100 protesters gathered at Wat
Pak Praek in the Pluak Daeng District of Rayong to try and convince
officials to hand over the right documents to their land.
On the morning of September 30th, a group of over 100
protesters gathered at the Sala of Wat Pak Praek in the Pluak Daeng District
of Rayong. The group was demanding their rights to 30,000 rai of land they
had homesteaded for over 30 years.
Thai law states that any person who occupies public land for over a certain
period of time is entitled to ownership of the land, under what could be
called ‘homestead laws’. There are two documents needed to make the
possession of the land official. One is a ‘Sor Por Kor’ form and the other
is a ‘Land Rights’ form. As of yet, the residents have only received the
first form.
During this petition meeting, residents asked to speak to Sakchai Purisat,
Land Rights Supervisor and Somphong Phongsophon, District Chief of Pluak
Daeng and other involved officials.
After a 3 hour meeting, the officials agreed to give all the information
from the meeting, along with the protesters’ written petition, to high level
officials in the Land Department. They asked for 60 days in which to give
the residents an answer.
Udom Khlaisuwan, 65, leader of the residents, said he felt it was time for
official action as the area already had electricity and water, and telephone
lines were being installed. This considered, he felt it time the government
take action on giving residents full right to the land. He felt that a
satisfactory agreement was reached from the meeting.
