def _get_target(self, target_arg):
target_str = str(target_arg)
target_str = self.decode_description('<ekb>' + target_str + '</ekb>')
tp = TripsProcessor(target_str)
terms = tp.tree.findall('TERM')
term_id = terms[0].attrib['id']
agent = tp._get_agent_by_id(term_id, None)
return agent
