A who’s who of Cardassian officers and Bajoran collaborators (Darhe’el, for example) were persona non grata at best, and arrested to face charges of war crimes at worst. I can imagine that, if there were no specific incidents which could be linked to Gul Dukat, perhaps he and other Cardassian officials would be tolerated… But as he was the head of the occupation, I’m not sure this makes sense.
Is the best explanation that this is merely a matter of convenience to normalize relations between Bajor and Cardassia, or is there a plausible justification for his semi-frequent visits to DS9 and/or Bajor in the early seasons? What real historical examples are analogous to his relationship with the Bajoran (provisional) government?
Edit: ‘Bajor’ for the planet, not ‘Bajoran’
First time he steps foot back on the Station was in Cardassians when he’s there as a representative of the Cardassian government. Would have caused quite a stir if he was arrested then.
More of a stir than Darhe’el, who they were willing to arrest? (Though obviously that situation was much more complicated in light of who he actually turned out to be, it just serves as precedent)
In “Duet,” Kira acknowledges to Sisko that her detention of Dar’heel violates policy, and may in fact be illegal.