Democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom to survive, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Wednesday, in a speech delivered by her daughter during a ceremony Machado could not attend.
The Venezuelan opposition leader said that the prize held profound significance, not only for her country but for the world.
“It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace,” she said, via her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado. “And the most important lesson Venezuelans can share with the world, is a lesson forged on a long and difficult path: if we want democracy, we must be prepared to fight for freedom.”
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A large portrait of a smiling Machado hung in the Oslo City Hall to represent her.
Winner could not reach Oslo in time
The 58-year-old engineer was due to receive the award at Oslo City Hall in the presence of King Harald, in defiance of a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country and after spending more than a year in hiding.