Democracy acknowledges the right to differ as well as the duty to settle differences peacefully. Authoritarian governments see criticism of their actions and doctrines as a challenge to combat.

The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development.

People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.

A revolution simply means great change, significant change, and that's how I'm defining it - great change for the better, brought about through non-violent means.

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?

I do not like to encourage personalized politics, so we would not like it to be thought that just because certain political personalities were attacked, this means the situation is very grave. The true gravity of the situation comes from the fact that ordinary members of the NLD are repressed all the time. We don't want a completely paralyzed political organization, while a select few leaders are protected by international attention.

For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.