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Saints, It Has Been Said, Are The Sinners Who Go On Trying. So Free Men And Women Are The Oppressed Who Go On Trying And Who In The Process Make Themselves Fit To Bear The Responsibilities And Uphold The Disciplines Which Will Maintain A Free Society.

-Aung San Suu Kyi

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Saints, It Has Been

Aung San Suu Kyi

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Saints, It Has Been Said, Are The Sinners Who Go On Trying. So Free Men And Women Are The Oppressed Who Go On Trying And Who In The Process Make Themselves Fit To Bear The Responsibilities And Uphold The Disciplines Which Will Maintain A Free Society.

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Burma Is Located Between China, India, And South East Asia. So It Is Quite Natural That A Country Wanting Diplomatic Relations With Our Country Would Pay Attention To Who Our Regional Neighbors Are. It Is Not At All Fair To Ask A Country To Build Relations With Burma But Not Take Into Account The Situation In China. There Is No Way To Think That Taking The Chinese Situation Into Consideration Shows A Disregard For Burma.

Burma Wants To Have Good Relations With Our Neighboring Countries, China And India. I Do Believe The United States Itself Wants To Live In Harmony With China And India. That's Why We Have To Lay Down Political Policies That Are Fair For Everyone.

One Should Mature Over 20 Years.

I Wish People Wouldn't Think Of Me As A Saint - Unless They Agree With The Definition Of A Saint That A Saint's A Sinner Who Goes On Trying.

Young People Drift Away From Society Because, In Many Cases, They Have No Hope Or Goals. So, Hope Will Have To Be Given To The Young.

In General People Feel More Relaxed About Participating In Politics. They Aren't Frightened As They Used To Be.

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.

It's Good To Know That The People Of Different Countries Are Really Concerned And Involved In The Movement To Help Burma. I Think In Some Ways It's Better To Have The People Of The World On Your Side Than The Governments Of The World, Even If Governments Can Be More Effective In Certain Directions.

Some Of The Best Indicators Of A Country Developing Along The Right Lines Are Healthy Mothers Giving Birth To Healthy Children Who Are Assured Of Good Care And A Sound Education That Will Enable Them To Face The Challenges Of A Changing World.

The Basis Of Democratic Freedom Is Freedom Of Speech.

Freedom Of Speech

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People Must Have Freedom And At The Same Time They Must Have Security. They Must Not Be Using Freedom To Fight With Each Other. When They Have Security Of The Mind, Their Fears Will Subside, And Their Mistrust Of Others Will Also Decline. There Will Be No Need To Worry That Somebody Will Be Looking At You With Jealousy. They Won't Have To Worry That Someone Will Report Some Lies To Their Superiors And Get Them Into Trouble. This Fear Of Being Unjustly Punished Would Disappear And I Believe Confidence And Trust Will Mount And People Will Have More Love And Respect Towards One Another.

Unless There Is Free And Fair Competition, There Can't Be Healthy Economic Development. And What We Have In Burma Now Is Not An Open-market Economy That Allows Free And Fair Competition, But A Form Of Colonialism Makes A Few People Very, Very Wealthy. It's What You Would Crony Capitalism.

We Must Make Democracy The Popular Creed...if We Should Fail To Do This, Our People Are Bound To Suffer... That Is What My Father Said. It Is The Reason Why I Am Participating In This Struggle.

When You Think Of Buddhism, You're Likely To Think Of Peace And Tranquility.

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I've Always Said That The More Coordinated The Efforts Of The International Community Are, The Better It Will Be For Democracy In Burma.

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Assuming The Chairmanship Of Asean Isn't Going To Do Anything About Improving The Lives Of People.

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Regimented Minds Cannot Grasp The Concept Of Confrontation As An Open Exchange Of Major Differences With A View To Settlement Through Genuine Dialogue.

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I've Always Said That The Most Important Thing Is Job Creation. Jobs Will Earn People Money And Build Self-confidence.

Self Confidence

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Taking Sides Cannot Bring Peace And Balance.

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To Abolish Fear Correctly Is To Nurture Law And Order.

It Is Part Of The Unceasing Human Endeavor To Prove That The Spirit Of Man Can Transcend The Flaws Of His Own Nature.

