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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.

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've always said that the more coordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma.

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.

For about ten years now, the struggle for democracy and the respect of human rights has been in the focus point - if not a commodity - of political groups aiming to rise to power.

For us democracy is a question of human dignity. And human dignity is political freedom.

Thus, the struggle for peace includes the struggle for freedom and justice for the masses of all countries.

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.

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.

The struggle for equality is really a struggle for democracy, and that's why it's a struggle for all the population.