San Suu Quotes & Sayings

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The history of the world shows that peoples and societies do not have to pass through a fixed series of stages in the course of development. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

War is not the only arena where peace is done to death. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Fear is a habit; I am not afraid. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear — Aung San Suu Kyi

I think I should be active politically. Because I look upon myself as a politician. That's not a dirty work you know. Some people think that there are something wrong with politicians. Of course, something wrong with some politicians. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Justice is a dream. But it is a dream that we are determined to realize. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I don't think of myself as unbreakable. Perhaps I'm just rather flexible and adaptable. — Aung San Suu Kyi

One wants to be together with one's family. That's what families are about. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If you feel helpless, go help someone. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

One person alone can't do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I haven't heard any music on the BBC World Service in a long time. Maybe I'm listening at the wrong times. But not one single piece of music. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man. — 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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We will surely get to our destination if we join hands. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Despotic governments do not recognize the precious human component of the state, seeing its citizens only as a faceless, mindless
and helpless
mass to be manipulated at will. It is as though people were incidental to a nation rather than its very life-blood. — Aung San Suu Kyi

San Suu's story will always involve politics, but the essence is the love story. — Michelle Yeoh

Government leaders are amazing. So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The search for scapegoats is essentially an abnegation of responsibility: it indicates an inability to assess honestly and intelligently the true nature of the problems which lie at the root of social and economic difficulties and a lack of resolve in grappling with them. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

To be forgotten, is to die a little. — Aung San Suu Kyi

When you think of Buddhism, you're likely to think of peace and tranquility. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I think sometimes if you are alone, you are freer because your time is your own. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If ideas and beliefs are to be denied validity outside the geographical and cultural bounds of their origin, Buddhism would be confined to north India, Christianity to a narrow tract in the Middle East and Islam to Arabia. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I'm feeling a little delicate. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The provision of basic material needs is not sufficient to make minority groups and indigenous peoples feel they are truly part of the greater national entity. For that they have to be confident that they too have an active role to play in shaping the destiny of the state that demands their allegiance. — Aung San Suu Kyi

European and American companies companies do create jobs for some people but what they're mainly going to do is make an already wealthy elite wealthier, and increase its greed and strong desire to hang on to power. So immediately and in the long run, these companies - harm the democratic process a great deal. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We achieve everything by our efforts alone. Our fate is not decided by an almighty God. We decide our own fate by our actions. You have to gain mystery over yourself. It is not a matter of sitting back and accepting. — Aung San Suu Kyi

A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. — Aung San Suu Kyi

It doesn't seem right for anybody to get so much attention. — Aung San Suu Kyi

A family is very special. So when a family splits up, it's not good, it's never good. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

I've always been strongly on the side of non-violence. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If you do nothing you get nothing. — Aung San Suu Kyi

While it is undeniable that many have been driven to immorality and crime by the need to survive, it is equally evident that the possession of a significant surplus of material goods has never been a guarantee against covetousness, rapacity and the infinite variety of vice and pain which spring from such passions. Indeed, it could be argued that the unrelenting compulsion of those who already have much to acquire even more has generated greater injustice, immorality and wretchedness than the cumulative effect of the struggles of the severely underprivileged to better their lot. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The root of a nation's misfortunes has to be sought in the moral failings of the government. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Please use your freedom to promote ours. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Solidarity is a beautiful word because it means that you reach out to those who are different from you and who have to cope with different circumstances because we recognize that we all share the same human needs and same values. It is the values that count most of all. The value of freedom of thought, the value of democratic practices, the value of respect for your fellow human beings. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If you choose to do something, then you shouldn't say it's a sacrifice, because nobody forced you to do it. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

I still oppose "Visit Myanmar Year," and I would ask tourists to stay away. Burma is not going to run away. They should come back to Burma at a time when it is a democratic society where people are secure - where there is justice, where there is rule of law. They'll have a much better time. And they can travel around Burma with a clear conscience. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We have been making constant efforts, all the time, to start dialogue with the SLORC, but you know it takes two. We don't want a monologue. We would like a substantive political dialogue among the SLORC, political leaders including myself, and leaders of ethnic groups-exactly as stipulated in the U.N. General Assembly resolution on Burma. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I don't believe in people just hoping. We work for what we want. I always say that one has no right to hope without endeavor, so we work to try and bring about the situation that is necessary for the country, and we are confident that we will get to the negotiation table at one time or another. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We must all work together if we are all to live together in unity and harmony. — Aung San Suu Kyi

In the end, I think people prefer the good to win rather than the bad. — Aung San Suu Kyi

In terms of the history of a far reaching movement, 20 years is not that long. — Aung San Suu Kyi

One should mature over 20 years. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If you're feeling helpless, help someone. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I've always thought that the best solution for those who feel helpless is for them to help others. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Each man has in him the potential to realize the truth through his own will and endeavour and to help others to realize it. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

It cannot be doubted that in most countries today women, in comparison to men, still remain underprivileged. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The democracy process provides for political and social change without violence. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I was a bit of a coward when I was small. I was terribly frightened of the dark. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Suffering degrades, embitters and enrages. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We pray that Aung San Suu Kyi and her country are now on a path to freedom — Desmond Tutu

The [Burmese] government appears to be more interested in stamping out political activity than drug addiction. Very few university students on the campus could get away with engaging in political activities, but they seem to be able to get away with taking drugs. We have heard that it is very easy to obtain drugs on the university campuses. — Aung San Suu Kyi

In politics, you also have to be cautiously optimistic. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Investment that only goes to enrich an already wealthy elite bent on monopolizing both economic and political power cannot contribute toward egalite and justice
the foundation stones for a sound democracy. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I don't want Burma to be a basket case forever. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Since we live in this world, we have to do our best for this world. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity. — Aung San Suu Kyi

It would be difficult to dispel ignorance unless there is freedom to pursue the truth unfettered by fear. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The French say that to part is to die a little. To be forgotten too is to die a little. It is to lose some of the links that anchor us to the rest of humanity. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Sanctions are not really an economic weapon. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

When you feel helpless, help someone. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

It is undeniably easier to ignore the hardships of those who are too weak to demand their rights than to respond sensitively to their needs. To care is to accept responsibility, to dare to act in accordance with the dictum that the ruler is the strength of the helpless. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I do not like to encourage personalized politics, so we would not like it to be thought that just because certain political personalities were attacked, this means the situation is very grave. The true gravity of the situation comes from the fact that ordinary members of the NLD are repressed all the time. We don't want a completely paralyzed political organization, while a select few leaders are protected by international attention. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Of course I regret not having been able to spend time with my family. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

When I was under house arrest, it was the BBC that spoke to me - I listened. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Books always help. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

If you are feeling helpless, help someone. — Aung San Suu Kyi

What I have experienced is nothing compared to what political prisoners in prisons suffer. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people feeling less and less human. — Aung San Suu Kyi

For me, 'revolution' simply means radical change. — Aung San Suu Kyi