Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
4w ago

Timor-Leste Parliament Cancels SUV Purchase for Lawmakers After Student Protests

The reversal follows public anger over a US$4.2 million car plan in a country with widespread poverty.

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
Image
A plan to buy new cars for East Timor's lawmakers has stirred anger in one of the poorest nations in Asia
East Timor's parliament says it will scrap lifetime pensions for MPs following student-led protests in one of southeast Asia's poorest nations

Overview

  • Parliament unanimously passed a resolution to cancel the 2025 procurement of new vehicles and directed officials to maintain and use existing cars.
  • Thousands returned to the streets in Dili for a third day despite the U-turn, with organizers voicing skepticism that the plan is fully halted.
  • The now-scrapped purchase would have provided 65 Toyota Prado SUVs for each member of parliament, with the tender previously due to conclude in September.
  • Protests earlier turned violent as some participants burned tyres and a government vehicle and threw rocks, prompting police to fire tear gas that injured at least four people.
  • Parties that had backed the budget pledged to seek cancellation, President Jose Ramos-Horta warned there would be no tolerance for violence, and police said protest coordinators would be summoned over damage.