It Is Not Power That Corrupts But Fear.

I Was Heartened That People Everywhere Want Certain Basic Freedoms, Even If They Live In A Totally Different Cultural Environment.

The Nobel Peace Prize Opened Up A Door In My Heart.

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Challenges Mean Opportunities As Well.

A More Significant Phase Should Mean Serious Political Dialogue.

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Once Serious Political Dialogue Has Begun, The International Community Can Assume That We Have Achieved Genuine Progress Along The Road To Real Democratisation.

Burmese Political Culture Lacks An Understanding Of Negotiated Compromise. We Have To Build Up That Kind Of Culture.

The Important Thing Is Fear Should Not Control Your Actions. It Should Not Dictate What You Do.

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Underprivileged

If I Advocate Cautious Optimism It Is Not Because I Do Not Have Faith In The Future But Because I Do Not Want To Encourage Blind Faith.

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.

Guarantees That

People Should Be Concerned About Installing A More Sensible, Responsible Government. What We [the Burmese] Need Is A Government That Is Accountable And Transparent, So That The People Know What It Is Doing And Can Judge For Themselves Whether Or Not They Like What Is Being Done.

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Foreign Investors Will Not Come And Do Things Without Any Returns For Themselves. And We Don't Expect Them To Come Work For Us Free. But The Local Population Should Benefit Rightfully. The Locals Should Benefit Just A Little More Than The Companies.

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.

If You Feel Helpless, Go Help Someone.

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Kindness Can Change The Lives Of People.

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.

Fires Of Suffering And Strife Are Raging Around The World.

Burmese Authors And Artists Can Play The Role That Artists Everywhere Play. They Help To Mold The Outlook Of A Society - Not The Whole Outlook And They Are Not The Only Ones To Mold The Outlook Of Society, But They Have An Important Role To Play There. And I Think If They Take Up This Role Seriously And Link It To The Kind Of Changes Were Wish To Bring About In Our Country They Could Be A Tremendous Help.

I Think, If You Have Enough Inner Resources, Then You Can Live In Isolation For Long Periods Of Time And Not Feel Diminished By It.

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?

The Search For Scapegoats Is Essentially An Abnegation Of Responsibility: It Indicates An Inability To Assess Honestly And Intelligently The True Nature Of The Problems Which Lie At The Root Of Social And Economic Difficulties And A Lack Of Resolve In Grappling With Them.

There Is Nothing To Compare With The Courage Of Ordinary People Whose Names Are Unknown And Whose Sacrifices Pass Unnoticed. The Courage That Dares Without Recognition, Without The Protection Of Media Attention, Is A Courage That Humbles And Inspires And Reaffirms Our Faith In Humanity.

It Would Be Difficult To Dispel Ignorance Unless There Is Freedom To Pursue The Truth Unfettered By Fear.

As The Twentieth Century Draws To A Close It Has Become Obvious That Material Yardsticks Alone Cannot Serve As An Adequate Measure Of Human Well-being. Even As Basic An Issue As Poverty Has To Be Re-examined To Take Into Account The Psychological Sense Of Deprivation That Makes People Feel Poor.

I Think It's Time For The Army To Understand That Power Should Be Enshrined In The People If We Are To Be A Genuine Democracy And Not In Any Particular Institution Or Organisation.

In Terms Of The History Of A Far Reaching Movement, 20 Years Is Not That Long.

We're Nowhere Near Democracy. I've Been Released, That's All.

Leaders Of Political Parties Need To Keep In Contact With The People; That's What It's All About. If Violence Were To Erupt, I Am Fairly Confident That We Could Control Our People. Whether Or Not The Authorities Can Control Theirs Is Another Matter Altogether.

There Are Those Who Argue That The Concept Of Human Rights Is Not Applicable To All Cultures. We In The National League For Democracy Believe That Human Rights Are Of Universal Relevance. But Even Those Who Do Not Believe In Human Rights Must Certainly Agree That The Rule Of Law Is Most Important. Without The Rule Of Law There Can Be No Peace.

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.

I Don't Understand Why People Say That I Am Full Of Courage. I Feel Terribly Nervous.

