BANGKOK — Leaders of the ultra-conservative movement that sought to topple the former government will run for office after the new constitution is enacted, one of the movement's core leaders said in an interview.

The anti-government movement, named the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King as Head of State (PCAD), was led by nine former MPs who resigned from the Democrat party to join the street protests in November 2013.

Chumpol Julasai, a former Democrat politician and co-founder of the group, told Daily News in an interview on 10 May that almost all of the former politicians will re-join the Democrat Party ticket for the next election, the first since the May 2014 coup.

"When the new constitution is promulgated, PCAD [leaders] will move back to Democrat Party to run as MP candidates for the party," Chumpol was quoted as saying.

The exception will be Suthep Thaugsuban, former deputy chairman of the Democrat Party and secretary-general of PCAD, who will not return to politics, but continue to live as a monk in Surat Thani province.

Chumpol's comments provided the first clue to the PCAD leaders’ plans for post-coup politics. Since the military takeover last year, the movement’s core activists have kept a relatively low profile, in part to comply with the junta's ban on political activities. 

PCAD protesters, including several armed militants, arrived at Laksi District Office to prevent distribution of ballot papers, 1 February 2014 

The ruling junta, which has largely enacted the PCAD’s platform, says the next poll is scheduled to take place in early 2016.

In the interview with Daily News, Chumpol praised the junta for achieving many goals, such as cracking down on corruption, national security threats, and human trafficking.

"If Gen. Prayutha Chan-ocha, Prime Minister and chairman of the [junta], manages to solve economic problems, the government will be able to stay for a long time, because people will be happy," Chumpol said.

According to Daily News, Chumpol also dismissed calls from pro-democracy activists to organize a referendum for the junta's new charter, calling it "a waste of money."

Boycotting the last election

The PCAD protests broke out in late 2014 after the Pheu Thai-led government attempted to pass an amnesty bill that would have pardoned former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, a controversial leader who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and convicted in absentia of a corruption charge.

The protest movement attracted tens of thousands of supporters, and eventually set its eyes on toppling the government led by Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

In response to the escalating protests, Yingluck dissolved the House and called a snap election on 2 February 2014.

The PCAD and Democrat Party boycotted the poll, insisting that major reforms be implemented by appointed leaders before a new election. The PCAD also blocked polling stations on 2 February, preventing voters in some parts of Thailand from casting their ballots. 

The Constitutional Court later nullified the election on the grounds that voting did not occur on the same day throughout the Kingdom.

While the besieged caretaker government struggled to set a date for a new election, the military intervened and staged a coup d'etat on 22 May 2014. 

SONGKHLA — Police say 187 migrants who were abandoned by their brokers in Thailand and recently rescued by authorities will be prosecuted on charges of illegal entry into the country.

Police have encountered a total of 250 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh wandering through the jungle in Songkhla province over the past ten days, said Pol.Gen. Aek Angsananont, deputy commander of the Royal Thai Police.

A sweep of the southern province's mountainous border-region was ordered after police found an abandoned detention camp and a mass grave of Rohingya corpses on 1 May. 

Suspected ethnic Rohingya migrants, who were rescued by Thai officials from a jungle, are detained at the city hall in the Thai-Malaysian border district of Hat Yai, Songkhla province 7 May 2015. EPA/STR

According to Pol.Gen. Aek, 187 of the refugees will be prosecuted for illegally entering Thailand, while 63 have been categorized as victims of human trafficking. 

He added that female police officers have been dispatched to assist women and children at the temporary shelter in Rattaphum district. 

Many of the refugees have been identified as Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority that has left Buddhist-majority Myanmar in droves since religious violence broke out in 2012.

Tens of thousands of Rohingyas have paid human smugglers to bring them on perilous boat journeys to other countries, such as Muslim-friendly Malaysia. The boats often stop in Thailand, where refugees are hidden in the jungle until it is safe to cross overland into Malaysia, or detained until family members cough up exorbitant ransom fees. Many of the refugees encountered by police showed signs of physical abuse and malnutrition.

Thai police have discovered four abandoned detention camps in Songkhla province since the beginning of the month. Seventeen people have been arrested in connection with the camps, including several local Thai officials, and at least 50 police officers in the area have been transferred.

The crackdown comes as Thai authorities hope for an upgrade in the US’s upcoming report on human trafficking. Last year Thailand was moved down to the report’s lowest category for failing to meet the minimum standards to combat trafficking.Human rights groups say Thai authorities have been aware of trafficking operations inside the country's borders for years, but mostly turned a blind eye in exchange for bribes. 

Police are still looking for 33 other suspects, including Patchuban Angchotipan, aka Ko Tong, a former local administrative official and owner of several resorts in Satun province.

