Quotes from Aung San Suu Kyi

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

I do not look upon my life as a sacrifice at all.

For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.

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

I am not unaware of the saying that more tears have been shed over wishes granted than wishes denied.

There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk.

Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.

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.

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the truth unfettered by fear. With so close a relationship between fear and corruption it is little wonder that in any society where fear is rife corruption in all forms becomes deeply entrenched.

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.

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.

If you're feeling helpless, help someone.

In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth, women are not merely tolerated but valued.

There is a special charm to journeys undertaken before daybreak in hot lands: the air is soft and cool and the coming dawn reveals a landscape fresh from the night dew.

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

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.

As we strive to teach others we must have the humility to acknowledge that we too still have much to learn.

It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.

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. Let us join hands to try to create a peaceful world where we can sleep in security and wake in happiness.

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.

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.

The first six years I was kept totally alone. The last six years I had two people staying in the house. The first six years really trained me very well.

To the best of my knowledge, no war was ever started by women. But it is women and children who have always suffered most in situations of conflict.

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the truth unfettered by fear.