Students arrested, hurt after East Timor protest
Updated
Police in East Timor have arrested 20 students who were protesting against a government decision to buy new cars for MPs.
Our correspondent, Geoff Thompson, reports police used tear gas to break up the demonstration.
The protesters say a government decision means new Toyota Landcruisers for every one of the parliament's 65 members at a cost of more than $US2 million.
The government says the plan is only to buy 26 cars for about $1 million.
Either way, the issue was enough to get hundreds of students demonstrating at East Timor's national university on Monday.
East Timor's police moved in to break them up, firing tear gas and arresting at least 20 students.
One was injured when struck by a teargas canister.
With an unemployment rate of about 50 per cent, East Timor remains one of the world's poorest nations.
