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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Kindness can change the lives of people. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Sometimes, 24 hours can bring a total revolutionary change. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world… Kindness can change the lives of people. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

We do need great change in Burma. We are trying to build a new society, a society where basic human rights are respected, and where our people enjoy all the benefits of democratic institutions. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Fear is not the natural state of civilized people. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — 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

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

Maybe it is something to do with age, but I have become fonder of poetry than of prose. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I look upon myself as a politician. That isn’t a dirty word. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

By helping others, you will learn how to help yourselves. — 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

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

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

If you’re feeling helpless, help someone. ‘ – Aung San Suu Kyi (from Freedom from Fear) — 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

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

I think that freedom is sometimes a state of mind. Sometimes, mind you, but not always. — 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 basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The people of my country want the two freedoms that spell security: freedom from want and freedom from fear. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

Freedom must be demanded and defended, by those who have been denied it and by those who are already free. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I was a prisoner, but I always felt free because I was not frightened So for me real freedom is freedom from fear. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

People need security of the mind. Why do they want democracy? Because it can give them freedom and security in a balanced way. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I don’t seem to have time to breathe. Everything’s happening so quickly, and so much is happening all the time. — 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

I felt that it was my duty not to senselessly waste my time. And since I didn’t want to waste my time, I tried to accomplish as much as possible. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I could listen to the radio and I had access to books from time to time. Not all the time. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

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. — 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

As long as there is no law in Burma, any individual here can be arrested at any time. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I do not look upon my life as a sacrifice at all. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

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

Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

The Nobel Peace Prize opened up a door in my heart. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Peace, development, and justice are all connected to each other. We cannot talk about economic development without talking about peace. How can we expect economic development in a battlefield? — Aung San Suu Kyi

There can be no civil peace without the rule of law. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

It is part of the unceasing human endeavor to prove that the spirit of man can transcend the flaws of his own nature. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I think more women should be involved in politics for the good of the human race. — 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

Calamities that are not the result of purely natural phenomena usually have their origins, distant and obscure though they may be, in common human failings. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

I do protect human rights, and I hope I shall always be looked up as a champion of human rights. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Human rights and rule of law are inseparably connected. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Human rights must be protected by the rule of law, and there can never be occasions where human rights can be neglected or ignored or the rule of law set aside. — Aung San Suu Kyi

You must remember that democracy is made up not only of the executive, but the legislature and the judiciary. — Aung San Suu Kyi

We’re nowhere near democracy. I’ve been released, that’s all. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

To have compromise you must first have dialog. That is the true path of democracy. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Democracy is when the people keep a government in check. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Democracy, like liberty, justice and other social and political rights, is not ‘given’, it is earned through courage, resolution and sacrifice. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — 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

I’ve always tried to explain democracy is not perfect. But it gives you a chance to shape your own destiny. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Democracy acknowledges the right to differ as well as the duty to settle differences peacefully. Authoritarian governments see criticism of their actions and doctrines as a challenge to combat. — Aung San Suu Kyi

I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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

Even one voice can be heard loudly all over the world in this day and age. — Aung San Suu Kyi

The peace of our world is indivisible. As long as negative forces are getting the better of positive forces anywhere, we are all at risk. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Fires of suffering and strife are raging around the world. — 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

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

The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all. — Aung San Suu Kyi

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. — 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