“He is a despot, a dictator, a monster”, these were the very harsh words I heard in the early morning from the mouth of the late Baroness Margaret Thatcher on BBC News bulletin on 2nd August 1990. These very harsh words were deservingly referred to Iraqi dictator the late Saddam Hussein and these harsh words were spoken by Margaret Thatcher from the USA where she went for the summit meeting with the American President Bush Sr. Cutting short her other appointments she immediately rushed to President Bush and forcefully requested him to give a lead to wage a war against Saddam Hussein to liberate Kuwait from illegal Iraqi invasion. She said this Iraqi invasion of Kuwait should never be allowed and by all means Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops must be kicked out from Kuwait. If this invasion of a small country by the mighty Iraq is allowed then there is every possibility for the powerful nations to swallow their weak neighbours, said she. Hence, she requested USA to give a lead and other nations will surely follow this lead to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation.
She was the most matured and wisdomatic politician, not only a mighty politician but also a mighty Statesman. Because of her statesmanship she managed to get the support of USA to liberate Falkland from the hands of Argentina. USA being a part of America had obligation to support its continent’s colleague Argentina against Britain but thru her wisdomatic and shrewd diplomacy Margaret Thatcher won over USA and because of USA’s open and clandestine support, Britain finally regained the control of Falkland.
Soviet Russia branded her as Iron Lady. Yes, it was a right name befitting her character. In Northern Ireland when the movement gained momentum for independence she shut her door for any negotiation for such talks even when so many young people died in hunger strike. She was so adamant that she even remarked saying “I don’t care for the deaths of hunger strikers”. Then the then Pope pleaded with the hunger strikers to end their strike and when Pope’s pleas also fell on deaf ears, Pope declared that “killing oneself thru hunger strike is a sin of suicide which is against Christian doctrine that prohibits oneself from taking one’s own life".
During the Commonwealth CHOGM Retreat in Goa in early eighties she made a point to go to Dona Paula where there is a small Cemetery where British soldiers killed in the Second World War were buried. Margaret Thatcher when she went to pay her homage to those British soldiers in that Cemetery she asked her aide “who looks after the maintenance of this Cemetery?” And when she was shown the old Goan lady standing at one corner and who was keeping the Cemetery clean, Margaret Thatcher was moved by the good work of that old Goan lady and removing from her bag gave that old Goan lady a few Notes of Indian Rupees, of course with tears in her eyes.
The other time I noticed tears in her eyes was when she was dethroned from the Premiership after serving for three long innings with top credibility.
In mid-eighties she visited Kuwait and during the Press Conference one Palestinian Journalist asked her a very lengthy question for which she bluntly remarked asking her Kuwaiti aide thus “is it a question or a speech”?
In her death world lost a great personality, a great political figure and a great statesman of whose type it is very difficult to come again. Her contribution in the movement for the liberation of Kuwait will be remembered in the history books written in golden letters. May her soul rest in peace.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.