"He is the head of human trafficking operations in Satun," Pol.Gen. Aek told reporters. "There are five networks working together, with around 29 operators. All of these have been issued with arrest warrants. They brought in Rohingyas and Bangladeshis and sent them to Malaysia."

Police believe Patchuban and several other suspects have already fled the country, Pol.Gen. Aek said. He added that anyone with clues about the human trafficking network can alert police at the hotline 1300, or dial 074-258-444.

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.

According to the UN, around 25,000 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis fled on boats between January and March of 2015, a number twice as high as the same period last year.

JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR (DPA) – More than 1,500 migrants were rescued or rounded up by police after arriving by boats in Malaysia and Indonesia over the weekend, officials said Monday.

In Malaysia, 1,018 migrants suspected to be from Myanmar or Bangladesh were found in two operations Sunday on the island of Langkawi, about 400 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur. 

Rohingya Muslim migrants originating from Myanmar eat breakfast as they are sheltered in the sport stadium of Lhok Sukon, North Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, 11 May 2015.

Abdullah said the operations took place in separate parts of the island.

"All those who have been arrested will be sent to the detention centre," Langkawi police chief Yusof Abdullah said.

Police were still searching Langkawi and the surrounding area for more illegal migrants which may be hiding there.

Marine police will try to slow the influx of illegal migrants to Langkawi following a clampdown in the more usual destination of Thailand, Yusof said.

There are more than 151,000 refugees in Malaysia, 94 per cent of whom are from Myanmar, according to the government.

Rohingya refugees line up for breakfast in the sport stadium of Lhok Sukon, North Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, 11 May 2015.

In neighbouring Indonesia, nearly 550 "hungry and depressed" people were rescued off Indonesia's Aceh province over the weekend, according to Tegas, an immigration official in North Aceh.

The refugees, believed to be ethnic Rohingyas from Myanmar and Bangladeshis, were sheltering in a sports hall in North Aceh after their boat was found drifting at sea on Sunday.

"There is not enough food, even though the local social office and people are already helping," Tegas said. "They are tired, depressed and need to eat and drink because they were at sea for quite some time."

Rohingya Muslims have suffered decades of state-sanctioned discrimination and ethnic violence in Myanmar, and many thousands have fled to Malaysia or Indonesia via Thailand. 

BANGKOK — A spokesperson for Thailand’s military government has asked astrologers to consider how predicting imminent earthquakes may affect the public.

"I understand that the predictors have good intentions," said the spokesperson, Yongyuth Mayalarp, "But I want to ask them to use their judgement carefully when they spread such information. I want them to consider the consequences, because in the past, there have been [astrological] predictions that have caused panic and affected tourism." 

He also quoted the director of the Department of Mental Health as urging people to rely on scientific principles when considering the validity of the prophecies. 

Many Thais are deeply superstitious and draw upon astrology, feng shui, and other spiritual beliefs to guide their daily lives.  It is also common practice for government officials and leading politicians to consult personal astrologers.

In the past week, several astrologers have predicted that a natural disaster will strike sometime in the next month based on the alignment of three celestial bodies. 

"This upcoming earthquake will take place in our own country," Sorajja Nual-yu, a famous astrologer, said on Saturday. “I have been predicting this since early this year. It may happen at any moment between now and 12 July." 

Sorajja, who describes himself as 'Thailand's Nostradamus,' is well-known for apocalyptic prophecies. He publicly predicted in early 2014 that famines, great earthquakes, stock market crashes, terrorist attacks, and a civil war would hit Thailand in that year alone. 

Another astrologer, Pinyo Pongcharoen, also recently predicted a "natural disaster" will occur in Thailand in the next few months, though he did not specify what kind.

"When there are at least three heavenly bodies approaching an angle with the moon shadow, it is often followed by events like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters," said Pinyo. 

Their predictions were made after several small quakes hit provinces in southern Thailand, causing minor damage.

Yongyuth, the government spokesperson, said the public should not be worried because the government is well-prepared for natural disasters.

"I would like to ask the people to ease their concerns, and follow correct information and news from authorities," Yongyuth said.

He added that an earthquake of a magnitude higher than 7 is very unlikely in Thailand, where the fault lines are not large. However, southern provinces are at risk of tsunamis caused by earthquakes in the Indian Ocean, he said.

"We have installed warning system covering large areas, and we can immediately contact other countries for assistance. The system can warn us one hour prior to [tsunami landfall], so we can evacuate people to safe area in time," the spokesperson told reporters.

In January 2012, a 73-year-old man was given a two-year suspended jail term for predicting that Thailand's largest dam would collapse on the night of 31 December 2011. The prediction, fanned by news agencies and social media, led to widespread panic in Tak, the province where Bhumibol Dam is located.