TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo underlined issues concerning equality and mutual respect in his speech at the European Union - ASEAN Summit held in Brussels, Belgium, this week. Before a number of European leaders, the President spoke openly about cooperation prospects that are currently marred by nickel dispute and the recently passed Criminal Code by the Indonesian government, which received criticism from EU nations.

"If we want to build a good partnership, the partnership must be based on equality, not coercion. There should not be any dictating parties who believe that their standard is better than others,” President Jokowi said in his remarks cited from the Cabinet Secretary website.

A senior researcher from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Fitri Bintang Timur argued that the President's statement showed Jokowi's assertiveness in urging the European Union to fairly treat future international cooperation with ASEAN countries.

“This reflects on recent instances where the EU and Indonesia are in an awkward situation due to the nickel dispute filed at the WTO, and the calls from international human rights watch organizations on Indonesia’s controversial Criminal Code regulations,” said Fitri to Tempo on Thursday, December 15, 2022.

The EU has sent its representative to Indonesia to persuade Indonesia to adhere to the WTO panel's verdict regarding Indonesia's ban on nickel exports. The EU Ambassador for Indonesia Vincent Piket, in a media brief on December 12, 2022, said that the European Union believed that a mutually beneficial, strong, and fair economic relationship with Indonesia can be established.

The European Union filed its lawsuit to the WTO back in November 2019, arguing that the restriction on the export of Indonesian raw materials unfairly harms the EU's stainless steel industry

Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore in early 2020. The government has officially filed an appeal against the WTO decision as a form of continued defense of the panel's final report that was produced on October 17 this year, which stated that Indonesia was proven to have violated WTO provisions Article XI.1 GATT 1994.

Meanwhile, in terms of the revised Criminal Code, the Indonesian government continues to receive pressure from many parties.

Civil society coalitions, NGOs, and foreign representatives such as the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union are paying attention to a number of rules in the Criminal Code that are considered to be a threat against freedom of expression and an invasion on aspects considered to be private.

According to Ambassador Piket, the EU pledges to work together with Indonesia to assist in the problems that they deem have arisen in the Criminal Code.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that the KUHP or Criminal Code had become one of the many aspects that she discussed together with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

"I explained the Indonesian Criminal Code, which has grabbed the attention of many people," said Minister Retno Marsudi in a press briefing on December 14, 2022.

A senior researcher from Human Rights Watch Indonesia Andreas Harsono considers the Criminal Code contains provisions that open the possibility for privacy violations and selective law enforcement by law enforcers.

"Parliament members [can] slander political rivals and state officials can imprison the casual blogger," said Andreas Harsono. "Millions of people can potentially be imprisoned under the Law that is very defective," he added.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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