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4d ago

Tear Gas Fired Again as Timor-Leste Students Mount Second Day of Protests Over MPs’ SUV Plan

The vehicle purchase has become a flashpoint in a country where more than 40 percent live below the poverty line.

Students from several universities protest against the parliament's plan to purchase 65 SUVs for lawmakers at the National University of East Timor (UNTL) in Dili
A plan to buy new cars for East Timor's lawmakers has stirred anger in one of the poorest nations in Asia
Protesting students run from tear gas fired by East Timor police
Image

Overview

  • More than 2,000 people, mostly university students, rallied near the National Parliament in Dili on Tuesday to oppose buying cars for all 65 lawmakers.
  • Police deployed tear gas after some protesters threw rocks, and demonstrators burned tyres and a government vehicle outside parliament.
  • Protesters said they will keep rallying until the plan is formally scrapped, and the government had not issued an official response as of Tuesday.
  • Monday’s demonstration drew over 1,000 people, left at least four injured by tear gas, and prompted police to say they will summon protest coordinators over property damage.
  • Parties including CNRT, the Democratic Party, and Enrich the National Unity of the Sons of Timor pledged to ask parliament to cancel the purchase, saying it does not reflect public interests.