Petition to Oppose the Sister-City Agreement Between Lowell and Battambang, Cambodia
It has been brought to our attention by our Khmunity Campaign members residing in the Lowell, Massachusetts area, that Lowell City Mayor, Sokhary Chau, has requested the City Manager and appropriate departments to begin the process (motion 11.10) of establishing a Sister-City Agreement between Lowell and the city of Battambang, Cambodia.
A Sister-City partnership would only be giving legitimacy to an already illegitimate oppressive regime intent on eliminating all forms of opposition during the upcoming 2023 National Election.
Given the following:
A recent series of reports and statements by high-level agencies and officials of the United Nations, United States and European Union finds that free, fair and legitimate elections in Cambodia are impossible because of the Hun Sen’s government’s long-standing and thoroughgoing campaign of repression to eliminate meaningful political opposition, and to destroy the free expression of views and free choice by civil society;
The results of a grassroots monitoring effort by the Khmer community, demonstrating and documenting the refusal of the Hun Sen government to take any meaningful positive steps to implement the “Action Plan of Reform Measures” recommended by the United Nations in order to make the political process more free and fair; and,
The sad fact that Hun Sen, in recent months, has “doubled down” on his highly repressive abuses designed to assure his uncontested re-election and indefinite continuance in office, including the imposition of a 27-year sentence for treason against political opposition leader Kem, and continuation of the “Mass Criminal Trials” against other political leaders, critics of the government, and independent journalists;
The Khmer community and civil society organizations hereby:
Oppose the establishment of the Sister-City Agreement between Lowell, Massachusetts and Battambang, Cambodia. Our Khmer community will not support this Sister-City Agreement because it will help to legitimize the autocratic regime of Cambodia.
It is crucial that we prevent the Hun Sen government from claiming legitimacy through sistercity alliances like the one that is being proposed, especially during the period leading up to the 2023 National Elections, where the government has shut down all independent media, imprisoned all meaningful opposition, and closed civil and political space.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[City, Country]