All of Aung San Suu Kyi’s speeches have been delivered by third parties or by video, since the ruling military regime would not let her back into the country if she left.

Commencement Address at American University (Washington, DC, 1997)

Freedom from Fear (1990)
Essay published upon receipt of European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Keynote Video Address to Beijing Women’s Conference (1995)

All We Want is Our Freedom (Parade Magazine, 2003)

Famous Quotes

“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”

“Sometimes, 24 hours can bring a total revolutionary change.”

“I think this is the case in the great majority of authoritarian states: on the surface, because of repression, everything seems frozen, but when the sun comes out and the ice melts, you find that there was a lot of life underneath all along.”

“Please use your liberty to promote ours.”

“What is there to be discouraged about? Gandhi said the victory is in the struggle itself. The struggle itself is the most important thing. I tell our followers that when we achieve democracy, we will look back with nostalgia on the struggle and how pure we were.”

“We will prevail because our cause is right, because our cause is just. …History is on our side. Time is on our side.”

“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. 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. This is the way all such situations pan out– even with the most truculent dictator.”

“Wouldn’t you say that unity comes first? Out of unity comes security. I don’t think you can impose security from on top. Just look at Yugoslavia. For years it seemed as if everything was quiescent, but this was not the kind of security you would like–something that was imposed on the people and not something that had arisen from trust and understanding between them. So I think we want to put unity first. Out of real unity–which can only be based on understanding and mutual respect–will come the kind of security that we really want and the people really want.”