Díli, Sept. 25, 2025 (Lusa) - Timorese prime minister Xanana Gusmão on Thursday challenged university students to discuss the problems facing the state in order to strengthen objective social control and contribute to the country's development.
"Young people who are now preparing yourselves, discuss the problems in your universities, debate the problems of the state for the future," Xanana Gusmão told reporters after his weekly meeting with Timorese President José Ramos-Horta at the Presidential Palace in Dili.
For the Timorese government leader, the discussion opens space for young people to think critically about any reality of the nation.
"You must take hold of Timor with more intelligence and wisdom when we are no longer here. I hope you can lead this country to a better future," said Xanana Gusmão.
The prime minister also said that students can protest, but they should not destroy public and private property, as happened in Nepal.
"Protesting is not about imposing that if the ministers do not act according to the students' wishes, you burn everything down like in Nepal. The situation in Nepal was different. There, protests began because they cut off access to the internet and Facebook. It was because people started criticising the government through social media," recalled Xanana Gusmão.
Timorese university students took to the streets to demand the cancellation of the purchase of new vehicles for MPs, the end of lifetime pensions, the revision of the law on freedom of assembly and demonstration, and adequate funding for productive sectors in the debate on the next state budget, which will begin in October.
On Wednesday, the five parties that make up the Timorese Parliament committed to the students' demands, after approving a parliamentary resolution the previous day to cancel the purchase of new vehicles.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), presented by the United Nations in 2022 (the most recent), states that around 42% of the 1.3 million people in Timor-Leste live in a situation of social vulnerability.
According to the 2022 Census, 64.6% of the country's 1.3 million inhabitants are under 30 years of age.
Data released in a World Bank report on human capital in 2023 indicate that around 20% of young Timorese neither study nor work due to a lack of education, limitations in healthcare provision and ineffective social protection.
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