Says Nobel laureate Machado

Democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said yesterday, in a speech delivered by her daughter during a ceremony Machado could not attend.

The Venezuelan opposition leader said prize held profound significance, not only for her country but for world. "It reminds the world that democracy is essential to peace," she said, via her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado. "And the most important, the lesson Venezuelans can share ...forged on a long and difficult path: if we want democracy, we must be prepared to fight for freedom."