Residents of the ancient Mahakan Fort have asked the Administrative Court for protection as eviction by order of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) looms.

Residents of Mahakan Fort Community on Friday morning, 29 April 2016, submitted a petition to the Administrative Court of Bangkok to halt the eviction of their community on the orders of the BMA.

They urged to the court to hold an emergency hearing on Friday afternoon to revoke the eviction set for 30 April.

In the petition, the Mahakan Fort community also asked the court the revoke the BMA’s policy to preserve the ancient Rattanakosin area of the capital, calling the policy unlawful as it neglects the livelihoods of people in ancient communities in the area.

In addition, they asked the Administrative Court to issue an order to force BMA to work with the community and Silpakorn University to develop the area without having to demolish the community in accordance with the 2005 BMA resolution on the issue.

Peerapol Hammarat, a leader of the Mahakan Fort Community which has about 318 residents, said that the community has been fighting for the right to remain in the area for the last 24 years.

He added that the BMA should allow the community to stay in the area for at least 2-3 years in order to prove that they could develop the area as a living museum instead of the lifeless park with an ancient fort that the BMA wanted to create.  

The main alley inside Pom Mahakan Community

The residents of Mahakan Fort gathered to state their stand against the eviction order from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on 27 March 2016