The junta yesterday insisted it had never been behind the current exodus of Cambodian workers and has no policy to crack down on them.
Gen Vichit Sriprasert, secretary to the junta's advisory panel, said claims of arrests or violence against Cambodian workers were groundless.
He said some illขintentioned people and employers spread rumours which ้ฟก resulted in the mass exodus of Cambodian workers over the past few days.
Gen Vichit yesterday chaired a meeting with the National Council for Peace and Order's advisory panel members and raised the issue of foreign workers.
Cambodia, meanwhile, has accused the NCPO of fomenting the exodus.
Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Kheng placed blame for the crisis squarely on Bangkok, news reports said yesterday.
"After the military coup in Thailand, military leaders sent illegal Cambodian migrant workers away in a rush without discussing the matter with Cambodia," he said in Phnom Penh, adding that eight people had been killed in traffic accidents linked to the exodus.
"I think the leaders of the junta must be held accountable for what has happened."
Sar Kheng, who is also deputy prime minister, said Cambodian migrants had helped boost the Thai economy, and their absence would be noticed.
"So when they deported them, there will be a problem," he said.
Despite those comments, Cambodia's ambassador and Thailand's top foreign ministry bureaucrat, meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday, agreed to quash the crackdown ''rumours'' and to set up a hotline on labour issues.