Aung San Suu Kyi
It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.Collection: Power
Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival.Collection: Best
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.Collection: Future
Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.Collection: Dreams
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.Collection: Power
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.Collection: Attitude
At this age, I should be leading a quiet life.Collection: Age
I think sometimes if you are alone, you are freer because your time is your own.Collection: Alone
I don't understand why people say that I am full of courage. I feel terribly nervous.Collection: Courage
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.Collection: Attitude
Since we live in this world, we have to do our best for this world.Collection: Best
I don't want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism.Collection: Patriotism
One person alone can't do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country.Collection: Alone
Democracy is when the people keep a government in check.Collection: Government
By helping others, you will learn how to help yourselves.
To be forgotten, is to die a little.
Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people feeling less and less human.
If you do nothing you get nothing.
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.
If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.
Sanctions are not really an economic weapon.
When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons.
I do not hold to non-violence for moral reasons, but for political and practical reasons.
I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable.
I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.
Even one voice can be heard loudly all over the world in this day and age.
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.
When I was under house arrest, it was the BBC that spoke to me - I listened.
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.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
Peace as a goal is an ideal which will not be contested by any government or nation, not even the most belligerent.
Sanctions and boycotts would be tied to serious political dialogue.
For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.
Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.
The democracy process provides for political and social change without violence.
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.
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.
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, i.e. 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.
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.
Books always help.
You cannot compromise unless people talk to you.
Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN isn't going to do anything about improving the lives of people.
The best way to help Burma is to empower the people of Burma, to help us have enough self-confidence to obtain what we want for ourselves.
Suffering degrades, embitters and enrages.
People must work in unison.
There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk.
I've always been strongly on the side of non-violence.
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 believe in professional dissidents. I think it's just a phase, like adolescence.
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.