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The Last Six Years Afforded Me Much Time And Food For Thought. I Came To The Conclusion That The Human Race Is Not Divided Into Two Opposing Camps Of Good And Evil. It Is Made Up Of Those Who Are Capable Of Learning And Those Who Are Incapable Of Doing So.

-Aung San Suu Kyi

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The Last Six Years

Aung San Suu Kyi

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The Last Six Years Afforded Me Much Time And Food For Thought. I Came To The Conclusion That The Human Race Is Not Divided Into Two Opposing Camps Of Good And Evil. It Is Made Up Of Those Who Are Capable Of Learning And Those Who Are Incapable Of Doing So.

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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'm Rather Inclined To Liking People.

I Feel That The Bbc World Service Is Not As Versatile As It Used To Be - Or Perhaps I'm Not Listening At The Right Times.

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

The Value Systems Of Those With Access To Power And Of Those Far Removed From Such Access Cannot Be The Same. The Viewpoint Of The Privileged Is Unlike That Of The Underprivileged.

Underprivileged

One Wants To Be Together With One's Family. That's What Families Are About.

It Is Often In The Name Of Cultural Integrity As Well As Social Stability And National Security That Democratic Reforms Based On Human Rights Are Resisted By Authoritarian Governments.

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.

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.

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

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.

One Should Mature Over 20 Years.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Of Course I Regret Not Having Been Able To Spend Time With My Family.

Justice Is A Dream. But It Is A Dream That We Are Determined To Realize.

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

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.

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

I Don't Believe In Professional Dissidents. I Think It's Just A Phase, Like Adolescence.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sometimes I Think That A Parody Of Democracy Could Be More Dangerous Than A Blatant Dictatorship, Because That Gives People An Opportunity To Avoid Doing Anything About It.

Because Of Rampant Inflation, Living Standards Have Been Dropping For The Great Majority Of The Population. The People Are Poorer Because Standards Of Health And Education Have Fallen. And Conditions In The Rural Areas Are Worse Off Than They Have Ever Been. So, You Cannot Equate The So-called Open-market Economy Adopted By The Slorc With Any Real Development That Benefits People.

The French Say That To Part Is To Die A Little. To Be Forgotten Too Is To Die A Little. It Is To Lose Some Of The Links That Anchor Us To The Rest Of Humanity.

In Societies Where Men Are Truly Confident Of Their Own Worth Women Are Not Merely "tolerated", They Are Valued.

What Does Burma Have To Give The United States? We Can Give You The Opportunity To Engage With People Who Are Ready And Willing To Change A Society.

I Haven't Heard Any Music On The Bbc World Service In A Long Time. Maybe I'm Listening At The Wrong Times. But Not One Single Piece Of Music.

Burma Is Not Yet A Full-fledged Democracy. We Have Started Working On The Road To Full Democracy. We Have A Lot Of Things To Do In Order To Build A Democratic Structure And To Be Become A Full-fledged Democracy.

I Think One Must Take Responsibility For One's Actions And One's Decisions. But One Should Never Take -- One Should Never Assume That Everything That Happens For The Good Is Achieved By One's Self Alone.

Fear Is A Habit; I Am Not Afraid.

When I Was Under House Arrest, It Was The Bbc That Spoke To Me - I Listened.

All Repressive Laws Must Be Revoked, And Laws Introduced To Protect The Rights Of The People.

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.

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

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.

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

I Worry That Even Those Who Want To Reform Are Not Quite Sure How To Go About It. There Is So Much To Be Done.

I Can Say With Absolute Confidence That The General Public Of Burma Would Be Very Little Affected, If At All, By Sanctions. So Far, The Kind Of Investments That Have Come In Have Benefited The Public Very Little Indeed. If You Have Been In Burma Long Enough, You Will Be Aware Of The Fact That A Small Elite Has Developed That Is Extremely Wealthy. Perhaps They Would Be Affected, But My Concern Is Not With Them But With The General Public.

How Can You Call It A Sacrifice When You Choose To Do Something Because You Believe In It?

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.

I Think Sometimes If You Are Alone, You Are Freer Because Your Time Is Your Own.

