The Wire

For more than two weeks now, daily protests have been held in the East Timorese capital of Dili—in response to the government’s proposal to trial secular education programs in 32 schools, offering only voluntary rather than compulsory religious teaching. The protests have the strong backing of the Catholic Church but their focus has shifted to wider issues of justice and democracy—and protesters are now pushing for the government of Prime Minister MARI ALKITIRI to resign. East Timorese human rights campaigner TOMAS FREITAS spoke to The Wire from Dili about how the protests have changed.