I don't believe in professional dissidents. I think it's just a phase, like adolescence.

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.

While it is undeniable that many have been driven to immorality and crime by the need to survive, it is equally evident that the possession of a significant surplus of material goods has never been a guarantee against covetousness, rapacity and the infinite variety of vice and pain which spring from such passions. Indeed, it could be argued that the unrelenting compulsion of those who already have much to acquire even more has generated greater injustice, immorality and wretchedness than the cumulative effect of the struggles of the severely underprivileged to better their lot.

If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.

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

Human rights and rule of law are inseparably connected.

I only used a cell phone for the first time after I was released. I had difficulty coping with it because it seemed so small and insubstantial.