Niran Yangpan, head of the Rawai sea gypsy community, explained that the contractor had dug the La-on Canal deeper, but also filled in the sides of the canal, which was now causing problems for local residents.
“We have come to file a request to the Phuket Governor to examine Rawai public beachfront land. It relates to the excavation of the La-on Canal at Rawai Beach,” Mr Niran said.
The formal complaint, addressed to Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana, also called for the Governor to suspend all work at the site until disputes over the land being heard by Phuket Provincial Court had been ruled on and until the boundaries of the state land at the site had been clarified.
Mr Niran also called into question the methods employed in conducting the EIA for the project and sea gypsies in the village were given a questionnaire to fill out about their opinions on the project – but had no idea that the questionnaire could have been used as part of the EIA.
The questionnaire was distributed throughout the Rawai sea gypsy village, one of the most impoverished communities on the island, on Aug 16, Mr Niran said.
“A group of people came to the village and handed out copies of the questionnaire. Most sea gypsy villagers did not know what the questionnaire was for – and showed them to the village community committee,” he explained.
“Further questioning of local villagers revealed that the questionnaire was reportedly part of the EIA process for construction of the Chatrium Hotel Rawai Beach being built by Baron World Trade Co Ltd
“So villagers then called for a gathering here (at Phuket Provincial Hall) to ask for it to be clarified,” he said.
The formal request addressed to the Governor listed five reasons as to why construction of the resort should be stopped, as follows:
1. Ownership of land where the project is located is still being contested in the Provincial Court.
2. Public land in the area, including the boundaries of the La-on Canal, are still being defined through an investigation by both national and provincial committees, and the results of those investigations have not been released yet.
3. Access to the sea gypsies’ scared “Balai” shrine from the public beachfront is still being claimed as private land.
4. The questionnaire ignore the sensitivity of sea and Rawai beach, including local people, especially Rawai gypsies.
5. The EIA process of the project should pay attention to the participants in the context of sensitive areas. Less than 10% of the Rawai gypsies are literate. They have their own spoken language.
“Rawai gypsies oppose how the EIA process is being conducted for this project,” Mr Niran said.
“In this regard, the Governor, who is the chairman of the committee over the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approvals, please consider suspending the project until the investigation to define the public land in the area and the court proceedings over land claims in the area have been concluded first,” he added.
“Moreover, Rawai Beach is a natural boundary as it should be. It is not a straight line as claimed in the private company’s documents. We want the Phuket Governor to order the relevant officials to inspect and survey the areas on Rawai beach in order to consider which areas are public land that everyone can use,” Mr Niran said.
“Also, as the La-on Canal has been dug deeper by a private company and the sides of the canal have been filled, leading to many complicated problems, we request that relevant officials come to check this area quickly,” he added.
“The disputes between the sea gypsies and Baron World Trade Co Ltd are still going on,” Mr Niran noted.
Muang Phuket District Chief Mr Wikrom received the sea gypsies’ formal request without offering any comment.
Ten representatives from the sea gypsy community were asked to join a meeting inside Provincial Hall, where the meeting was to be led by Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai.
Also to join the meeting were Muang Phuket District Chief Wikrom Jaktee and officials from the Phuket Land Office and the Phuket office of the Damrongdham Center (Ombudsman’s Office).
The results of that meeting have yet to be made available.