00:00Well, first I'd like to express a very warm welcome on behalf of the government of Norway
00:04and may I say on behalf of all Norwegians to this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado
00:11to see you safe and sound at last. We waited for you and I told you today that that noble ceremony
00:19was not without you. You had a tremendous presence in that hall, not only the picture
00:25but also the voice of your daughter with reading your message. And the dinner at the hotel yesterday
00:33where we all kind of were counting down to see you arriving in Oslo was an emotional moment
00:40and I think it brought your message, your story and your struggle for democracy very close
00:45to the Norwegian public. And that was a strong moment. All the better to see you here standing today.
00:52You are heartly welcome. The noble committee makes its choice on every year's prize based on
01:02interpreting the will of Alfred Nobel. And I think this year's prize has a special significance by
01:09the very strong emphasis of the link between a democracy that works as a democracy and the way to
01:15freedom and peace. Not only between nations but in nation. So in Venezuela we have a situation where
01:26authoritarian regime is waging war on its people with millions of refugees and injustice. And there cannot be peace
01:37until democracy and elections are respected. So that is the message that we are receiving of great importance
01:46for Venezuela but also a message that has universal bearing. And this is all about fighting for your
01:53fundamental human rights at the time when democracy is under threat. There are so many countries where this is
01:59relevant today. Unfortunately, there are fewer democracies, more authoritarian regimes. That is the trend.
02:04So I would like simply to salute you, Madam Laureate, for your struggle. It has cost you a lot. It costs you and your family and your people a lot.
02:16And I think what we heard from your daughter yesterday and from your family and the people who came here,
02:22thinking about those who are today in jail, those who suffered, those who have aspirations for democracy,
02:27that is a strong message of these noble laureate days in Oslo.
02:34But Maria, please, you have the floor.
02:36Thank you very much, Prime Minister. And thank you all. And I want to speak to the Norwegian people,
02:45European people, to the Venezuelan people. I would say to all citizens of the world in this hour,
02:52and assure you that I am very hopeful Venezuela will be free, and we will turn a country into a beacon of hope,
03:02an opportunity of democracy. And we will welcome not only the Venezuelans that have been forced to flee,
03:09but citizens from all over the world that will find a refuge as Venezuela used to be decades ago.
03:16And as I mentioned, well, Ana Corina read yesterday, I believe that our experience in Venezuela
03:30conveys to the world a testimony that certainly in order to have peace, you require democracy.
03:38Democracy is the system that enables peace in a society. But you cannot have democracy without freedom.
03:47And freedom is an individual decision, a rational decision. And it's the sum of these individual,
03:56conscious decisions that bring that collective ethos that creates the force, the strength, and the courage
04:06to fight for freedom, to defend when you've got it. And that courage comes from the things that truly
04:15matter in your life, the things that you love. And when you feel that those things are most in danger,
04:22then the courage increases. That's why I am convinced that peace ultimately is an act of love.
04:31And that's what brought me here. The love of millions of Venezuelans for our country,
04:40for freedom, and for children. And I believe there's no other generation in the history of Venezuela
04:48Venezuela that loves more freedom or family and our soul or territory. The possibility of actually being in your homeland,
04:59in moving freely in your homeland, because we have lost it. And as I mentioned to you,
05:06the force that brought this country, our nation together was this longing that we want our children back home.
05:16And we will not stop until they do that. And we give them a country in which they can live with dignity,
05:26with justice, and the responsibility that comes with freedom. So we have great admiration for Norway's
05:35institutions and democracy. We share benefits that nature has given us. And we admire the way this society
05:50has used them on behalf of your people, quite the country of what has happened in Venezuela. So we have
05:57to learn and we have used Norway as an example several times during these decades. And believe me,
06:03we will turn Venezuela into that energy, technological, and democracy hub of the Americas.
06:11And we count on you. And I long for that day and we will host all of you in a bright, democratic,
06:20and free country. And it's going to be soon. So thank you very much and very honored and grateful to the
06:27novel committee for this recognition to the Venezuelan people, to a great movement. I'm just one of that
06:36millions of people that form it. And I do believe it is a recognition to democracy as well. So thank you very much.
06:46Thank you. So then we open up for questions. And the first question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster,
06:52TV2.
06:54So I'm from TV2 Norway. I have a question for you, Maria Corina Machado. You arrived just a few hours ago,
07:02and you got to reunite with your family in a very long time. How was that first meeting, and how has your
07:09first hours in Oslo been? I couldn't sleep last night going over and over again that first instant
07:22when I saw my children. And for many weeks, I had been thinking of that possibility.
