Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reached an agreement with the historic community at Mahakarn Fort to tear down 12 houses over the weekend following a prolonged conflict between the residents and the government.
It was 24 years ago when BMA was granted a royal decree for land expropriation to improve the look of the Bangkok’s Old Town. In their minds, improving meant destroying a 200-year-old community in one of Bangkok’s two remaining forts.
The eviction was postponed from April 30, when the BMA put up an eviction sign in front of the community, but many residents refused to move out.
On Saturday, the community allowed the government to demolish 12 houses whose owners were willing to move out, but no more houses would be torn down. Also, a new third-party committee would be set up to mediate the conflict, The Nation reported.
Many residents tried to block officials from entering their community on Saturday morning, holding up signs in Thai and English that condemned the BMA for their decision.
One of their signs read: “This is the wall of Phra Nakhon [former name of Bangkok]. This is history. The government has a duty to support, not evict us.”
Besides the 12 houses with owners that agreed to move out, another traditional Thai house — number 99 — was vacated but with the agreement that the BMA would preserve it for its historic value.
However, the demolition came to a halt on Sunday as another conflict arose, when the BMA mistakenly demolished a home that was not in the agreement, Ban Muang reported.
The third-party committee is currently being appointed and will investigate the agreement.
A photograph of a Likay playhouse in the Mahakarn community, taken between mid-1800s to early 1900s, by J. Antonio.
The community inside Mahakarn Fort was formed by Thai aristocrats and their servants, who built houses near their masters.
Up until this year, there were still 57 families in the community, some of which had been residing there for generations.
The area will be developed into a public park. The community proposed to co-exist with the park, but their request was denied.
Read our features on the “People of the Fort”