I've Always Said There's No Hope Without Endeavor. Hope Has No Meaning Unless We Are Prepared To Work To Realize Our Hopes And Dreams But In Order To That We Do Need To Have Friends. We Need Those Who Believe In Us. Friends Are Those Who Believe In Us And Who Want To Help Us Whatever It Is That We Are Trying To Achieve.

If You Feel Helpless, Go Help Someone.

We Cannot Be Caught In The Bond Of Suspicion. We Have To Carry Out What We Should Be Doing With A Firm Determination.

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.

My Top Priority Is For People To Understand That They Have The Power To Change Things Themselves.

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

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

When You Feel Helpless, Help Someone.

A Lot Of The Roads, Bridges, Railways, And Such Are Built Through The Use Of Forced Labor, And That Is Causing The People Great Suffering. What We Put Into This In The Form Of Human Suffering Is Not Worth What Comes Out Of It.

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.

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

Some Of The Most Relaxing Weekends I Have Ever Enjoyed Were Those I Spent Quietly With A Sense Of All Work To Date Completed, And An Absorbing Mystery.

Maybe It Is Something To Do With Age, But I Have Become Fonder Of Poetry Than Of Prose.

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 Terms Of The 2008 Constitution [which Ensures The Military Will Continue To Be The Ultimate Authority] Could Not Benefit Burma In The Long Run. I Think This Constitution Should Be Revised.

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.

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

People Ask Me About What Sacrifices I've Made. I Always Answer: I've Made No Sacrifices, I've Made Choices.

Peace As A Goal Is An Ideal Which Will Not Be Contested By Any Government Or Nation, Not Even The Most Belligerent.

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

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.

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

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 Main Aim Of The [political] Dialogue Should Be To Resolve The Problems Of The Nation, Not To Find Who Is The Winner And Who Is The Loser. That's Not What It's All About. It's To Try And Find An Answer That Is Acceptable To All Parties Concerned, Which Would Of Course Require Some Give And Take.

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.

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.

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.

The Education And Empowerment Of Women Throughout The World Cannot Fail To Result In A More Caring, Tolerant, Just And Peaceful Life For All.

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.

With The Right Kind Of Institutions, Starting With The Rule Of Law, Burma Could Progress Very Quickly.

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 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.

Challenges Mean Opportunities As Well.

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.

If Suffering Were An Unavoidable Part Of Our Existence, We Should Try To Alleviate It As Far As Possible In Practical, Earthly Ways.

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.

It Is Essential To Institute A Legal Framework That Would Ensure Justice And Improve The Quality Of Life In Burma Immediately, Because The Greatest Suffering Among The People At The Moment Is Caused By Lack Of Justice And Lack Of The Rule Of Law.

What We Are Lacking In Burma Is An Independence Effective Judiciary, And Unless We Have All Three Of The Democratic Institutions - Strong And Healthy, We Cannot Say That Our Democratic Processes (is Complete).

It Is The Love Of Ordinary People, In Burma, In Japan Or Anywhere Else In The World, For Justice And Peace And Freedom That Is Our Surest Defense Against The Forces Of Unreason And Extremism.

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.

At The Moment I Would Like To Emphasize The Need For Vocational Training, For Non-formal Education In Burma To Help All Those Young People Who Have Suffered From A Bad Education. They Have To Be Trained To Earn Their Living. They Have To Have Enough Education Vocational Training To Be Able To Set Up Respectable Lives For Themselves.

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.

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 Was Speaking To A Writer The Other Day And He Gave Me A Valuable Piece Of Advice. He Said That You May Get To Where You Want To Go Quicker Through Violence, But The Healing Process Takes Longer. Whereas If You Don't Use Violence, There Is Not Much Healing Necessary, So You Win In The Long Run.

To Abolish Fear Correctly Is To Nurture Law And Order.

All Military Regimes Use Security As The Reason Why They Should Remain In Power. It's Nothing Original.

I Always Say That One Has No Right To Hope Without Endeavor.

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.

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

Absolute Peace In Our World Is An Unattainable Goal. But It Is One Towards Which We Must Continue To Journey, Our Eyes Fixed On It As A Traveller In A Desert Fixes His Eyes On The One Guiding Star That Will Lead Him To Salvation.

