Rawai sea gypsies and some of their children gather at Phuket's Damrongtham centre to demand speedy progress in settling their land conflicts with investors. One of the banners says: "Return ancestral lands to the children of fishermen". (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran) A sea gypsy community in tambon Rawai of Phuket's Muang district on Wednesday demanded the government fast-track multiple legal disputes over land plots between them and the private sector after their access to the sea was blocked. The move came after more than 100 men blocked a public walkway at Rawai beach with a truck load of boulders and a backhoe and destroyed the fishing gear of local fishmermen, according to a statement released by the Ethnic Fishermen Network. Men, women and children staged a protest by sitting on the road in a bid to disrupt the blockade, but the truck continued to unload the boulders and injured some of the protesters. The villagers also claimd they were assaulted. The conflict over ownership of the controversial area began on Tuesday when a private firm, Baron World Trade Co, attempted to block the area with the help of 40 police,