Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.

Burma wants to have good relations with our neighboring countries, China and India. I do believe the United States itself wants to live in harmony with China and India. That's why we have to lay down political policies that are fair for everyone.

Those who have to face persistent political persecution become highly politicized. Our lives take on a rhythm different from those who, on waking up in the morning, do not need to wonder who might have been arrested during the night and what further acts of blatant injustice might be committed against our people later during the day. Our antennae become highly sensitive to vibrations barely noticed by those whose everyday existence is removed from political struggle.

I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable.

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

Some of the most relaxing weekends I have ever enjoyed were those I spent quietly with a sense of all work to date completed, and an absorbing mystery.

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.