Activists Slam High Cost of Pope Francis' Timor Leste Visit
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September 11, 2024 | 01:10 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Timor Leste or East Timor spent a significant amount to welcome Pope Francis’ historic visit. As one of the world’s youngest and poorest countries, Timor Leste disbursed US$12 million, drawing rebuke from activists and human rights organizations in a nation where almost half the population lives in poverty.
The cost for the two-day visit starting Monday, September 9, 2024, was approved by the government in February. The budget included US$1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass.
According to the UN Development Program, about 42 percent of Timor Leste’s population of 1.3 million live below the poverty line. Unemployment is high, job opportunities in the formal sector are generally limited and most people are subsistence farmers with no steady income.
The country's budget for 2023 was US$3.16 billion. The government had earmarked only US$4.7 million to increase food production, said Marino Fereira, a researcher at the Timor Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis. He said the US$12 million expense for the papal visit “was exaggerating.”
The non-governmental agency, known locally as "Lao Hamutuk", has submitted several papers to the government and parliament asking to cut expenditures on ceremonies and prioritize issues that affect people, Fereira said.
“The governments have ignored the poor in the country,” he said.
Pope Francis landed in Timor Leste after his apostolic journey in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. From Timor Leste, the Pope will continue his trip to his last destination, Singapore.
President Ramos Horta welcomed Pope Francis’ arrival to Timor Leste. Meanwhile, in Singapore, the Pope will deliver state address and meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. He will then attend Mass and deliver a homily at the National Stadium later in the evening on September 12.
ABC NEWS | CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
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