FORCED relocation and lawsuits will be inevitable if residents continue to block the demolition of three houses in Mahakan Fort community, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) warned yesterday.

The ultimatum came after an intense confrontation between the community and a BMA team led by Vallop Suwandee, a head adviser to the Bangkok governor. The two sides eventually reached an agreement that the house owners can enter the community to clear out their houses on October 6.

As well, a multilateral committee will be established on October 5, although no BMA officers will be allowed to enter the community.

Vallop warned that if the community does not keep their word and does not allow the demolition operation, they will be sued in the Criminal Court.

“If it is necessary, we will demolish the houses by force. If the community does not let the house owners dismantle their houses, we will have to go there by ourselves,” he said.

The situation unfolded when Amporn Sampao-ngen, one of the house owners, tried to enter the community to finish the demolition of her home with BMA officers. She was blocked by residents.

“If the community does not allow me to begin the house demolition, I will fight back too. This is my right to manage my home and as I’ve already signed a contract with the BMA, the rule must be the rule,” Amporn said.

During the arguments some children tried to persuade Vallop not to destroy their home. As he moved away, some children fell down and cried, which angered residents.

On September 3, the community allowed the BMA to demolish 12 houses in the area. Only eight houses were destroyed at the time. This Thursday, the BMA failed to enter the community to destroy three other houses. This led to yesterday’s argument.

Deputy community leader Pornthep Buranaburidet said the BMA did not keep its word that they would not take down more houses until the multilateral committee is set up, so the community cannot let anyone enter the vicinity.

“We already discussed this matter with the BMA in front of many media and witnesses on September 3 that no more houses will be destroyed before the committee is set up to seek the solutions for this conflict together.

“We insisted that the committee will have to be in place first before the BMA and their people can do anything in our community,” Pornthep said.

However, Vallop maintained that City Hall did not accept that the multilateral committee would resolve the conflict and it would not participate in the panel.

“The community land now belongs to the BMA and we have full rights to manage the land. I don’t know about the multilateral committee, but there is no bureaucratic procedure to support it, so we will not make any agreement or participate in anything with the committee,” he said.

“We are trying in every aspect to solve the conflict with the community under the legal principle, if they are still stubborn, we will have to enforce the law against them.”