Oslo, Dec 10 (EFE). - The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, urged on Wednesday Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to accept the results of the 2024 elections and resign from his post to lay the foundations for a 'democracy' in the country, as that is the will of the Venezuelan people.
'He must accept the electoral results and resign. He must lay the groundwork for a peaceful transition to democracy, because that is the will of the Venezuelan people,' he said.
Frydnes pointed out that more and more countries, 'even those with a long democratic tradition,' are drifting towards authoritarianism and militarism. 'Authoritarian regimes learn from each other. They share technologies and propaganda systems,' he added.
At the same time, he noted that behind Maduro's regime are Cuba, Russia, Iran, China and Hezbollah, which provide weapons, surveillance systems and economic lifelines.
'María Corina Machado and the Venezuelan opposition have lit a flame that no torture, no lie, and no fear can extinguish,' he said in his speech awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the ceremony, to which the Venezuelan opposition leader arrived late, but whose speech will be read by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado, Frydnes accused Maduro of turning Venezuela 'into a brutal and authoritarian state mired in a deep humanitarian and economic crisis,' while 'a small elite at the top, protected by power, weapons and impunity, gets rich.'
The head of the Nobel Peace Committee described the emigration of Venezuelans in recent years as 'one of the largest refugee crises in the world,' counted by the institution at more than 8 million people, that is, a quarter of the population.
Frydnes attacked the Caracas government for establishing 'a regime that silences, harasses and systematically attacks the opposition.'
'While we are sitting here in Oslo City Hall, there are innocent people locked in dark cells in Venezuela. They cannot hear today's speeches, only the screams of prisoners being tortured,' he said.
He described the recent death in Venezuelan state custody of former Nueva Esparta (insular) governor Alfredo Díaz at the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), known as El Helicoide, 'the largest torture chamber in Latin America,' as 'another victim of the regime.'
Frydnes, who framed the situation in Venezuela within a global advance of authoritarianism and said the world had 'turned its back,' maintained that Machado had participated in dialogue processes for years and accused the Venezuelan government of offering a manipulated version of the opposition to present itself as a guarantor of peace.
'Madam Machado has requested international attention, support and pressure, not an invasion of Venezuela. Let them know that the world is not turning its back on them. She has urged the population to defend their rights through peaceful and democratic means,' he stated.
In his speech, he reviewed the political career of the awardee, focusing mainly on the 2024 presidential elections, a 'decisive factor' in his choice for the Nobel, and described the opposition's action in photographing and securing copies of the minutes as 'an unprecedented grassroots mobilization in Venezuela and, probably, in the entire world.'
'To all those in Caracas and other cities in Venezuela who are forced to whisper the language of freedom: Let them hear us now. Let them know that the world is not turning its back on them. Let them know that freedom is near. May a new era dawn,' he said.
Concluding, he stated that the future of Venezuela can take many forms, 'but the present is one, and it is horrible.' 'Therefore, the democratic opposition in Venezuela 'must have our support, not our indifference or, worse still, our condemnation.' Let them know that freedom is near.'
