Skeletons give Phuket sea gypsies hope
Proof that sea gypsies have occupied a strip of coastal land for generations has convinced the Justice Ministry to seek the revocation of land title deeds held by businessmen trying to evict them.
Proof that sea gypsies have occupied a strip of coastal land for generations has convinced the Justice Ministry to seek the revocation of land title deeds held by businessmen trying to evict them.
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This sea gypsy fishing off Phuket's Rawai beach has new hope that he and his relatives will keep their ancestral homes. PORNPROM SATRABHAYA
Panel upholds sea gypsy claim
Businessmen's Phuket land title 'unproven'
King-oua Laohong
The Justice Ministry says it has asked the Department of Lands to revoke title deeds held by several businessmen claiming ownership of 11 rai of coastal land where Phuket's sea gypsy community lives.
The decision came after the businesspeople who claimed to be the landlords failed to prove how they gained ownership of the land, said Chatchawal Suksomjit, permanent secretary-designate for justice.
A panel consisting of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS) had proven the sea gypsies had inhabited the coastal land which forms part of Rawai beach in tambon Rawai of Phuket for more than a century.
The panel obtained both archaeological and forensic evidence to prove the sea gypsies' long presence there.
Prawuth Wongsinil, chief of the DSI's consumer and environmental protection office, said DNA tests on human skeletons dug up from the community showed the bones were buried there over 60 years ago.
Sea gypsies normally bury the bodies of their loved ones near their houses.
The DNA of the skeletons also matched that of one specific group of sea gypsies in the community, said Pol Lt Col Prawuth.
This serves as evidence proving the gypsies' habitation of the spot, he said.
One of the businessmen who claimed ownership of the land has been seeking a court order to evict the sea gypsies who claim ancestral rights to the land.
A network of sea gypsies filed a letter to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security last July, calling for assistance in land ownership solution. JIRAPORN KUHAKAN
A lower court had ruled in the businessman's favour and ordered nine gypsies off the land.
They appealed against the verdict.
So far, 101 sea gypsies have faced eviction lawsuits. At the time, the fishermen could not find any evidence to back their claims they had lived in the village since before 1955, the year Sor Khor 1 land occupation papers were issued.
The skeletons have become key evidence showing the community was there before the land ownership documents were issued to the businessmen.
The DSI and state agencies took the skeletons for DNA tests and then returned them to the locals for religious rites.
The Justice Ministry recommended the Department of Lands consider revoking the title deeds of 11 rai of land in the sea gypsy community while the ownership of the other 10 rai in the same area was still pending investigation, he said.
Currently, there are about 1,042 sea gypsies living in about 210 homes in the community. They are poor villagers who mostly work as fishermen.
Pol Gen Chatchawal said the panel's findings should benefit the villagers in their court battles against those businessmen. The pieces of archaeological and forensic evidence were not available when the sea gypsies fought and lost their cases in the lower court, he said.
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