I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable.
— Aung San Suu Kyi
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 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.
All military regimes use security as the reason why they should remain in power. It's nothing original.
I do protect human rights, and I hope I shall always be looked up as a champion of human rights.
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.
Fires of suffering and strife are raging around the world.
I'm feeling a little delicate.
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 knew some of the army quite well.
I could listen to the radio and I had access to books from time to time. Not all the time.
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.
War is not the only arena where peace is done to death.
The Nobel Peace Prize opened up a door in my heart.
All repressive laws must be revoked, and laws introduced to protect the rights of the people.
One person alone can't do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country.
Democracy is when the people keep a government in check.
I think when the people in Burma stop thinking about whether or not they're free, it'll mean that they're free.
I don't understand why people say that I am full of courage. I feel terribly nervous.
Humor is one of the best ingredients of survival.
If you look at the democratic process as a game of chess, there have to be many, many moves before you get to checkmate. And simply because you do not make any checkmate in three moves does not mean it's stalemate. There's a vast difference between no checkmate and stalemate. This is what the democratic process is like.
I'm rather inclined to liking people.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I've always tried to explain democracy is not perfect. But it gives you a chance to shape your own destiny.
If you can make people understand why freedom is so important through the arts, that would be a big help.
Suffering degrades, embitters and enrages.
In politics, you also have to be cautiously optimistic.
With the right kind of institutions, starting with the rule of law, Burma could progress very quickly.
I am prepared to talk with anyone. I have no personal grudge toward anybody.
If you choose to do something, then you shouldn't say it's a sacrifice, because nobody forced you to do it.
No, I was never afraid.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Even one voice can be heard loudly all over the world in this day and age.
For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change.
After all it was my father who founded the Burmese army and I do have a sense of warmth towards the Burmese army.
I was heartened that people everywhere want certain basic freedoms, even if they live in a totally different cultural environment.
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.
When I was under house arrest, it was the BBC that spoke to me - I listened.
To be forgotten, is to die a little.
The judiciary must be strengthened and released from political interference.
Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity.
If you do nothing you get nothing.
