A senior official of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) says that about 2,000 sea gypsies have the right to live on 33 rai of land on Rawai beach in Phuket and that the department is gathering evidence to support their claim.
Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongseenin, director of the DSI's Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime, said in Phuket that evidence showed that three land title deeds had been illegally issued in the area where sea gypsies had lived for generations.
The land rights documents had been issued over 60 years ago but sea gypsies had lost legal disputes over the land because they did not have official evidence and did not know how to acquire it. Even the DSI had to seek help from experts in many fields, he said.
The dispute escalated this week with clashes between the sea gypsies and workers attempting to clear the site for a property development. Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Friday ordered the army to step in to maintain order.