Transcription
Yona Scoros Dur and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Korina Kat Machado. First, we will open up for two short introductions, and then we will open up for, uh, questions. So, please, Prime Minister.
Well, first, I'd like to express a very warm welcome on behalf of the government of Norway, and may I say, on behalf of all Norwegians, to this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Korina Machado. To see you safe and sound at last. We waited for you. Uh, and I told you today that, um, that Nobel ceremony was not without you. You had a tremendous presence in that hall. Not only the picture but also the voice of your daughter, with reading your message. And the dinner at the, uh, hotel yesterday, where we all kind of were counting down to see you arriving in Oslo, was an emotional moment. And I think it brought, uh, your message, your story, and your struggle for democracy very close to the Norwegian public. And, uh, that was a strong moment, but all the better to see you here standing today. You are heartily welcome.
Uh, the Nobel Committee makes its choice, uh, on every year's prize based on interpreting the will of Alfred Nobel. And I think this year's prize has a special significance by the very strong emphasis of the link between a democracy that works as a democracy and the way to freedom and peace, not only between nations but within nations. So, in Ukra, in, um, Venezuela, we have a situation where, uh, an authoritarian regime is waging war on its people with millions of refugees and injustice. And there cannot be peace until democracy and elections are respected. So that is the message that we are receiving of great importance for Venezuela, but also a message that has universal bearing. And this is all about fighting for fundamental human rights at a time when democracy is under threat. There are so many countries where this is relevant today. Unfortunately, there are fewer democracies, more authoritarian regimes. That is the trend.
So, I would like simply to salute you, uh, Madame Laureate, for your struggle. It has cost you a lot. It costs you and your family and your people a lot. And I think what we heard from your daughter yesterday, and from your family, and the people who came here thinking about those who are today in jail, those who suffer, those who have aspirations for democracy, that is a strong message of these Nobel laureate days in Oslo. But Maria, please, you have the floor.
Thank you very much, Prime Minister, and thank you all. And I want to, to speak to the Norwegian people, to European people, to the Venezuelan people. I would say to all citizens of the world in this hour and assure you that I am very hopeful Venezuela will be free, and we will turn a country into a beacon of hope, an opportunity of democracy. And well, we will welcome not only the Venezuelans that have been forced to flee but citizens from all over the world that will find a refuge, as Venezuela used to be decades ago.
And, um, as, as I mentioned, well, Anakorina read yesterday, uh, I believe that our experience in Venezuela conveys to the world a testimony that certainly, in order to have peace, you require democracy. Democracy is the system that enables peace in a society. But you cannot have democracy without freedom. And, and, and freedom is an individual decision, a rational decision. And it's this, the sum of these individual conscious decisions that bring that collective ethos that creates the force, the strength, and the courage to fight for freedom, to defend it when you got it. And that courage comes from the things that truly matter in your life, the things that you love. And when you feel that those things are most in danger, then the courage increases. That's why I am convinced that peace ultimately is an act of love. And that's what brought me here. The love of millions of Venezuelans for our country, for freedom, and for our children. And I believe there's no other generation in the history of Venezuela that has that loves more freedom, our family, and, and our soul, our territory. The possibility of actually being in your homeland, in moving freely in your homeland, because we have lost that. And as I mentioned to you, the force that brought this country, our nation, together was this longing that we want our children back home. And we will not stop until they do that, and we give them a country in which they can live with dignity, with justice, and the responsibility that comes with freedom.
So, we have great admiration for Norway's institutions and democracy. [snorts] We, we share, uh, benefits that nature has given us, and we admire the way this society has used them on behalf of your people. Quite the country of what has happened in Venezuela. So, we have to learn, and we have used Norway as an example several times during these decades. And believe me, we will turn Venezuela into that energy, technological, and democracy hub of the Americas. And we count on you, and I see you know, long for that day, and we will host all of you in a bright, democratic, and free country, and it's going to be soon. So, thank you very much, and very honored and grateful to the Nobel Committee for this recognition to the Venezuelan people, >> to a great movement. I'm just one of that millions of people that form it, and, and I do believe it is a recognition to democracy as well. So, thank you very much. Thank you.
So, then we open up for questions. And the first question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster TV2. Shamid from TV2 Norway. I have a question for you, Maria Korina Machado. You arrived just a few hours ago, and you got to reunite with your family in a very long time. How was that first meeting, and how has your first hours in Oslo been?
