Timor Leste police fire tear gas on second day of car purchase protests

Students from several universities run from tear gas fired by police during their protest against the parliament's plan to purchase 65 SUVs for lawmakers at the National University of East Timor in Dili on September 15, 2025. - AFP

DILI, Timor Leste: Timor Leste police fired tear gas on Tuesday (Sept 16) at protesters railing for the second day against a plan to buy new official cars for lawmakers, which became the latest flashpoint in one of the poorest nations in South-East Asia.

More than 2,000 people - mostly students from several universities in the capital Dili - gathered near the National Parliament, according to an AFP journalist, to protest the plan to procure cars for each of the 65 members of parliament.