Netizens recently took to the internet to claim that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was trying to relive Thatcher's Falklands moment, as they were unhappy with Sunak's decision to bomb Yemen's Houthi rebels.
These tweets come in response to a series of air strikes and cruise missiles launched on January 12, 2024 by a coalition of the United States and the United Kingdom – supported by Bahrain, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands – against the Houthis.
The attack on the Houthis was in response to the Red Sea Crisis initiated by the Houthi rebels in October 2023, who allegedly began attacking ships and vessels in the Red Sea as a declaration of their support for Hamas in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In light of the upcoming UK general election, Rishi Sunak's bombings in Yemen are seen as his attempt to gain public trust and votes through his military victory. The Yemen bombings prompted the country's population to compare Sunak's actions to those of Margaret Thatcher in the 1982 Falklands War.
Netizens compare Rishi Sunak's bombing in Yemen to Thatcher's war in the Falklands
In the ten-week Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina, the former emerged victorious, and Thatcher won popular support and elections and cemented her name as Prime Minister. Iron woman in history.
Rishi Sunak's recent decision to cooperate with the US and other countries to counter-attack the Houthis in Yemen in response to the Red Sea crisis is seen by many UK citizens as an imitation of Thatcher's Falkland Islands moment in a bid to win the next general election.
Internet users took to Twitter to mock Sunak for trying to revive the Falkland Islands moment. Some even expressed dissatisfaction with the irony of the UK being able to bear the costs of war in a damaged economy.
Rishi Sunak says Yemen strikes were self-defence
Amid all the social media uproar, Ukraine's Rishi Sunak spoke out after launching the first air strikes on Yemen. According to The Standard, Sunak said:
He added, “Our goal is very clear. It is to calm tensions and restore stability in the region. For this reason, over the past few weeks, the allies issued several statements condemning what is happening, and called on the Houthis to stop it.”
He continued:
We acted in self-defense; The Houthis must now stop carrying out these attacks that are disrupting the global economy… This is not true.”
The Prime Minister also told reports that the UK “will not hesitate to protect lives and ensure the safety of commercial shipping”.
“We will continue to monitor the situation. But it is clear that this type of behavior cannot be confronted without a response.”
Both the UK and the US stand united on their front, with US Security Council spokesman John Kirby stating that America “will not hesitate to take further action” if necessary.
