Aung San Suu Kyi Quotes

After I was released, people used to keep asking me, 'what's it like to be free? And it was very difficult for me to answer. I'd always felt free. As far as my state of mind was concerned, I didn't feel any different...People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.

One prisoner of conscience is one too many.

I've always said that the most important thing is job creation. Jobs will earn people money and build self-confidence.

Maybe it is something to do with age, but I have become fonder of poetry than of prose.

Calamities that are not the result of purely natural phenomena usually have their origins, distant and obscure though they may be, in common human failings.

Jobless people will have no self-confidence. And they feel they are worthless because when you don't have a job you have to rely on someone.

The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech.

In politics, you also have to be cautiously optimistic.

I have been arrested time and time again, and my colleagues, too. I cannot guarantee that I'll not be arrested again. But it's not something that weighs on my mind. I'll do what I can while I'm free. If they arrest me again, I'll do what I can while I'm under arrest.

It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

There have been many claims that [U.S.] sanctions have hurt Burma economically, but I did not agree with that point of view. If you look at reports by the IMF, for example, they make quite clear that the economic impact on Burma has not been that great. But I think the political impact has been very great and that has helped us in our struggle for 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.

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the truth unfettered by fear.

To abolish fear correctly is to nurture law and order.

Even if you feel fear, you still have to go ahead and do what you believe in.

If you look at the democratic process as a game of chess, there have to be many, many moves before you get to checkmate. And simply because you do not make any checkmate in three moves does not mean it's stalemate. There's a vast difference between no checkmate and stalemate. This is what the democratic process is like.

I was given some Harry Potter books by a young friend. I wanted to know why young people liked it so much. And I noted that there were some values in Harry Potter that are common to many books that are popular all over the world. In the end, I think people prefer the good to win, rather than the bad.

I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear

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.

I've always tried to explain democracy is not perfect. But it gives you a chance to shape your own destiny.

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?

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.

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

If you want democracy, you have got to be prepared to accept the responsibilities of democracy. The people have to take part. They have to understand that they have the power to move things, and they must really commit themselves to change if they want it.

I don't seem to have time to breathe. Everything's happening so quickly, and so much is happening all the time.

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.

We're nowhere near democracy. I've been released, that's all.

My opinion is the greatest reward that any government could get is the approval of the people. If the people are happy and the people are at peace and the government has done something for them, that's the greatest reward I think any government could hope for.

In Burma, our main goal in amending the constitution is not to phase out the military from politics. Our main point is to put the constitution in line with international standards and norms.

Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world... Kindness can change the lives of people.

Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival.

In a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear. Never let fear prevent you from doing right.

It is not enough to sit and hope. You have to work in order to realize your hopes.

If you give in to intimidation, you'll go on being intimidated

When you feel helpless, help someone.

Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.

All military regimes use security as the reason why they should remain in power. It's nothing original.

In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth women are not merely "tolerated", they are valued.

The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.

Human rights and rule of law are inseparably connected.

I was surprised by the response of young people because there is a perception that those younger than the 1988 generation are not interested in politics.

All repressive laws must be revoked, and laws introduced to protect the rights of the people.

In Burma, we have only about four percent of the people in our country who are (college) graduates. So can we not value the majority? No, we must. If we just value the graduates, then does that mean our people are not valuable? I don't believe that. What is important is we need right people in right positions.

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.

More people, especially young people, are realising that if they want change, they've got to go about it themselves – they can't depend on a particular person, ie me, to do all the work. They are less easy to fool than they used to be, they now know what's going on all over the world.

I've always been strongly on the side of non-violence. Also, I think that if you use the wrong means, the ends themselves get distorted.

The judiciary must be strengthened and released from political interference.