East Timor police have arrested nearly 40 people and fired tear gas to disperse a protest against a parliament decision to buy 65 luxury cars - one for each member of parliament - in one of the world's poorest nations.
East Timor's parliament decided last month to buy the Toyota Land Cruisers amid soaring food and oil prices in a country where the average income is about 50 US cents a day and 42 percent are unemployed.
Around 1,000 protesters, mostly students, staged a rally at the parliament building, carrying the national black and red Timorese flag and banners saying, "Stand up East Timor, Fight Against Immoral Decisions".
They were also protesting against a bill being discussed in parliament which will allow prosecutors and members of the intelligence service to possess weapons.
"Do they want students to keep silent and let them buy luxury cars and allow civilians to own weapons? We are not yes men and we say no to the decision," Agusto Pinto, the rally's coordinator, said.
"Petroleum funds must be used for people's interest, not to buy cars and weapons ... we are ready to die if the decision is not revoked." We agree if they buy rice to feed the people but not to permit civilians to kill each other like the 2006 crisis." The youngest Asian nation descended into violence in 2006 when the government decided to lay off 600 soldiers, which led to a clash between the two main tribes and left 37 people killed and 150,000 displaced from their homes.
The students said they would continue to protest until Friday.
The tiny nation that won their independence from Indonesia in 1999 has been striving to maintain political and social stability ever since. The country has substantial oil reserves but has only started to develop them.
The former Portuguese colony, invaded by Indonesia in 1975, won independence in a violence-marred vote organised by the United Nations in 1999. It became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.
The government and the United Nations launched a programme early this year to relocate some 30,000 refugees living in camps that dot the capital.
