Top 95 Aung San Suu Kyi Quotes

Of course I regret not having been able to spend time with my family.

If you do nothing you get nothing.

Books always help.

War is not the only arena where peace is done to death.

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

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.

Suffering degrades, embitters and enrages.

The judiciary in Burma is not independent. It’s widely known, everybody knows that.

One wants to be together with one’s family. That’s what families are about.

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.

One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country.

We want to empower our people; we want to strengthen them; we want to provide them with the kind of qualifications that will enable them to build up their own country themselves.

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.

I saw many aspects of the country which I needed to see in order that I might know what we need to do.

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.

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

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.

A more significant phase should mean serious political dialogue.

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

No, I was never afraid.

Human beings the world over need freedom and security that they may be able to realize their full potential.

People must work in unison.

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.

Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people feeling less and less human.

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.

Sanctions and boycotts would be tied to serious political dialogue.

I think sometimes if you are alone, you are freer because your time is your own.

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.

I was heartened that people everywhere want certain basic freedoms, even if they live in a totally different cultural environment.

I could listen to the radio and I had access to books from time to time. Not all the time.

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.

I would like to have seen my sons growing up.

I’m rather inclined to liking people.

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

I think when the people in Burma stop thinking about whether or not they’re free, it’ll mean that they’re free.

At this age, I should be leading a quiet life.

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.

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.

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

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.

The judiciary must be strengthened and released from political interference.

I am prepared to talk with anyone. I have no personal grudge toward anybody.

In terms of the history of a far reaching movement, 20 years is not that long.

The democracy process provides for political and social change without violence.

It doesn’t seem right for anybody to get so much attention.

It could achieve a lot if everyone in Burma could stop saying something is good if it is not good, or say something is just if it is not just.

In politics, you also have to be cautiously optimistic.

I don’t think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I’m just rather flexible and adaptable.

Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.

I don’t think I have achieved anything that I can really be proud of.

Once serious political dialogue has begun, the international community can assume that we have achieved genuine progress along the road to real democratisation.

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.

Since we live in this world, we have to do our best for this world.

After all it was my father who founded the Burmese army and I do have a sense of warmth towards the Burmese army.

Democracy is when the people keep a government in check.

To be forgotten, is to die a little.

Sanctions are not really an economic weapon.

Assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN isn’t going to do anything about improving the lives of people.

People keep saying I’ve changed. I used to be confrontational. But I’m – I haven’t changed. It was – it’s just that circumstances have changed.

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.

In general people feel more relaxed about participating in politics. They aren’t frightened as they used to be.

One should mature over 20 years.

I’m feeling a little delicate.

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.

I’ve always said that the more coordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma.

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.

What I have experienced is nothing compared to what political prisoners in prisons suffer.

I don’t understand why people say that I am full of courage. I feel terribly nervous.

A family is very special. So when a family splits up, it’s not good, it’s never good.

As long as there is no law in Burma, any individual here can be arrested at any time.

Dissidents can’t be dissidents forever; we are dissidents because we don’t want to be dissidents.

Confidence-building is not something that can go on forever. If it goes on forever then it becomes counterproductive.

This was the way I was brought up to think of politics, that politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service, so I think I was conditioned to think like that, and I’m too old to change now.

The people have given me their support; they have given me their trust and confidence. My colleagues have suffered a lot in order to give me support. I do not look upon my life as a sacrifice at all.

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.

Whatever help we may want from the international community now or in the future, we want to make sure that this help is tailored to help our people to help themselves.

I don’t want to be president, but I want to be free to decide whether or not I want to be president of this country.

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

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.

If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.

Fires of suffering and strife are raging around the world.

Even one voice can be heard loudly all over the world in this day and age.