There should be no political prisoners in a democratic country.

[T]here is a vast difference in the attitude of a man with a gun in his hand and that of one without a gun in his hand. When a man does not have a gun in his hand, or a woman for the matter, he or she tries harder to use his or her mind, sense of compassion, and intelligence to work out a solution.

I think that freedom is sometimes a state of mind. Sometimes, mind you, but not always.

I do not hold to non-violence for moral reasons, but for political and practical reasons.

Burma is not yet a full-fledged democracy. We have started working on the road to full democracy. We have a lot of things to do in order to build a democratic structure and to be become a full-fledged democracy.

It is not a sacrifice, it's a choice. If you choose to do something, then you shouldn't say it's a sacrifice, because nobody forced you to do it

I feel that the BBC World Service is not as versatile as it used to be - or perhaps I'm not listening at the right times.