Governor Sophon arrived in Phuket with his wife, Ms Busadee, Wednesday last week (Oct 4). The next day some 40 vendors from Surin beach descended on Provincial Hall to present him with a formal petition calling for the newly arrived Governor to rescind the provincial orders that had declared Surin Beach reserved purely for public use without vendors, and for the beach to be declared a “King’s Beach”.
The vendors plainly asked to be able to return to their previously allotted spaces along the small beachfront road at Surin to set up their businesses.
Pradub Koliyanon, assistant to Thitikan Thitipruethikul, Member of Parliament for Phuket District 3 (all of Thalang District plus Tambon Kathu), was joined by the group of disgruntled vendors, many brandishing hand-written signs, to submit the formal request directly to Mr Sophon.
The letter explained that 20 years ago vendors were allowed to set up shop and make a living at Surin Beach, with appropriate taxes being paid to the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor).
However, subsequent changes by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), under the military government established by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, had abolished these rights which saw shops at the site demolished and notice boards installed detailing the closure and restrictions.
The letter further explained that during COVID-19 villagers who were desperate to provide for their families had returned to the site to sell goods to residents and the few tourists stranded in Phuket at the time.
However, shortly afterwards, a group claiming to be from the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), the political arm of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, had intervened and ordered the vendors to vacate. The ‘ISOC’ officers allegedly did not possess or present any form of official documentation or identity cards to the merchants.
It was also stated that the same ISOC team were scheduled to return to the site again to demolish any shop structures that were still remaining.
As such, the group request assistance from Governor Sophon as to the following:
- To cancel Provincial Order No. 1/2014, Provincial Order No. 1/2015, Provincial Order No. 1/2016, and Provincial Order No. 2/2016.
- For the Governor to issue an immediate order to delay the demolition of the shops until there is an alternative solution.
- To include the villagers in discussions relating to an appropriate solution. The villagers are ready to cooperate with local government to establish a satisfactory plan whereby shops are allocated and taxes are then paid fairly and correctly.
The delegation further explained that the fair allocation of space for them to operate would be a major advantage for tourists in the local area too and that taxes paid from their business would help further develop the areas around Surin Beach.
Regulation on the use of public toilets and similar facilities also needs to be clarified, they added.
After receiving the letter and in response, Governor Sophon explained that he needed to thoroughly check all the facts and liaise with all relevant departments to ensure all parties and operations are in accordance with related laws and regulations.
Governor Sophon spent the majority of his first days conducting meetings with relevant government officials as he officially declared his plans for the future development of Phuket.
GLARING OMISSIONS
One key omission by the vendors presenting their latest appeal to Governor Sophon was that vendors have already returned to the beach, serving tourists with plastic chairs and tables that are removed each day ‒ on the pretence that each business is not a permanent feature at the beach. Each business has its own area, and serves its own customers.
The request submitted to Governor Sophon also omitted a long history of abuse, corruption and the ground rules laid out when the Army ordered all businesses to be removed from Surin Beach in 2014.
Even the claim that vendors were allowed to operate businesses at Surin Beach 20 years ago was not true, according to MaAnn Samran, Chief of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) at the time.
In 2014, when faced with enforcing the Army order to remove all businesses from Surin Beach, Mr MaAnn explained that the structures along the east side of the path were originally built by the OrBorTor after the 2004 Tsunami as housing for people who had lost their homes.
In the following 10 years, the structures had changed hands many times and none of them were houses anymore ‒ all were occupied by businesses. “The OrBorTor charged no rent [at the beginning]; we just allowed local people to live there. But later they sold their [right to occupy the] places until the places became something else entirely,” Mr MaAnn said.
However, The Phuket News was told that although Cherng Talay OrBorTor managed the land on the east side of the path, it did not own it. The land belonged to the state, just like the strip along the beach. In essence, Cherng Talay OrBorTor had no right to allow people to live on public land along the beachfront, nevermind operate businesses there. As such the OrBorTor had no right to levy any taxes, or as was commonly understood at the time the right to charge each business rent according to the size and nature of the venture.
The OrBorTor’s original aim to help local people in distress after the tsunami would be legitimate provided the relevant permits were obtained. But the occupants never owned the buildings and could not legally sell, rent or assign their occupation rights to anyone else, a legal expert explained to The Phuket News at the time.
Mr MaAnn in 2014 also said that the Phuket provincial government, with the Army’s direction and support, did not want to see beach chairs on public land anymore. “There will be no beach chairs or beach beds in the future [along Surin Beach].” Mr MaAnn said.
However, the chairs and businesses returned time and again, with very little action by Mr MaAnn, who repeatedly claimed he had to keep waiting for provincial officials to take action ‒ even though he had been directly ordered to remove the businesses.
Of note, how reliable Mr MaAnn’s account is of the arrangement with vendors along the Surin beachfront remains questionable. Only earlier this week was it confirmed that he had been sentenced to two years in prison without parole on corruption charges.
He has also yet to face charges after being deemed guilty of corruption in an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), who foud that Mr MaAnn illegally issued building permits for the New Nordic Phuket Water World project in Bang Tao.
Regardless, tired of delaying action further, the Army in April 2016 moved in and razed all remaining businesses at Surin Beach to the ground and removed the rubble. Among the businesses whose structures were removed by force were branded franchise beach clubs and large-scale restaurants and bars.
RAJABHAKTI PARK
The clearing of businesses at Surin beach in 2014 coincided with plans announced to spend B800 million on creating a ‘Rajabhakti Park’ public area covering nearly 200 rai.
At least 50 rai was to be transformed into a botanical garden and the rest of the area was to include a museum, monuments and other attractions. The monuments were to comprise seven statues honouring past Thai kings from the Sukhothai period to the current royal house of Chakri, as featured at the original the Rajabhakti Park built at Hua Hin in 2014.
“We want this new park to be a place to honour Their Majesties The King and Queen because HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej and HM Queen Sirikit visited Surin Beach in 1959,” said Chokdee Amornwat, Phuket Vice Governor at the time.
However, the B800mn plan was scrapped in 2017 after the Army faced intense pressure over high-priced ‘concession fees’ and even ‘finder’s fees’ given to friends of high-ranking military figures for construction of the Rajabhakti Park at Hua Hin.
Instead, the Phuket Government opted for a ‘Surin Public Park’ costing B12mn.
The Army attempted to revive the B800mn Rajabhakti Park plan in 2018, but the project failed to gain traction.
BACK AGAIN
All the while still the vendors returned time and again, and were issued more eviction notices in December 2019. In January 2020, before the pandemic and tourism restrictions were introduced, some 40 vendors from the beach submitted yet another formal request to return ‒ after they had been served multiple eviction notices throughout the preceding month.
By March, vendors returned in open defiance of the order, and despite repeated threats by Mr MaAnn, faced no legal action for setting up businesses on state land without permission.
Today, vendors have again returned to the beach, while asking the new Governor for permission to do so.