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

Peace, development, and justice are all connected to each other. We cannot talk about economic development without talking about peace. How can we expect economic development in a battlefield?

What we are lacking in Burma is an independence effective judiciary, and unless we have all three of the democratic institutions - strong and healthy, we cannot say that our democratic processes (is complete).

It is the love of ordinary people, in Burma, in Japan or anywhere else in the world, for justice and peace and freedom that is our surest defense against the forces of unreason and extremism.

To have compromise you must first have dialog. That is the true path of democracy.

I wish people wouldn't think of me as a saint - unless they agree with the definition of a saint that a saint's a sinner who goes on trying.

Burmese political culture lacks an understanding of negotiated compromise. We have to build up that kind of culture.