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.

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.

When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons.

Justice is a dream. But it is a dream that we are determined to realize.

With the right kind of institutions, starting with the rule of law, Burma could progress very quickly.

Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by any government or nation, not even the most belligerent.

The people of my country want the two freedoms that spell security: freedom from want and freedom from fear.

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

If you're feeling helpless, help someone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How can you call it a sacrifice when you choose to do something because you believe in it?

If you feel helpless, go help someone.

One should mature over 20 years.

Democracy, like liberty, justice and other social and political rights, is not "given", it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice.

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

Regimented minds cannot grasp the concept of confrontation as an open exchange of major differences with a view to settlement through genuine dialogue.