I don't want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism.

That's not how politics works - sometimes things move in a rather imperceptible way. There are no fireworks, and then comes a time when change comes unexpectedly. Sometimes change comes with a lot of fireworks, but not always.

Unless there is free and fair competition, there can't be healthy economic development. And what we have in Burma now is not an open-market economy that allows free and fair competition, but a form of colonialism makes a few people very, very wealthy. It's what you would crony capitalism.

Some believe that the only way to remove the authoritarian regime and replace it with a democratic one is through violent means. I would like to set the precedent of political change through political settlement, not through violence.

Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world... Kindness can change the lives of people.

Burma is located between China, India, and South East Asia. So it is quite natural that a country wanting diplomatic relations with our country would pay attention to who our regional neighbors are. It is not at all fair to ask a country to build relations with Burma but not take into account the situation in China. There is no way to think that taking the Chinese situation into consideration shows a disregard for Burma.

I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.