186 McInerney community.13 Even if someone fulfills the criteria under Article 27 the government is not required to grant that person’s request for naturalization. As Memorandum No. 666-MJ/DIR of March 8, 1961 clearly states ‘the fact that an applicant fulfills the six conditions of admissibility does not require the Government to grant him/her the request’ for citizenship.14 3 The Law in Operation and the Impact on the Karana Madagascar’s Nationality Code presents inherent obstacles to accessing Malagasy citizenship. Complications in how the system functions further exacerbate the problem. A clearer understanding of how the citizenship process works helps to clarify why the Karana are not able to access citizenship. 3.1 Accessing Citizenship: The Scope of the Problem The naturalization process seems to be largely ineffective and has even been suspended at points in Madagascar’s history. From 1960 to 1984, there were 1,314 applications for naturalization recorded. Of these, 255 received a favorable response. About 100 of them were Karana applicants.15 Many people who applied for naturalization in 1960, or soon thereafter, are still waiting to be naturalized. From 1998-2001, President Didier Ratsiraka suspended the naturalization process altogether. When President Marc Ravalomanana took over he said the process was going to restart in 2002, but in reality President 13 14 15 Code De La Nationalité De Madagascar 1960 (n 2) art. 27(4); Memorandum No. 666-MJ/ DIR (8 March 1961) s III (this text was published in conjunction with the Code De La Nationalité and was translated from French into English by Catherine Moore, a copy of which is on file with the author). For the required physical examination the applicant must visit a physician designated by the District Chief and the applicant has to pay for the cost of the medical examination. The certificate prepared by the physician is not issued to the person but sent directly to the government. Memorandum No. 666-MJ/DIR (n 14) sec. II; The Chef du Service Affaire Civil et Nationalité, further explained that citizenship is a matter of sovereignty and a person does not have a right to citizenship merely because his family has been in the country for a very long time. Even if the applicant meets all the conditions the government and the president of the republic can still turn down the application and they do not have to justify the reason why they turned down the application. Interview with the Chef du Service Affaire Civil et Nationalité, in Antananarivo, Madagascar (10 January 2013)(simultaneous translation conducted by Tefinjanahary Tantelinirina). Sophie Blanchy, Karana Et Banians: Les Communautés Commerçantes D’origine Indienne À Madagascar (L’Harmattan 1995) (translated from French into English by Holly Runde, a copy of which is on file with the author) 266. tilburg law review 19 (2014) 182-193