BANGKOK — Thai junta chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government is "in talks" about potentially opening refugee camps for Rohingyas who have fled ethnic persecution in Myanmar.

"We are discussing it," Gen. Prayuth said, "because in order to do anything, we have to consider many aspects, such as national security, because our main goal is to take care of Thai people. But human rights cannot be denied either."

Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants are processed by authorities in Songkhla province on 10 May 2015.

The commander of the Royal Thai Police, Pol.Gen. Somyot Pumpangmuang, suggested setting up the camps yesterday in response to the nearly 300 refugees that have been rescued by police in southern Thailand over the past twelve days. The refugees appeared to have been abandoned by their smugglers after word spread of Thai police’s crackdown on trafficking operations in the region.

Tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas have fled Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship, to escape violent persecution by radical Buddhists that erupted in 2012. Around 300,000 stateless Rohingya are also estimated to live in destitute refugee camps in bordering Bangladesh.  Many refugees have paid smugglers to ferry them to other countries, such as Muslim-friendly Malaysia, only to be exploited by traffickers in Thailand who hold them for ransom or sell them into slavery.

In the past, Rohingyas intercepted by Thai authorities have been tried in court on charges of illegal entry and deported. Since neither Myanmar nor Bangladesh authorities recognize Rohingyas as citizens, many refugees have languished in temporary shelters as authorities struggle to solve the legal limbo. 

Pol.Gen. Somyot's remark yesterday was the first time a high-ranking Thai official has suggested an alternative policy for dealing with the influx of Rohingya migrants.  

Speaking to reporters today, Gen. Prayuth said he would also consult the governments of neighboring countries and international organizations about how to proceed with the refugee crisis. Currently, Rohingyas who enter Thailand without permission "will be handled in accordance with the laws," the general said. 

"Thailand is only a transit country," Gen. Prayuth said. "The destination countries are not Thailand. It's a transnational crime movement. We are only involved as a transit country. So we have to solve problems by asking for cooperation from other countries."

Since the crackdown on Thai soil began earlier this month, the number of migrants arriving by boat to other Southeast Asian countries has surged. Over the weekend, more than 1,500 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were rounded up by police after arriving in Malaysia and Indonesia.

An official from the International Organization for Migration said today that at least 8,000 migrants are believed to be stranded off shore. 

Meanwhile, Anusit Kunakorn, director of the National Security Council (NSC), told Thai News Agency that he believes establishing refugee camps for Rohingyas in Thailand may "affect national security." 

"I believe the problem about Rohingyas must be solved by many countries together. This is not a burden of Thailand," Anusit was quoted as saying. "The origin and destination countries, including the United Nations, have to solve this problem together."

Anusit also said the Thai government should address the root causes of the crisis and focus on persuading the Myanmar government to be more tolerant of the Rohingyas.  

SONGKHLA — The governor of the southern province of Songkhla, where nearly 300 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been rescued this month, is pleading for more interpreters from the central government.

The refugees, who were found wandering the jungle after being abandoned by human smugglers, are a mix of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, a Muslim minority from Myanmar.

Police found a group of 26 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh in Songklha on 10 May, 2015.

Songkhla's Governor, Thamrong Charoenkul, said there are currently only five interpreters who can speak Rohingya or Bengali. He said he has requested more interpreters from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in Bangkok. 

"There are obstacles in our categorizing process to determine which persons are victims of human trafficking and which entered the Kingdom illegally,"  Thamrong said. "Songkhla has only five interpreters, which is insufficient." 

Police believe the migrants, who are now being housed in a temporary shelter, were abandoned by their brokers after Thai authorities ordered a sweep of the province following the discovery of a suspected trafficking camp and a mass grave of Rohingya corpses on 1 May. 

The Rohingyas hail from western Myanmar, where they face violent persecution from the local Buddhist population and are denied citizenship by the state. Around 300,000 stateless Rohingya are also estimated to live in destitute refugee camps in bordering Bangladesh.

Since 2012, tens of thousands of Rohingyas have boarded boats to escape Myanmar and start new lives in other countries, such as Muslim-friendly Malaysia. The crowded boats often stop in Thailand, where those who survive the perilous sea journeys are detained in jungle camps until family members cough up exorbitant ransom fees.  

Many of the migrants encountered by police this week showed signs of physical abuse and malnutrition. Some survivors of the camps said traffickers beat and even murdered refugees whose families refused to send money.