Thank you. Ah, I couldn't sleep last night, going over and over again that first instant when I saw my children. And, and for many weeks, I had been thinking of that possibility, and which one of them I would hug first. [laughter] [gasps] And, uh, to tell you something, I hugged them the three at the same time. And it's been one of the most extraordinary, very spiritual moments of my life. And that happened in Oslo. So, I'm very grateful to this city. Something I will never forget, because at the end, I'm just one of millions of mothers that are longing to embrace their children and are not able to do that. That brings us together. And, um, I made a promise to them. I would come here on their behalf to [snorts] receive the prize, and I will take that prize back to them, because we will make it, what I experienced hours ago, we will make it a reality for everyone of them. Those that have their children in jail, persecuted, in exile, we will make that happen.
The next question comes from the Swedish broadcaster.
Hello, on Swedish radio. Um, yesterday, uh, the US seized, uh, a ship outside the coast of Venezuela. Would you welcome a US military intervention in Venezuela?
Look, some people talk about invasion in Venezuela, the threat of an invasion in Venezuela. And I answered, Venezuela was, has been already invaded. We have the Russian agents. We have the Iranian agents. We have terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, operating freely in accordance with the regime. We have the Colombian guerrilla, [snorts] the drug cartels that have taken over 60% of our populations, and not only involved in drug trafficking but in human trafficking, in networks of prostitution. Uh, so this has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas. [snorts] And what sustains the regime is a very powerful and, and strongly funded repression system. Where does that funds come from? [snorts] Well, from drug trafficking, from the black market of oil, from arms trafficking, for human trafficking. We need to cut those flows. And once it happens, and repression is, uh, weakened, it's over, because that's the only thing the regime has left: violence and terror. So, we ask the international community to cut those sources, because the other regimes that support Maduro and the criminal structure are very active and had turned Venezuela into the, into the safe haven for their operations into the rest of Latin America. Thank you.
The next question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster NRK from Norwegian Broadcasting. Uh, you have had meetings, uh, with politicians at the Norwegian Parliament and Prime Minister Støre this morning. Have you asked for any kind of support from the Norwegian government for your fight for democracy in Venezuela?
We had a great conversation this morning, and I, and I am very excited also with what I experienced at the Parliament. I, I'm a former member of a parliament, and to see a natural parliament working, you know, with representatives of parties in all the spectrum, you know, passionately and respectfully defending their views, is something I, I, you know, miss so much. And, and yes, the answer is yes. Not only right now, uh, we need to speak out, to tell the truth, so that people understand what our, our, our country is suffering, what our political prisoners are going through. Uh, children in Venezuela only go twice a week to public schools because teachers earn $1 a day. So, they get have to get other jobs. So, we have our children in the streets, and you know what it means in terms of their future and the risks they run. So, yes, we need to speak out. We need to, to cut these resources that support repression now, but also we, we will need a lot of, uh, ideas and advice regarding, you know, building up institutions, uh, such as the energy agency that we, we want to build in, in Venezuela for, for, for the new hydrocarbon, uh, sector that, that will, you know, arise in our country.
Can I just follow up to say that the laureate does not have to ask for that support, because we respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and that is clear. They expressed, under very difficult circumstances, their views in an election which gave, according to all sources, international and domestic, overwhelming response. They want another course. They want a democratic regime. And for Norway, you know, respecting the rule of law and the main principles of the UN Charter is key. So, uh, we want to see that that change happen. I think, uh, what we learned from these days talking to not only Venezuelan guests but also representatives of Latin America, is that you need a combination of what comes from inside and what comes from outside. We are from outside, and we are, of course, ready to support Venezuela, democratic Venezuela, in building new and sound institutions. They can count on that.
And the last question today comes from CNN.
Hi. [clears throat] Marina, I'm Pal Mosca with CNN. So, now you've been in hiding for many, many months. Do you think that the government may have known where you were during this time?
I don't think they have known where I have been, and, uh, certainly they would have done everything to stop me from coming here. And actually, I, I, I want to take advantage of your question to thank all those men and women that risk their lives so I could be here today. Um, one day I will be able to tell you, because certainly I don't want to put them in risk right now. Uh, it, it was quite an experience, but I think it's worthwhile being here with you, telling the world what's happening in Venezuela, what it means to you as Norwegians, and as Europeans, or from all the places where you come from, why Venezuela matters for the world. I mean, when, when you fight for freedom, you're fighting for humanity. And when we win, because we will, this will be a, an extraordinary example for those countries that today do not have freedom and that have tell people are telling them what we used to hear, that it was impossible, impossible to achieve it. And [snorts] we decided to fight until the end, and Venezuela will be free. And of course, it's worthwhile. And, uh, when I go back, um, the regime will, well, there are two opport possibilities, certainly where the regime will be. But if, uh, if it's still in power, uh, certainly I, I will be with my people, and they will not know where I am. We have ways to do that and take care of us.