Exhausted Suu Kyi falls ill during news conference

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Exhausted Suu Kyi falls ill during news conference

Associated Press

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Associated Press

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a press conference during the 101st International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, June 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)

The Associated Press

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a news conference during the annual meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, June 14, 2012. Suu Kyi said that investment in her country should strengthen its nascent process of democratization. The Nobel peace laureate spoke Thursday to the annual meeting of the ILO in Geneva on the first stop of her trip to Europe. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

The Associated Press

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, delivers her statement during the 101th International Labour Organization, ILO, Conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, June 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone/Martial Trezzini)

The Associated Press

CORRECTS PHOTOGRAPHER'S NAME - Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar opposition leader, left, arrives at the 101st International Labor Organization, ILO, Conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, June 14, 2012. Suu Kyi visits Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France from June 13, 2012 to June 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

The Associated Press

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, participates in a discussion with Swiss apprentices on Thursday June 14, 2012 on the train between Geneva and Bern on her first trip to Europe since 1988 to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize that thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago. (AP Photo / Sebastien Bozon,Pool)

The Associated Press

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, participates in a discussion with Swiss apprentices. unseen, on Thursday June 14, 2012 on the train between Geneva and Bern on her first trip to Europe since 1988 to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize that thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago. (AP Photo / Sebastien Bozon, Pool)

The Associated Press

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi attends a news conference during the annual meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, June 14, 2012. Suu Kyi said that investment in her country should strengthen its nascent process of democratization. The Nobel peace laureate spoke Thursday to the annual meeting of the ILO in Geneva on the first stop of her trip to Europe. (AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi fell ill during a news conference in Switzerland on Thursday, shortly after saying how exhausted she was after a long trip from Asia to Europe — her first in 24 years.

After getting a rock star welcome in Geneva, the Nobel peace laureate looked pale as she took questions alongside Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter in the Swiss capital of Bern. After a few minutes, she pressed a finger to her lips and motioned to an aide who rushed to her side. She then bent over, seemingly in pain, and threw up before being escorted out of the room by officials.

A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry said Suu Kyi recovered enough to briefly attend a reception with government officials but then retired to her room.

"She's just a bit tired," spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier told The Associated Press. "I would be too after the long day she's had."

Earlier Thursday, Suu Kyi had visited the United Nations in Geneva on the first stop of her two-week tour of Europe.

Her appearance at a U.N. labor conference — an unlikely venue for glitz and glamor — had starry-eyed functionaries reaching for their camera phones to snap a picture as the slight 66-year-old smiled and shook hands with well-wishers.

The evening before, as Suu Kyi arrived at her hotel shortly before midnight after a long flight, spontaneous applause erupted in the lobby as the staff recognized their special guest.

Suu Kyi, who endured 15 years of house arrest and once feared permanent exile if she ever left Myanmar, has become the country's most electric ambassador.

During her trip around Europe, Suu Kyi is expected to lay out how her country has changed and what still needs to be done before it can be called a proper democracy. She will also address both houses of Britain's parliament, receive an honorary doctorate from Oxford, attend a U2 concert in Dublin and deliver in Oslo the acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize that she won in 1991.

At the time, she was detained by the military after leading a pro-democracy party to victory in Myanmar's 1990 election. The prize was picked up instead by her 18-year-old son Alexander.

"I've been so exhausted preparing for the trip that I've had no time to think about how I'm going to feel about Oslo, but perhaps this evening I'll sit back and think about it," Suu Kyi told reporters after her speech to the U.N. labor office.

___

Jordans contributed from Geneva.

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