You May Not Think About Politics, But Politics Think About You.

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 Don't Like To Be Called A Symbol. And I Don't Like To Be Called An Icon. I Will Just Say That I Have To Work Very, Very Hard. So I'd Rather Be Known As A Hard Worker. I Don't Think Symbols Do Much, Nor Icons.

It Is Undeniably Easier To Ignore The Hardships Of Those Who Are Too Weak To Demand Their Rights Than To Respond Sensitively To Their Needs. To Care Is To Accept Responsibility, To Dare To Act In Accordance With The Dictum That The Ruler Is The Strength Of The Helpless.

Where There Is No Justice There Can Be No Secure Peace.

War Is Not The Only Arena Where Peace Is Done To Death.

If You're Feeling Helpless, Help Someone.

That's Not How Politics Works - Sometimes Things Move In A Rather Imperceptible Way. There Are No Fireworks, And Then Comes A Time When Change Comes Unexpectedly. Sometimes Change Comes With A Lot Of Fireworks, But Not Always.

I Do Not Hold To Non-violence For Moral Reasons, But For Political And Practical Reasons.

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.

If You Want To Bring An End To Long-standing Conflict, You Have To Be Prepared To Compromise.

People Need Security Of The Mind. Why Do They Want Democracy? Because It Can Give Them Freedom And Security In A Balanced Way.

As I Travel Through My Country, People Often Ask Me How It Feels To Have Been Imprisoned In My Home -first For Six Years, Then For 19 Months. How Could I Stand The Separation From Family And Friends? It Is Ironic, I Say, That In An Authoritarian State It Is Only The Prisoner Of Conscience Who Is Genuinely Free. Yes, We Have Given Up Our Right To A Normal Life. But We Have Stayed True To That Most Precious Part Of Our Humanity-our Conscience.

The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Recognizes That 'if Man Is Not To Be Compelled To Have Recourse, As A Last Resort, To Rebellion Against Tyranny And Oppression', Human Rights Should Be Protected By The Rule Of Law. That Just Laws Which Uphold Human Rights Are The Necessary Foundation Of Peace And Security Would Be Denied Only By Closed Minds Which Interpret Peace As The Silence Of All Opposition And Security As The Assurance Of Their Own Power.

I'm Not The Only One Working For Democracy In Burma - There Are So Many People Who Have Worked For It Because They Believe That This Is The Only Way We Can Maintain The Dignity Of Our People.

The Quintessential Revolution Is That Of Spirit. Without This, The Forces Which Produce The Inequalities Of The Old Order Will Continue To Operate.

War Is Not The Only Arena Where Peace Is Done To Death. Wherever Suffering Is Ignored, There Will Be The Seeds Of Conflict, For Suffering Degrades And Embitters And Enrages.

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.

To View The Opposition As Dangerous Is To Misunderstand The Basic Concepts Of Democracy. To Oppress The Opposition Is To Assault The Very Foundation Of Democracy.

The Important Thing Is Burma Needs To End The Civil War And For This To Happen Both Sides Must Want To End The War.

I Think Corporations Should Give More Attention To This Suffering And Should Wait To Invest Until There Is A Responsible Government In Burma. I Do Not Think It Is A Good Idea To Separate Economics From Politics; In Fact, I Do Not Think Economics Can Be Separated From Politics It's Quite Understandable That Many Business Concerns Think Only About Their Own Profits It's Up To The Public To Put As Much Pressure As It Can On These Companies, Through Shareholder Resolutions And Public Actions.

Responsible Government

I Am Not Unaware Of The Saying That More Tears Have Been Shed Over Wishes Granted Than Wishes Denied.

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.

When The Nobel Committee Chose To Honor Me, The Road I Had Chosen Of My Own Free Will Became A Less Lonely Path To Follow.

We Do Need Great Change In Burma. We Are Trying To Build A New Society, A Society Where Basic Human Rights Are Respected, And Where Our People Enjoy All The Benefits Of Democratic Institutions.

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.

It Cannot Be Doubted That In Most Countries Today Women, In Comparison To Men, Still Remain Underprivileged.

