If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.

It is part of the unceasing human endeavor to prove that the spirit of man can transcend the flaws of his own nature.

The quintessential revolution is that of spirit. Without this, the forces which produce the inequalities of the old order will continue to operate.

When I was under house arrest, it was the BBC that spoke to me - I listened.

It is incorrect to say there have been no reforms at all in Burma; there have of course been reforms, but we still need to do more for the people. To become a democratic society we have to continually be reforming.

It is not power that corrupts but fear.

We must contemplate what the meaning of being "educated" is. Some people think a person with plenty of degrees is an educated one. But I believe a person who can judge a situation correctly and make timely decisions is more important.