There is no reprieve for families who face eviction from the old Mahakan Fort Community, with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) planning to start demolishing their houses next month.
After several rounds of talks with the people living inside the old fort, the issue looks set to come to an end. The BMA on Monday tentatively set early August as the date the operation to tear down their houses would begin, deputy governor Asawin Kwanmuang said after the meeting.
BMA Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra chaired the meeting, which brought together City Hall executives and representatives of the state agencies involved.
Details of the demolition plan would be completed by mid-July and submitted to the governor for his stamp of final approval. People living inside area would receive eviction notices in advance, Pol Gen Awasin said.
All houses would be torn down by the end of this year to clear the area for a new public park. It would start with around 12 houses whose owners were willing to go. The BMA would then hold talks with owners of another 30 houses to persuade them to follow their neighbours' example, he said.
The deputy governor said 14 householders who remain defiantly opposed to the plan would eventually have to go as the BMA would not allow them to live inside the fort. A few old houses would be saved from demolition, but people would not be allowed to live there, he added.
Residents of the century-old community have fought City Hall for the right to stay, but the BMA insists on turning the fort into a new park. The BMA has promised to pay full compensation, or place them in apartments provided by the National Housing Authority.
The fort is a listed tourist attraction in Bangkok on many travel websites, including Lonely Planet - whose website even considers the community's fight to survive "more interesting" for visitors than the old fort itself.
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Monday urged City Hall to review the plan.
The community has historical value that should be preserved, commissioner Tuenjai Deetes said.
She added City Hall should take a serious look at the social aspect of this issue instead of just sticking to the park plan. The community last week petitioned the HRC for help. “This is a matter of housing security, as well as community rights.”
Mrs Tuenjai said she planned to meet with MR Sukhumbhand or Pol Gen Aswin to discuss a possible way out. She encouraged the deputy governor to listen to the community as promised at the June 23 meeting.
At the meeting, Pol Gen Asawain claimed that City Hall had been pressured by some independent agencies to pursue the eviction plan.
Mrs Tuenjai said she would raise the issue with Ombudsman president Sriracha Charoenpanich so the eviction plan could be delayed pending a new solution to the long-standing conflict.