Aung San Suu Kyi People Quotations

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

My opinion is the greatest reward that any government could get is the approval of the people. If the people are happy and the people are at peace and the government has done something for them, that's the greatest reward I think any government could hope for.

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.

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

In the end, I think people prefer the good to win rather than the bad.

You cannot compromise unless people talk to you.

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.

I have been free for more than a month. Some people may think that that is long enough. Others may think that that is not quite long enough.

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.

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, ie 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.

Democracy is when the people keep a government in check.

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

I was surprised by the response of young people because there is a perception that those younger than the 1988 generation are not interested in politics.

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

Because of rampant inflation, living standards have been dropping for the great majority of the population. The people are poorer because standards of health and education have fallen. And conditions in the rural areas are worse off than they have ever been. So, you cannot equate the so-called open-market economy adopted by the SLORC with any real development that benefits people.

A lot of the roads, bridges, railways, and such are built through the use of forced labor, and that is causing the people great suffering. What we put into this in the form of human suffering is not worth what comes out of it.

It is essential to institute a legal framework that would ensure justice and improve the quality of life in Burma immediately, because the greatest suffering among the people at the moment is caused by lack of justice and lack of the rule of law.

So, I think that for the authorities to say now that calling for sanctions will prevent dialogue is a ploy to stop us from supporting sanctions. It has to be the other way around: dialogue first, then we stop our call for sanctions, because sanctions make people understand that you cannot exercise repression and at the same time expect international support.

We must make democracy the popular creed...If we should fail to do this, our people are bound to suffer... That is what my father said. It is the reason why I am participating in this struggle.

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

I'm rather inclined to liking people.

I think it's time for the Army to understand that power should be enshrined in the people if we are to be a genuine democracy and not in any particular institution or organisation.

Religion is about increasing peace and harmony in the world. ... People of all different religions should be given the opportunity to pursue good in their own way.

After I was released, people used to keep asking me, 'what's it like to be free? And it was very difficult for me to answer. I'd always felt free. As far as my state of mind was concerned, I didn't feel any different...People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.

It is the love of ordinary people, in Burma, in Japan or anywhere else in the world, for justice and peace and freedom that is our surest defense against the forces of unreason and extremism ...

As the twentieth century draws to a close it has become obvious that material yardsticks alone cannot serve as an adequate measure of human well-being. Even as basic an issue as poverty has to be re-examined to take into account the psychological sense of deprivation that makes people feel poor.

People should be concerned about installing a more sensible, responsible government. What we [the burmese] need is a government that is accountable and transparent, so that the people know what it is doing and can judge for themselves whether or not they like what is being done.

Leaders of political parties need to keep in contact with the people; that's what it's all about. If violence were to erupt, I am fairly confident that we could control our people. Whether or not the authorities can control theirs is another matter altogether.

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

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.

My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.

Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.

Kindness can change the lives of people.

Government leaders are amazing. So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want.

Unless there is free and fair competition, there can't be healthy economic development. And what we have in Burma now is not an open-market economy that allows free and fair competition, but a form of colonialism makes a few people very, very wealthy. It's what you would crony capitalism.

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.

Weak logic, inconsistencies and alienation from the people are common features of authoritarianism. The relentless attempts of totalitarian regimes to prevent free thought and new ideas and the persistent assertion of their own lightness bring on them an intellectual stasis which they project on to the nation at large. Intimidation and propaganda work in a duet of oppression, while the people, lapped in fear and distrust, learn to dissemble and to keep silent.

Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in the world. Kindness, can change the lives of people.

To be kind is to respond with sensitivity and human warmth to the hopes and needs of others. Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people.