(In)famous
quotes In
February 2007, as Chairman of the Committee for
Prevention against Recruitment of Minors, Thein
Sein said: “No forced recruitment is
carried out and all the soldiers have joined the
army of their own accord.”
In
August 2007, during the final sessions of the
National Convention, Thein Sein said with regard
to the duration of the National Convention: “Actually
we could have wrapped all of it up in a day, but
there's a need to make it look good, isn’t
there?”
In
August 2010, in a speech sent to SPDC ministries,
Army battalions, and universities and colleges
directing them to vote for the USDP in the 7 November
election, Thein Sein said: “Vote for
the USDP because only the USDP can bring peace
and tranquility to the country—only vote
for the USDP, don’t vote for the wrong people.”
On
30 March 2011, in his inaugural address to the
National Parliament, Thein Sein said: “[…]
[E]very citizen has to avoid any activities and
speeches that harm the image of the country and
interests of the people.”
In November 2011,
on the final day of the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali,
Indonesia, Thein Sein told reporters: “[There
are] no political prisoners [in Burma] –
all prisoners have broken the law […] we
don’t accept their ‘conscience’.”
On 4 January
2012, in his Independence Day message, Thein Sein
said: “It was the Tatmadaw that directed
the nation towards building a peaceful, modern
and developed democratic [country].”
In January 2012,
in an interview with the Washington Post, Thein
Sein said: “We cannot leave the military
behind because we require the military’s
participation in our country’s development.”
On 11 July 2012,
while discussing the issue of Rohingya with UN
High Commissioner for Refugees António
Guterres, Thein Sein said: “The solution
to this problem is that they can be settled in
refugee camps managed by UNHCR, and UNHCR provides
for them. If there are countries that would accept
them, they could be sent there.”
In
August 2012, in an interview with Voice of America
regarding Rohingya in Arakan State, Thein Sein
said: “[Naypyidaw] will open schools
for them and give them modern education […].
And once they become educated, they will be more
thoughtful and can decide what is right and what
is wrong.”
In
January 2013, in a New Year message to Parliament,
Thein Sein said: “[T]he Tatmadaw has
not only made sacrifices in blood and sweat for
the security of the State but also done everything
they possibly can to make positive contributions
to the peace process.”
On 4 March 2013,
as fierce fighting continued to rage in Kachin
and Northern Shan State, Thein Sein told journalists
in Vienna: “There’s no more hostilities,
no more fighting all over the country, we have
been able to end this kind of armed conflict”.
On
31 March 2013 in a radio address to the nation,
Thein Sein said: “During this time of
democratic transition, the Tatmadaw is also playing
an important role by cooperating with the people.
The Tatmadaw will use its good institutional traditions
and attributes gained from its experience as strengths
in this transitional process.”
On
19 May 2013, in an interview with the Washington
Post, Thein Sein said: “There are no
Rohingya among the races [in Burma]. We only have
Bengalis who were brought for farming [during
British rule].”
On
2 July 2013, in his monthly radio address to the
nation, Thein Sein said: “The cover
story of the magazine [TIME magazine] depicting
a few individuals who are acting contrary to most
Myanmar, is creating misconceptions of Buddhism.”
On
19 July 2013, in an interview with France 24 television,
Thein Sein said: “Outside elements are
just exaggerating, fabricated news, there is no
ethnic cleansing whatsoever. […] This is
a smear campaign against the government. What
happened in Rakhine was not ethnic cleansing.”
On
14 August 2013, in a speech during the swearing-in
ceremony of various regime deputy ministers, Thein
Sein said: “Now, the guns have fallen
silent following the dialogue between the government
and 13 ethnic armed groups at the State level.”
On
1 October 2013, in his monthly radio address to
the nation, President Thein Sein said: “The
media in our country enjoys more freedom than
its counterparts in other Southeast Asian countries.”
On
8 July 2014, in a radio address to the nation,
President Thein Sein said: "There is
now freedom of expression and the media is one
of the freest in Southeast Asia."
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