TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Do not blame people when they turn cynical about the government's efforts to bring home Djoko Tjandra. The convict in the Bank Bali corruption scandal seems to have become a citizen of Papua New Guinea. Such cynical attitude comes about because, since he fled there in 2009, no serious steps seem to have been taken to pursue him. From the beginning, there seemed to be deliberate efforts to allow the entrepreneur involved in the Bank Bali cessie worth Rp546 billion to escape. Other figures involved in this case, including Pande Lubis, former Vice Chair of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, were found guilty. But not Djoko, until, finally, the Supreme Court found him guilty after the Attorney General filed a judicial review. Alas, he managed to flee one mere day before the verdict was read. Several factors remain a mystery. Why did the law enforcement not request a travel ban once the case was handled Court? Who leaked the contents of the verdict that led Djoko to fly off abroad? Why have there been no concrete efforts to hunt down this fugitive? That is why today’s efforts to repatriate Djoko hang on the seriousness of the government. Our country does not have an extradition treaty with Papua New Guinea. But the government can use the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) treaty, signed by the two countries in 2008. As a citizen of Papua, it is possible that Djoko will ask for protection not to be examined by, let alone repatriated to Indonesia. The challenge is for the government to lobby Papua New Guinea. Another challenge is, he is very close to a number of key officials there. Yet another, he has made a relatively large investment in rice production there. The government also needs to highlight the status of Joko’s citizenship. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea clearly states that a foreigner can become a citizen if he is not involved in a legal problem in the country of origin. He must also have lived in the country for eight years. Obviously, Joko has not met these two conditions; so the government of Papua New Guinea should have rejected his application for citizenship. By showing proof of the court decision, there is a possibility for the government of Indonesia to ask for Joko’s citizenship be canceled. He is clearly a fugitive who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison. The citizenship cancellation will facilitate his repatriation. This possibility is strong enough because the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neil and his deputy Belden Nemah expressed their surprise at Djoko’s citizenship status. Even the local media are now starting to report that an investigation will be conducted into the process. If it is proven that the process was illegal, the Papua New Guinean government will hopefully revoke his citizenship immediately. If that is indeed done, the Indonesian government can use the MLA to request Djoko be deported. The relations that have so far been good between the two countries should be able to facilitate the hunt for this big corrupt fish. Alas, all this will mean nothing if the government does not really want to bring Djoko home. ****