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.

Freedom And Democracy Are Dreams You Never Give Up.

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

I Learned To Work On A Computer Years Before I Was Placed Under House Arrest. Fortunately I Had Two Laptops When I Was Under House Arrest - One An Apple And One A Different Operating System. I Was Very Proud Of That Because I Know How To Use Both Systems.

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

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.

The Best Way To Deal With Aids Is Through Education. So We Need A Really Widespread Aids Education Program. In Fact, What We Need In Burma Is Education Of All Kinds - Political, Economic, And Medical. Aids Education Would Be Just Part Of A Whole Program For Education, Which Is So Badly Needed In Our Country.

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

We Have Been Making Constant Efforts, All The Time, To Start Dialogue With The Slorc, But You Know It Takes Two. We Don't Want A Monologue. We Would Like A Substantive Political Dialogue Among The Slorc, Political Leaders Including Myself, And Leaders Of Ethnic Groups-exactly As Stipulated In The U.n. General Assembly Resolution On Burma.

The Greatest Gift For An Individual Or A Nation... Was Abhaya, Fearlessness, Not Merely Bodily Courage But Absence Of Fear From The Mind.

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.

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.

There Should Be No Political Prisoners In A Democratic Country.

There Is No Hope Without Endeavor.

The Provision Of Basic Material Needs Is Not Sufficient To Make Minority Groups And Indigenous Peoples Feel They Are Truly Part Of The Greater National Entity. For That They Have To Be Confident That They Too Have An Active Role To Play In Shaping The Destiny Of The State That Demands Their Allegiance.

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

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

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 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.

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

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.

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.

Fearlessness May Be A Gift, But Perhaps Most Precious Is Courage From Cultivating The Habit Of Refusing To Let Fear Dictate One's Actions.

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.

I Think More Women Should Be Involved In Politics For The Good Of The Human Race.

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.

In Burma, Under The Present Constitution, The Army Can Always Take Over All Parts Of Government If They Think This Is Necessary. So Until The Army Comes Out Clearly And Consistently In Support Of The Democratic Process We Cannot Say That It's Irreversible. But I Don't Think We Need Fear A Reversal Too Much Either.

Fires Of Suffering And Strife Are Raging Around The World.

My Attitude To Peace Is Rather Based On The Burmese Definition Of Peace - It Really Means Removing All The Negative Factors That Destroy Peace In This World. So Peace Does Not Mean Just Putting An End To Violence Or To War, But To All Other Factors That Threaten Peace, Such As Discrimination, Such As Inequality, Poverty.

Part Of Our Struggle Is To Make The International Community Understand That We Are A Poor Country Not Because There Is An Insufficiency Of Resources And Investment, But Because We Are Deprived Of The Basic Institutions And Practices That Make For Good Government.

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.

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

There Is A Time To Be Quiet And A Time To Talk.

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

As We Strive To Teach Others We Must Have The Humility To Acknowledge That We Too Still Have Much To Learn.

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

Self Confidence

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

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.

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.

After All It Was My Father Who Founded The Burmese Army And I Do Have A Sense Of Warmth Towards The Burmese Army.

There Is No Intrinsic Virtue To Law And Order Unless 'law' Is Equated With Justice And 'order' With The Discipline Of A People Satisfied That Justice Has Been Done.

Fundamental Violations Of Human Rights Always Lead To People Feeling Less And Less Human.

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

So, I Think That For The Authorities To Say Now That Calling For Sanctions Will Prevent Dialogue Is A Ploy To Stop Us From Supporting Sanctions. It Has To Be The Other Way Around: Dialogue First, Then We Stop Our Call For Sanctions, Because Sanctions Make People Understand That You Cannot Exercise Repression And At The Same Time Expect International Support.

If Ideas And Beliefs Are To Be Denied Validity Outside The Geographical And Cultural Bounds Of Their Origin, Buddhism Would Be Confined To North India, Christianity To A Narrow Tract In The Middle East And Islam To Arabia.

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.

