Dili, East Timor – More than 2,000 demonstrators in East Timor gathered outside the national parliament in the capital, Dili, to protest a controversial plan to purchase official cars for lawmakers.
The plan, also part of their 2025 budget, would provide luxury SUVs for each of the 65 members of parliament, according to Agence France-Presse.
Many of the protesters, mostly university students, began the demonstration peacefully but later escalated into violent clashes with police.
As they demanded the plan’s immediate cancellation, arguing that public funds should instead be redirected to education and social services.
They also called out the nation’s poverty.
According to the Asian Development Bank, about 40 percent of East Timor’s 1.4 million people live in poverty.
This protest already followed an earlier protest on Monday, which pressured several lawmakers and political parties to push for the plan’s cancellation.
Protesters vowed to continue their rallies until the plan is formally scrapped as the unrest continues.—Son Santiago, Eurotv News