07:30And which one of them I would hug first. And to tell you something, I hugged them the three at the
07:38same time. And it's been one of the most extraordinary spiritual moments of my life. And that happened in
07:48Oslo. So I'm very grateful to this city, something I will never forget. Because at the end, I'm just one of
07:54millions of mothers that are longing to embrace their children and are not able to do that. That
08:01brings us together. And I made a promise to them. I would come here on their behalf to receive the
08:10prize. And I will take that prize back to them. Because we will make it what I experienced hours ago. We
08:21will make it a reality for every one of them. Those that have their children in jail, persecuted in
08:26exile. We will make that happen. The next question comes from the Swedish broadcaster, Sveriges Radio.
08:35Hello, Dave Rasmussen, Swedish Radio. Yesterday, the US seized a ship outside the coast of Venezuela.
08:44Would you welcome a US military intervention in Venezuela?
08:51Look, some people talk about invasion in Venezuela and the threat of an invasion in Venezuela. And I
08:58answered Venezuela has been already invaded. We have the Russian agents. We have the Iranian agents.
09:05We have terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas operating freely in accordance with the regime.
09:11We have the Colombian guerrilla, the drug cartels that have taken over 60 percent of our populations. And
09:18not only involving drug trafficking, but in human trafficking, in networks of prostitution. So
09:25this has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas. And what sustains the regime is a very
09:32powerful and funded, strongly funded repression system. Where does that funds come from?
09:39Well, from drug trafficking, from the black market of oil, from arms trafficking, for human trafficking.
09:46We need to cut those flows. And once it happens, and repression is weakened,
09:53it's over. Because that's the only thing the regime has left, violence and terror. So we ask the
10:00international community to cut those sources. Because the other regimes that support Maduro and the
10:08criminal structure are very active, and have turned Venezuela into the safe heaven for their operations
10:15into the rest of Latin America. Thank you.
10:18The next question comes from the Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
10:26You have had meetings with politicians at the Norwegian parliament and Prime Minister
10:30Störe this morning. Have you asked for any kind of support from the Norwegian government for your fight for
10:36democracy in Venezuela? We had a great conversation this morning. And I am very excited also with what I
10:45experienced at the parliament. I am a former member of the parliament. And to see an actual parliament
10:52working with representatives of parties in all the spectrum, passionately and respectfully defending
11:01their views is something I, you know, means so much. And yes, the answer is yes. Not only right now,
11:10we need to speak out, to tell the truth, so that people understand what our country is suffering,
11:17what our political prisoners are going through. Children in Venezuela only go twice a week to public
11:25schools, because teachers earn $1 a day. So they have to get other jobs. So we have our children in the
11:34streets. And you know what it means in terms of the future and the risks they run. So yes, we need to speak
11:41out. We need to cut these resources that support repression now. But also, we will need a lot of
11:52ideas and advice regarding, you know, building up institutions such as the energy agency that we want
12:04to build in Venezuela for the new hydrocarbon sector that will, you know, arise in our country.
12:14Can I just follow up to say that the laureate does not have to ask for that support, because we respect the
12:20will of the Venezuelan people. And that is clear. They expressed under very difficult circumstances
12:26their views in an election, which gave, according to all sources, international and domestic,
12:32overwhelming response. They want another course. They want a democratic regime. And for Norway, you know,
12:39respecting the rule of law and the main principles of the UN charter is key. So we want to see that change
12:46happen. I think what we learned from these days talking to not only Venezuelan guests, but also
12:51representatives of Latin America is that you need a combination of what comes from inside and what
12:57comes from outside. And we are from outside. And we are, of course, ready to support Venezuela,
13:02democratic Venezuela, in building new and sound institutions. They can count on that.
13:07And the last question today comes from CNN. Hi, Marocorina. I'm Pao Mosquera with CNN. So now you've been in
13:16hiding for many, many months. Do you think that the government may have known where were you during this time?
13:23I don't think they have known where I have been. And certainly they would have done everything to stop me
13:32from coming here. And actually, I want to take advantage of your question to thank
13:42all those men and women that risked their life so that I could be here today.
13:49One day I will be able to tell you, because certainly I don't want to put them in risk right now.
13:56It was quite an experience. But I think it's worthwhile being here with you, telling the world
14:06what's happening in Venezuela, what it means to you as Norwegians and as Europeans or from all the
14:15places where you come from. Why Venezuela matters for the world. I mean, when you fight for freedom,
14:23you're fighting for humanity. And when we win because we will, this will be an extraordinary
14:33example for those countries that today do not have freedom and that have tell people are telling them
14:39what we used to hear that it was impossible, impossible to achieve it. And we decided to fight.
14:53well, we planted on events that הקŁure on the other side of the world. And we did so
15:08how about this. This turned tournament that was different now.
15:12And I think about it when the時 was never true, I didn't get back to Beethoven when the seven
15:14nugget five and one of them there was nothing here that might be talking about involved inıl
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