It's Very Difficult To Have Any Faith In The Sincerity Of The Slorc About Stamping Out Drug Production If They Find It So Easy To Forgive A Drug Baron Whom At One Time They Said They Would Never, Never Forgive And Would Never, Never Regard As Anything But A Drug Runner. The Slorc Is Far More Aggressive In Its Attitude Toward The National League For Democracy Than Against Drug Traffickers.

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

Please Use Your Freedom To Promote Ours.

We Have To Choose Between Dialogue And Utter Devastation.

I Don't Think You Can Work On Feelings In Politics, Apart From Anything Else, Political Change Can Come Very Unexpectedly, Sometimes Overnight When You Least Expect It.

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

I Think By Now I Have Made It Fairly Clear That I Am Not Very Happy With The Word Hope. I Don't Believe In People Just Hoping. We Work For What We Want. I Always Say That One Has No Right To Hope Without Endeavor, So We Work To Try And Bring About The Situation That Is Necessary For The Country, And We Are Confident That We Will Get To The Negotiation Table At One Time Or Another. This Is The Way All Such Situations Pan Out Even With The Most Truculent Dictator.

What I Have Experienced Is Nothing Compared To What Political Prisoners In Prisons Suffer.

Human Beings The World Over Need Freedom And Security That They May Be Able To Realize Their Full Potential.

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

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.

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.

You Should Never Let Your Fears Prevent You From Doing What You Know Is Right.

I Don't Think Of Myself As Unbreakable. Perhaps I'm Just Rather Flexible And Adaptable.

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

Religion Is About Increasing Peace And Harmony In The World. ... People Of All Different Religions Should Be Given The Opportunity To Pursue Good In Their Own Way.

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.

My Attitude Is, Do As Much As I Can While I'm Free. And If I'm Arrested I'll Still Do As Much As I Can.

We Must All Work Together If We Are All To Live Together In Unity And Harmony.

Working Together

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.

[t]here Is A Vast Difference In The Attitude Of A Man With A Gun In His Hand And That Of One Without A Gun In His Hand. When A Man Does Not Have A Gun In His Hand, Or A Woman For The Matter, He Or She Tries Harder To Use His Or Her Mind, Sense Of Compassion, And Intelligence To Work Out A Solution.

I've Always Thought That The Best Solution For Those Who Feel Helpless Is For Them To Help Others.

Solution To A Problem

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.

Kindness Can Change The Lives Of People.

Since We Live In This World, We Have To Do Our Best For This World.

One Person Alone Can't Do Anything As Important As Bringing Genuine Democracy To A Country.

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.

We Will Surely Get To Our Destination If We Join Hands.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

In Burma, We Need To Improve Education In The Country - Not Only Primary Education, But Secondary And Tertiary Education. Our Education System Is Very Very Bad. But, Of Course, If You Look At Primary Education, We Have To Think In Terms Of Early Childhood Development That's Going Back To Before The Child Is Born - Making Sure The Mother Is Well Nourished And The Child Is Properly Nurtured.

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.

Taking Sides Cannot Bring Peace And Balance.

Fear Is Not The Natural State Of Civilized People.

Basic Human Rights

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

The Quintessential Revolution Is That Of The Spirit, Born Of An Intellectual Conviction Of The Need For Change In Those Mental Attitudes And Values Which Shape The Course Of A Nation's Development. A Revolution Which Aims Merely At Changing Official Policies And Institutions With A View To An Improvement In Material Conditions Has Little Chance Of Genuine Success. Without A Revolution Of The Spirit, The Forces Which Produced The Iniquities Of The Old Order Would Continue To Be Operative, Posing A Constant Threat To The Process Of Reform And Regeneration.

To Be Forgotten, Is To Die A Little.

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.

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

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

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.

As You Look At Me And Listen To Me, Please Remember The Often Repeated Truth That One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

The Last Six Years Afforded Me Much Time And Food For Thought. I Came To The Conclusion That The Human Race Is Not Divided Into Two Opposing Camps Of Good And Evil. It Is Made Up Of Those Who Are Capable Of Learning And Those Who Are Incapable Of Doing So.

Human Rights And Rule Of Law Are Inseparably Connected.

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.

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