Sea nomads are taking their struggle over alleged land encroachment to Bangkok. The nomads are part of the Moken minority, a group of semi-nomadic Austronesian group that lives in Thai coastal provinces and inhabits over 800 islands in the Andaman Sea.
Today, a group of Moken people from Koh Lipe rallied in front of the Treasury Department, demanding justice over alleged land encroachment and intimidation.
A coordinator for the Moken of Andaman Network said that a land occupation right issued to an influential figure encroaches on the land of a school on Koh Adang. The coordinator, Wittawat Thepsong, said the encroachment blocks access to beaches and the sea.
He said that the Moken indigenous people used to have free access to the beaches and sea, but now they are being denied such access, Thai PBS reported.
The group…
