BANGKOK — Thailand’s Army Chief said today that Rohingya migrants fleeing persecution in Myanmar do not qualify for refugee status in Thailand, and will be treated as illegal migrants.

Gen. Udomdet Sitabutr was responding to the suggestion that Thai authorities build refugee camps for the Rohingya, a Muslim group that has fled violence and state-sanctioned discrimination in Myanmar in droves, often by boat.

The Rohingya currently lie at the center of a regional migration crisis, with thousands of them stranded at sea because Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia have refused to take them in.

At a press conference today, Thailand’s army chief sought to differentiate the Rohingya from other ethnic groups, such as the Karen, who live in nine refugee camps in Thailand along the Thai – Myanmar border. 

"The people who stay there fled from wars, because there are conflicts in Myanmar with minorities, and they cannot find a solution," Gen. Udomdet said. "But for the Rohingyas, let me explain that it is different issue, because it is about people who entered the country illegally."

However, the plight of the stateless Rohingya, who the UN considers one of the world’s "most persecuted" minorities, is well documented. Violent attacks by Buddhist mobs have driven tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in the Rahkine state. Many are now confined to squalid refugee camps, where they are denied citizenship by Burmese authorities and struggle to access basic services.

The Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide warned this month that the Rohingya are "at grave risk for additional mass atrocities and even genocide" in Mynamar, where Buddhist nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise.

Speaking to reporters today, Gen. Udomdet reiterated that Rohingya migrants may land on Thai shores, but will be charged with illegal entry into the Kingdom.

"Let me insist that we never push back any boats, we never expel any one, because we are merely a transit country, not the destination of the Rohingyas," he said. "Our country is being watched by many international organizations who do not understand our situation. I want to explain to them and make them understand.”

Gen. Udomdet also expressed support for Thai police’s recent crackdown on human trafficking operations in the south.

"If they discover any soldier involved in illegal action or human trafficking, they can fully prosecute that person," Gen. Udomdet said. "Good people need to be rewarded. Bad people need to be stripped of their roles. They won't be allowed to stay in the army."

More than 70 arrest warrants have been issued in connection with human trafficking networks in Thailand since 1 May. The suspects include businessmen, local administrative officials, and police, but no members of the armed forces.  

Although a number of Thai media agencies reported that police are preparing to issue an arrest warrant on an army officer, a high-ranking police officer dismissed the rumor yesterday.

"No army officer is involved in the human trafficking network, despite the news that have been published," said Pol.Lt.Gen. Montri Potranant on 19 May.

In December 2013, the Royal Thai Navy sued two editors of a Phuket-based news site with defamation for publishing an excerpt from a Reuters news article that accused some Navy officers of profiting from human trafficking. 

BANGKOK — Several dozen people attended a Buddhist ceremony at Wat Pathumwanaram in Bangkok this morning to honor the six civilians who died there during a military crackdown on Redshirt protesters five years ago.

The group was led by Payao Akhard, whose daughter was working as a volunteer nurse inside the temple when she was shot and killed by soldiers on 19 May 2015.

"I have done this every year because I miss her," Payao said. "And I want to let her know that I am still fighting for justice on her behalf."

The ceremony at Wat Pathumwanaram Temple in Bangkok on 19 May 2015.

Although Thai authorities blocked a similar ceremony for victims of the crackdown last month, today's low-key event was allowed to go forward. 

Soldiers and police at Wat Pathumwanaram initially attempted to bar reporters from entering the temple this morning, but eventually relented after one of the victim’s relatives promised the ceremony would be strictly religious in nature.

Plain-clothed security officers were seen observing the ceremony from a distance. 

Political events are still banned by the ruling military junta that toppled a Redshirt-backed government one year ago. Redshirt supporters normally gather in Bangkok by the thousands to mark the crackdown’s anniversary, but they were forced to cancel this year's event in compliance with the junta’s orders.

Five years ago today, on 19 May 2010, the military squashed a mass Redshirt protest movenment in Bangkok, after weeks of deadly skirmishes between demonstrators and security forces had turned parts of the city into a war zone. More than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the unrest.  

As the military advanced toward the Redshirts' main encampment on Ratchaprasong Intersection, hundreds of Redshirts fled into Wat Pathumwanaram, which was designated as a "safe zone" by the government at the time. 

However, a group of soldiers opened fire into the temple from an elevated skytrain track, according to photographs, videos, and witnesses' testimonies. The gunfire left six people dead, including three protesters, two volunteer medics, and one rescue worker. A court inquest in 2013 ruled that the soldiers were responsible for the deaths. 

Five years later, no soldier or state official has been held responsible for the crackdown.

In late 2010, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy, Suthep Thaugsuban, were charged with murder for authorizing the crackdown, but the court dropped the case in August 2014 and assigned the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to investigate the pair for "abuse of power" instead. 

Payao said she will meet with NACC officials to ask about the case's progress soon.

"I don't want this case to fall silent," she said. 

Anek Laothamathas, a member of the junta-appointed National Reform Council (NRC), made a suprising appearance at the ceremony this morning. 

He told reporters he accepted an invitation from Payao, and said he believes Thailand has much to learn from the 2010 crackdown, without elaborating.

"I think the society in the present time has to learn lessons and move past this conflict," Anek said.

Some relatives of the victims privately told Khaosod they were upset by Anek's appearance because he is a member of the military junta's government. 

Several military commanders who played major role in the 2010 crackdown are now leading the junta, including junta chairman and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the coup last May, and Minister of Defense Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan.