Powerful developer claims to be owner of Thai beachfront
By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published January 22, 2006
LAEM POM, Thailand -- The woman struggles to the front of the room on her knees, always keeping lower than the government officials seated before her.
Ratree Kongwatmai's demeanor is deferential, but she is also at war. Since the tsunami just over a year ago, she has led the fight for her village, battling a powerful company that claims it owns the valuable beachfront property on which Laem Pom sits.
"We really want to keep our land safe for the next generation, since we have all risked our lives tremendously," she tells the country's interior minister. "Unless you wish to see us risk our lives any further."
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