East Timor police fired tear gas on Tuesday 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 Southeast 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.

The demonstration, which began peacefully, turned violent when police fired tear gas after some protesters hurled rocks toward them.

It followed a similar protest on Monday, which prompted several political parties to announce they would ask parliament to cancel the purchase.

Those same parties had previously approved the 2025 bud

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