Thai police have issued 51 arrest warrants in connection with the detention camps, said Pol.Gen. Aek Angsananont, deputy commander of Royal Thai Police. So far, 19 people have been arrested and 32 others are still on the run, including the suspected kingpin of a regional trafficking network. 

The alleged ringleader was identified as Patchuban Angchotipan, aka Ko Tong, a former local administrative official and owner of several resorts in Satun province.

Pol.Gen. Aek said some of the suspects are believed to have fled to Malaysia, and that the Thai government will request Malaysian authorities to deport them back to Thailand.

According to Pol.Gen. Aek, 276 refugees have been found in the past 12 days. Police say 213 of them entered the country illegally, while 63 others are victims of human trafficking. Police have also detained four traffickers who posed as refugees. 

Since the crackdown on Thai soil, there has been a spike in the number of migrants arriving by boat to other southeast Asian countries. Over the weekend, more than 1,500 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were rounded up by police in Malaysia and Indonesia.

An official from the International Organization for Migration said at least 8,000 migrants are believed to be stranded off shore. 

BANGKOK — A 65-year-old woman has been sentenced to one year in prison for publicly kicking a portrait of His Majesty the King, despite being recognized as mentally unstable by the court.

Thitinand Kaewchantranond, 65, was arrested after she reacted angrily to a Constitutional Court verdict in July 2012 that prevented the Pheu Thai-led government from amending the 2007 constitution. 

Bangkokians line the street in celebration as King Bhumibol's motorcade leaves Siriaj Hospital, 10 May 2015.

Thitinand and other supporters of the Pheu Thai Party were gathering in front of the courthouse on Chaeng Wattana Road when the verdict was read. According to prosecutors, Thitinand kicked and stomped on a portrait of King Bhumibol in protest.

A lower court found her guilty of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese majeste, but suspended her two-year sentence because she was deemed mentally ill. A psychiatrist who treated Thitinand testified in court that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had sought treatment in Thai and New Zealand hospitals. 

Thitinand was cleared of serving a prison term but ordered by the court to receive psychiatric counseling and report to authorities every six months for two years. 

However, the prosecutor appealed the ruling, and today a Court of Appeal sentenced Thitinand to one year in prison.

According to Matichon newspaper, the court described Thitinand's action as "a severe crime" that warrants a punishment "to prevent others from repeating such action." 

Although the court acknowledged that Thitinand was mentally ill and upheld the mandatory psychiatric treatment, it ruled that the defendant "could have exercised some restraint" when she committed the wrongdoing, Matichon reported. 

Any comments or actions deemed libelous toward the Royal Family are punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Codes. 

Critics of the law say it is used to stifle freedom of expression and prosecute political opponents in Thailand.

Somsak Jeamteerasakul, historian and prominent critic of the Thai monarchy, compared today's verdict to a court ruling in 2007, which suspended the jail term of a motorist who killed a pedestrian because he was deemed mentally unstable.

"It is clear that for Thai court, lifting your feet toward a portrait is more severe than deliberately driving onto a footpath and killing a person," Somsak wrote on his official Facebook account. "This is a caveman culture. Disrespecting a portrait is more severe than hurting a person's life." 

Somsak fled Thailand shortly after the coup d'etat in May 2014 and is currently living in exile in Europe. 

BANGKOK (DPA) — More than 8,000 migrants were adrift off the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, an IOM official said Tuesday, posing a potential humanitarian crisis for the region's governments.

"Thailand has effectively stopped smuggling through its borders," said Jeffrey Labovitz, the International Organization for Migration's chief of mission in Thailand.

Rescued, Humahai, a Rohingya migrant from Myanmar crying in Lhok Sukon Sport Stadium, North Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, 11 May 2015. [DPA]

"As a result we think that there are [more than 8,000] people stranded off shore" in the region, mostly refugees and economic migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar, he said.

Labovitz said many of the migrants face malnutrition, cramped quarters and contagious diseases.

Thailand's navy and the army have set up a task force against trafficking, said a navy official who declined to be named.

Boats with migrants or refugees that reach Thailand "will be processed in accordance with the law."

"Victims of trafficking will be offered assistance," he added.

Migrants found entering the country illegally face deportation or internment. Rights group say they are sometimes held indefinitely.

Labovitz called for the Thai, Myanmar and Malaysian governments to find a solution to get the migrants off the boats and provide assistance.

Economic migrants from Bangladesh and Rohingyas fleeing persecution in Myanmar often make their way through Thailand seeking opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia, and are often targeted for exploitation on the way by human traffickers and other smugglers.