Burma Quotes - Page 3

• The terms of the 2008 constitution [which ensures the military will continue to be the ultimate authority] could not benefit Burma in the long run. I think this constitution should be revised.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Running, Military, Thinking

  Source: www.macleans.ca

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• As long as there is no law in Burma, any individual here can be arrested at any time.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Law, Long, Individual

  "'We Have to Tackle This -- With Peaceful Means'". Interview with Thilo Thielke, www.spiegel.de. November 22, 2010.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I think East Asian countries, I think they're very fortunate to have Buddhism survive as a strong influence because right from the time when Buddha himself, 2,500 years ago, made the point about the importance of education, and the word "Buddha" also means enlighten[ed] or educated. So all the Buddhist countries, not only Japan and Korea and China and Hong Kong and Thailand but also even Burma and Sri Lanka, had a higher level of education.

  Amartya Sen

  Country, Buddhist, Strong

  Source: www.pbs.org

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• What people in Burma need is a democratic federal Burma that guarantees autonomy, rights and protection for all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion or race.

  Zoya Phan

  Rights, Race, Ethnicity

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• In Burma, we are being told by so-called experts and some governments that we must be patient and that there can be incremental change through Parliament. The UN did this, and failed spectacularly, and while they did, the human rights situation got worse. The dictatorship ignored the UN and international community, making not a single concession. Now we are being told again these Parliaments are new, we should engage with them and if improved they can bring positive change. I don't place any hope in that.

  Zoya Phan

  Rights, Government, Community

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• In Burma, economic engagement enriches the regime, as the economy is controlled by the regime. Economic engagement benefits this elite, not ordinary people. The money is spent on the military, stolen by the elite.

  Zoya Phan

  Military, People, Ordinary

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• It is incorrect to say there have been no reforms at all in Burma; there have of course been reforms, but we still need to do more for the people. To become a democratic society we have to continually be reforming.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  People, Reform, Needs

  Source: www.voanews.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• At the moment I would like to emphasize the need for vocational training, for non-formal education in Burma to help all those young people who have suffered from a bad education. They have to be trained to earn their living. They have to have enough education vocational training to be able to set up respectable lives for themselves.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  People, Training, Needs

  Source: www.voanews.com

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• It's good to know that the people of different countries are really concerned and involved in the movement to help Burma. I think in some ways it's better to have the people of the world on your side than the governments of the world, even if governments can be more effective in certain directions.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Country, Thinking, Your Side

  12 Copy quote

• I urge North Koreas leaders to reflect on Burmas experience. While the work of reform is ongoing, Burma has already broken out of isolation and opened the door to a far better future for its people.

  Thomas E. Donilon

  Doors, Korea, People

  4 Copy quote

• My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity especially on the situation in Gaza shames us all. It is almost like the behaviour of the military junta in Burma

  Desmond Tutu

  Military, Silence, Community

  95 Copy quote

• 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

  Japan, People, Justice

  Aung San Suu Kyi (1997). “Letters From Burma:”

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Everyone's a singer now, thanks to karaoke, for better and for much worse. But the live band is now becoming ancient history in Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma.

  Alan Bishop

  Band, Thailand, Karaoke

  "An Interview with Alan Bishop". believermag.com. July 1, 2008.

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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

  Believe, People, Democracy

  6 Copy quote

• How about Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, our streets, our neighborhoods, our own minds. We don't have to look far - and we should look far as well.

  Joan Halifax

  Mind, Looks, Libya

  Source: zenpeacemakers.org

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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

  Opportunity, People, Giving

  10 Copy quote

• In Burma, we need to find out what we have to do in order to keep the democratization process on track. Economic reforms have to be taken one by one. You see it's not just speed that's important, it's sequencing as well. You've got to get the speed right; you have to get the sequencing right.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Taken, Order, Track

  Source: www.voanews.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• The judiciary in Burma is not independent. It's widely known, everybody knows that.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Independent, Judiciary, Knows

  7 Copy quote

• In Burma, under the present Constitution, the Army can always take over all parts of government if they think this is necessary. so until the Army comes out clearly and consistently in support of the democratic process we cannot say that it's irreversible. But I don't think we need fear a reversal too much either.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Army, Thinking, Government

  Source: www.voanews.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• What we are lacking in Burma is an independence effective judiciary, and unless we have all three of the democratic institutions - strong and healthy, we cannot say that our democratic processes (is complete).

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Strong, Healthy, Independence

  Source: www.voanews.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Lasting solutions are always difficult to come to. But they will have to persevere. I've been repeating ad nauseam that we in Burma we are weak with regard to the culture of negotiated compromises, that we have to develop the ability to achieve such compromises.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Culture, Compromise, Persevere

  Source: www.voanews.com

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• In Burma, we need to improve education in the country - not only primary education, but secondary and tertiary education. Our education system is very very bad. But, of course, if you look at primary education, we have to think in terms of early childhood development that's going back to before the child is born - making sure the mother is well nourished and the child is properly nurtured.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Mother, Country, Children

  Source: www.voanews.com

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• In fact, it is the dictatorship's policy that isolates the people of Burma while it reaches out to different countries every year and opens new embassies around the world. It is the dictatorship's policy that kills civilians and makes people poor. As long as the dictatorship is in power, foreign trade and investment in Burma will not benefit people. Instead, it will end up fueling the oppression in Burma.

  Zoya Phan

  Country, Years, Long

  Source: www.guernicamag.com

  6 Copy quote

  Show source