“One must be frank to be relevant”

It is true you cannot eat freedom and you cannot power machinery with democracy. But then neither can political prisoners turn on the light in the cells of a dictatorship.

Reconciliation should be accompanied by justice, otherwise it will not last. While we all hope for peace it shouldn't be peace at any cost but peace based on principle, on justice.

As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it.

Freedom of expression - in particular, freedom of the press - guarantees popular participation in the decisions and actions of government, and popular participation is the essence of our democracy.

One must be frank to be relevant.

National leaders who find themselves wilting under the withering criticisms by members of the media, would do well not to take such criticism personally but to regard the media as their allies in keeping the government clean and honest, its services efficient and timely, and its commitment to democracy strong and unwavering.

The media's power is frail. Without the people's support, it can be shut off with the ease of turning a light switch.

I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life
– Corazon Aquino

Change is a necessary force for making societies more open and just, and the leaders who embrace change are those who will unleash the power of human freedom within their countries

Change challenges us, shakes our certainty and our assumptions, makes us uncomfortable. Change is frequently feared and fought, yet often, once it finally arrives, is seen in hindsight as not only necessary but also too long in coming

Throughout history, the prospect of change has set people free to imagine a different and better world, and great leaders not only see this potential, but seize it and help bring it about

Throughout the world today, brave leaders – some of them from unlikely places – are challenging the status quo, advocating change, seeking to unleash that most powerful force of human freedom to make their societies more just, more honest, more open, more accountable

A thriving democracy requires independent political parties, nongovernmental organizations, a free press, and civic institutions that allow people to assemble freely and engage in discussion and debate without fear or government harassment

True freedom of expression brings with it the responsibility to be respectful of others

In a society built on freedom and justice, we have the right to offend one another and the responsibility to do our best not to ---- U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes

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A man may build himself a throne of bayonets, but he cannot sit on it. – William Ralph Inge

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defence than on programs of social upliftment is approaching spiritual death. –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.
– Albert Einstein

Compromise does not mean cowardice. – John F. Kennedy

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.–Winston Churchill

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela

Empathy is the biggest negotiation tool. I must try to understand where the other person's coming from to make points for my side. – Lee Ducat

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. -- Anonymous

Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds. – Albert Einstein

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. – Abraham Lincoln

I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

I plan to stand by nonviolence, because I have found it to be a philosophy of life that regulates not only my dealings in the struggle for racial justice, but also my dealings with people, and with my own self. – Martin Luther King Jr.

May Sri Lankan business leaders admire these quotable quotes, be inspired by them and fashion their values, attitudes and action for social justice, freedom, and opportunity bases on them.