タイ国王、配偶者と刑務所慰問　批判受けイメージアップ作戦か

【バンコクＡＦＰ＝時事】タイで、マハ・ワチラロンコン国王が複数の刑務所を慰問し、配偶者と共に床掃除をするなどの画像が公開された。抗議デモで前例のない王室批判が行われていることを受け、イメージアップ作戦の一環とみられる。（写真はタイ首都バンコクのサナーム・ルアン広場で行われた前国王の誕生日を祝う式典で、支持者らに手を振るマハ・ワチラロンコン国王）
　同国でタブーとされてきた王室の改革を訴える学生主導の運動が続く中、王族はここ数か月、公の場に姿を現すことが増えている。
　王室は、国王と配偶者のシニーナート・ウォンワチラーパックさん（３５）が、ジーンズにポロシャツ姿で過去２か月間に複数の刑務所を訪れる様子を収めた画像を公開。
　国王はシニーナートさんに、受刑者らの健康管理計画の監督役を任せ、公務の幅を広げた。
　シニーナートさんは２０１９年７月、「チャオクンプラ（配偶者）」という１００年近く誰にも与えられていなかった称号を得たものの、３か月後には国王への「不実」と、スティダー王妃と同様の地位を求める「野心」を理由に称号と軍の階級を剥奪されていた。しかし国王は昨年９月、この称号を復活させている。
　タイでは厳格な不敬罪により、王族が批判から守られている。学生運動の要求のうち、最大の物議を醸しているものの一つが、同法の廃止だ。活動家らはさらに、絶大な権力と莫大（ばくだい）な財産を持つ国王に、不安定な国政に関与しないよう求めている。
　昨年７月に始まった学生運動では、これまでに４１人が不敬罪で訴追されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/01/13-09:17）

Thailand's king has visited prisons, sweeping floors alongside his official consort in the latest round of a charm offensive following unprecedented criticism of the monarchy during street protests.
The palace has stepped up public appearances in recent months, as the student-led movement has made calls for reforms to the monarchy, considered a taboo subject in Thailand.
Images released by the palace showed King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his consort, 35-year-old Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, visiting different prisons over the past two months, dressed in jeans and polo shirts.
The king has appointed Sineenat to a project overseeing the healthcare of prison inmates -- an expansion to her public portfolio after a dramatic change in her fortunes over the past year and a half.
Sineenat was named consort in July 2019 -- the first such appointment in almost a century -- but was stripped of ranks and titles three months later, accused of disloyalty and ambition to match the position of the king's wife, Queen Suthida.
Last September, Sineenat made an unexpected comeback -- the king reinstated her titles along with a public declaration that she was not tarnished anymore.
On Monday, the Royal Gazette announced her new public duties as a deputy advisor on a committee set up by the king focusing on prison healthcare.
The committee will help in arranging for inmates to have access to medical treatments that are based on human rights standards, said the Royal Gazette.
Since Sineenat's return to favour, she has accompanied the royal family to public events, beaming as she greeted royalist supporters holding up portraits of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida.
A nightly royal news broadcast aired over the weekend showed the king and Sineenat on prison visits.
One image showed the pair sweeping floors, while another had officials on their knees showing off a prison agricultural project.
The Thai monarchy is shielded from criticism by a strict royal defamation law, the abolition of which is among the student protesters' most controversial demands. They have also called for the powerful and wealthy king to stay out of Thailand's turbulent politics.
So far, a total of 41 activists have been charged under the law for their involvement with the protests, which began in July.