East Timor police fire tear gas at protest over legislators’ cars

DILI (AFP) — East Timor police fired tear gas Monday at demonstrators protesting against a plan to buy new official cars for lawmakers, which triggered anger in one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia.

More than 1,000 people, mostly university students, rallied near the National Parliament in Dili to protest against the plan approved last year to procure cars for each of the 65 members of parliament.

The plan was the latest flashpoint in the resource-dependent country, where more than 40 percent of its population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

We ask for the parliament members to cancel the decision to purchase the (Toyota) Prado for the sake of self-improvement,” said Leonito Carvalho, a student from Dili-based private university Universidade da Paz. “Otherwise, we will remain standing here.”

The demonstration began peacefully, but police moved to fire tear gas after some protesters hurled rocks towards parliament, damaging several cars.

The tear gas injured at least four protesters, who were taken to a nearby health facility, an Agence France-Presse journalist said.

National police official Justino Menezes said authorities would summon protest coordinators to demand responsibility for the damage.

Some of East Timor’s political parties which last year approved the 2025 budget to buy the cars said they would ask parliament to cancel the purchase.

In a joint statement, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, the Democratic Party and the Enrich the National Unity of the Sons of Timor said the purchase “did not reflect public interests.”