If The Restrictions On The Work Of My Party And On Me Personally Are Not Removed In The Very, Very Near Future - That Is In A Matter Of Days - I Think The United States Should Start Thinking Seriously Of Sanctions. This Is Really About As Bad As It Has Ever Been.

It Is His Capacity For Self-improvement And Self-redemption Which Most Distinguishes Man From The Mere Brute.

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.

I Was A Prisoner, But I Always Felt Free Because I Was Not Frightened So For Me Real Freedom Is Freedom From Fear.

I've Never Thought Of Myself As Being Particularly Brave - I Used To Be Frightened Of The Dark When I Was Small. And I'm Not Very Good With Dead Rats And Things Like That. But I Face What Has To Be Faced And I Hope As Best As I'm Able.

The Peace Of Our World Is Indivisible. As Long As Negative Forces Are Getting The Better Of Positive Forces Anywhere, We Are All At Risk.

I Think I Should Be Active Politically. Because I Look Upon Myself As A Politician. That's Not A Dirty Work You Know. Some People Think That There Are Something Wrong With Politicians. Of Course, Something Wrong With Some Politicians.

I Don't Seem To Have Time To Breathe. Everything's Happening So Quickly, And So Much Is Happening All The Time.

If You Can Make People Understand Why Freedom Is So Important Through The Arts, That Would Be A Big Help.

If You Want To Bring An End To Long-standing Conflict, You Have To Be Prepared To Compromise. If Either Or Both Sides Insist On Getting Everything That They Want - That Is To Say 100 Percent Of Their Demands To Be Met, Then There Can Never Be A Settlement.

I Still Oppose "visit Myanmar Year," And I Would Ask Tourists To Stay Away. Burma Is Not Going To Run Away. They Should Come Back To Burma At A Time When It Is A Democratic Society Where People Are Secure - Where There Is Justice, Where There Is Rule Of Law. They'll Have A Much Better Time. And They Can Travel Around Burma With A Clear Conscience.

When You Decide To Follow A Certain Path, You Should Follow It To The End And Not Be Diverted From It For Personal Reasons.

Every Thought, Every Word, And Every Action That Adds To The Positive And The Wholesome Is A Contribution To Peace. Each And Every One Of Us Is Capable Of Making Such A Contribution.

Please Use Your Freedom To Promote Ours.

Fear Is A Habit; I Am Not Afraid.

I Think That Freedom Is Sometimes A State Of Mind. Sometimes, Mind You, But Not Always.

There Can Be No Civil Peace Without The Rule Of Law.

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.

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.

You Have A Great Many Things To Do When You Are Under House Arrest. On The One Hand, It Is More Comfortable Than Sitting In Prison; On The Other Hand, You Have To Look After A Household, Which Is Strenuous Under Such Circumstances.

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.

All Right, Your Knees May Be Knocking But That Shouldn't Prevent You From Going Ahead And Doing What You Need To Do.

Human Rights And Rule Of Law Are Inseparably Connected.

I Could Listen To The Radio And I Had Access To Books From Time To Time. Not All The Time.

Freedom And Democracy Are Dreams You Never Give Up.

When I Was In London A Kachin Youth Criticized Me For Not Condemning The Burmese Military For Their Offensive In Kachin State. I Answered "condemnation Is Not The Solution." We Want To Build Reconciliation, Not Condemnation.

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.

When We Think Of The State Of The Economy, We Are Not Thinking In Terms Of Money Flow. We Are Thinking In Terms Of The Effect On Everyday Lives Of People.

Sometimes I Didn't Even Have Enough Money To Eat. I Became So Weak From Malnourishment That My Hair Fell Out, And I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed.

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.

Significant Change

Sometimes, 24 Hours Can Bring A Total Revolutionary Change.

Democracy, Like Liberty, Justice And Other Social And Political Rights, Is Not "given", It Is Earned Through Courage, Resolution And Sacrifice.

Early Childhood Development Has Proved To Be Very Beneficial And Very Cost-effective In Societies Where This Is Been Tried. So Let's Not Confine Ourselves To Primary Education. Let's Think Of Early Childhood Development And Education As A Whole.

