukkae, Gen Surin told The Phuket News, “I am here to collect information and to look at the area for myself.
“From looking at the villagers’ cemetery and the coconut trees we should be able to get a picture of how people lived in the past, and we have done individual interviews to compile family trees.
“If they tell us that they have been living here since 1959, [the old people] should also be able to tell us what the area was like back then, and whether the land was mangrove forest.
“Since 1955, the businessman says, he has owned the land in this area to grow coconuts. We have to check whether there was a coconut plantation of 90 rai in 1959, and compare this with the busnessman’s original information.
“If [the Sea Gypsies say] there was no coconut plantation, we need to prove it by digging up the soil next to the Chanote land. If it was a mangrove forest, we should be able to tell from the soil.
“However, if the evidence proves that the Chanote held by the investor is legitimate then we will need to find a place for the Sea Gypsies to live.”
When asked when this investigation will be complete, Gen Surin said “Everything must be finished by Songkran.”
“We need to be straightforward. I will ask the Land Department to check the Chanote, when it was granted, and also examine pictures from the past”.
The head of the village, Opas Jitpan, told The Phuket News “I think the investigation will end in a good way because we have evidence, but we need to check it again.
“However, we will never move out.”