Every government must consider the security of the country. That is just part of the responsibilities of any government. But true security can only come out of unity within a country where there are so many ethnic nationalities.

Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.

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

In Burma, we need to find out what we have to do in order to keep the democratization process on track. Economic reforms have to be taken one by one. You see it's not just speed that's important, it's sequencing as well. You've got to get the speed right; you have to get the sequencing right.

Human rights must be protected by the rule of law, and there can never be occasions where human rights can be neglected or ignored or the rule of law set aside.

I would like to have seen my sons growing up.

India and Burma have been close friends since the days we were struggling for independence. And I'm a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and all those leaders of India's independence movement. I would like to believe the aspirations and hopes we shared in the past will continue to bind us in the future.