Those Who Have To Face Persistent Political Persecution Become Highly Politicized. Our Lives Take On A Rhythm Different From Those Who, On Waking Up In The Morning, Do Not Need To Wonder Who Might Have Been Arrested During The Night And What Further Acts Of Blatant Injustice Might Be Committed Against Our People Later During The Day. Our Antennae Become Highly Sensitive To Vibrations Barely Noticed By Those Whose Everyday Existence Is Removed From Political Struggle.

To Have Compromise You Must First Have Dialog. That Is The True Path Of Democracy.

The Good Ruler Sublimates His Needs As An Individual To The Service Of The Nation.

Each Man Has In Him The Potential To Realize The Truth Through His Own Will And Endeavour And To Help Others To Realize It.

I've Always Tried To Explain Democracy Is Not Perfect. But It Gives You A Chance To Shape Your Own Destiny.

We Achieve Everything By Our Efforts Alone. Our Fate Is Not Decided By An Almighty God. We Decide Our Own Fate By Our Actions. You Have To Gain Mystery Over Yourself. It Is Not A Matter Of Sitting Back And Accepting.

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 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.

One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

As Long As There Is No Law In Burma, Any Individual Here Can Be Arrested At Any Time.

A Most Insidious Form Of Fear Is That Which Masquerades As Common Sense Or Even Wisdom, Condemning As Foolish, Reckless, Insignificant Or Futile The Small, Daily Acts Of Courage Which Help To Preserve Man's Self-respect And Inherent Human Dignity.

The Act Of Willingly Subtracting From One's Own Limited Store Of The Good And The Agreeable For The Sake Of Adding To That Of Others Reflects The Understanding That Individual Happiness Needs A Base Broader Than The Mere Satisfaction Of Selfish Passions. From There, It Is Not Such A Large Step To The Realization That Respecting The Susceptibilities And Rights Of Others Is As Important As Defending One's Own Susceptibilities And Rights If Civilized Society Is To Be Safeguarded.

Individual Happiness

There's A Certain Age When Your Height Stops Growing And You Cannot Change That. This Sort Of Body Growth Cannot Be Fixed. But There Are Many Things That Can Be Changed. You Might Have A Small Body Structure But There Are Opportunities To Make Yourself Very Fit And Healthy. So We'll Have To Work Hard In Many Aspects.

I Felt That It Was My Duty Not To Senselessly Waste My Time. And Since I Didn't Want To Waste My Time, I Tried To Accomplish As Much As Possible.

Wasting My Time

Lasting Solutions Are Always Difficult To Come To. But They Will Have To Persevere. I've Been Repeating Ad Nauseam That We In Burma We Are Weak With Regard To The Culture Of Negotiated Compromises, That We Have To Develop The Ability To Achieve Such Compromises.

I Look Upon Myself As A Politician. That Isn't A Dirty Word.

Solidarity Is A Beautiful Word Because It Means That You Reach Out To Those Who Are Different From You And Who Have To Cope With Different Circumstances Because We Recognize That We All Share The Same Human Needs And Same Values. It Is The Values That Count Most Of All. The Value Of Freedom Of Thought, The Value Of Democratic Practices, The Value Of Respect For Your Fellow Human Beings.

The [burmese] Government Appears To Be More Interested In Stamping Out Political Activity Than Drug Addiction. Very Few University Students On The Campus Could Get Away With Engaging In Political Activities, But They Seem To Be Able To Get Away With Taking Drugs. We Have Heard That It Is Very Easy To Obtain Drugs On The University Campuses.

University Students

I Don't Want Burma To Be A Basket Case Forever.

I Do Not Look Upon My Life As A Sacrifice At All.

I Think There's A Need For The Participation Of The Military For The Stability Of The Transformation Period Of Burma. If The Military And The People Do Unite Together For The Sake Of Our Country, We Can Reach The Development Of Our Country In A Very Short Time.

Human Beings Want To Be Free And However Long They May Agree To Stay Locked Up, To Stay Oppressed, There Will Come A Time When They Say 'that's It.' Suddenly They Find Themselves Doing Something That They Never Would Have Thought They Would Be Doing, Simply Because Of The Human Instinct That Makes Them Turn Their Face Towards Freedom.

Natural Instinct

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