When I was in London a Kachin youth criticized me for not condemning the Burmese military for their offensive in Kachin State. I answered "condemnation is not the solution." We want to build reconciliation, not condemnation.

Freedom must be demanded and defended, by those who have been denied it and by those who are already free.

Fearlessness may be a gift, but perhaps most precious is courage from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions.

I was a bit of a coward when I was small. I was terribly frightened of the dark.

The judiciary in Burma is not independent. It's widely known, everybody knows that.

Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.

A revolution simply means great change, significant change, and that's how I'm defining it - great change for the better, brought about through non-violent means.