It is part of the unceasing human endeavor to prove that the spirit of man can transcend the flaws of his own nature.

I can say with absolute confidence that the general public of Burma would be very little affected, if at all, by sanctions. So far, the kind of investments that have come in have benefited the public very little indeed. If you have been in Burma long enough, you will be aware of the fact that a small elite has developed that is extremely wealthy. Perhaps they would be affected, but my concern is not with them but with the general public.

Even one voice can be heard loudly all over the world in this day and age.

Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men and women are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society.

Human rights must be protected by the rule of law, and there can never be occasions where human rights can be neglected or ignored or the rule of law set aside.

When the Nobel Committee chose to honor me, the road I had chosen of my own free will became a less lonely path to follow.

Maybe it is something to do with age, but I have become fonder of poetry than of prose.