Congratulations to all East Timorese people, including Carmen Monteiro, on the 10th anniversary of their independence from Indonesia (East Timor stands firm, August 29, p4).

It was a long, courageous struggle and we wish them luck.

Nevertheless, as your editorial (East Timor struggle persists 10 years on, August 29) points out, social indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality are at Third World levels.

Half the children are malnourished and half the population live on less than $US1 a day despite annual petroleum revenues of $A3.3billion.

You might have mentioned also, however, that the population growth rate is 3.1per cent, which means the population will triple by mid-century.

Fertility is 6.5 (children per woman on average). No country can sustain such a high growth rate for economic, social and environmental reasons.

For a poor country, such rapid growth is a real impediment to development. Meanwhile, East Timor's maternal mortality is third highest in the world.

When women die in childbirth, their children are three to 10 times more likely to die themselves.

Little progress will be made until the Catholic Church stops its opposition to family planning. When women get the full range of reproductive services and rights, mothers will no longer die in childbirth.

Good maternal health lies at the very heart of development and of throwing off the scourge of poverty.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW

Vote for euthanasia

In his article ''Courts revive euthanasia debate'' (Forum, August 29, p7) Ross Peake suggests that a change in Australian law to empower a person's ''right to die'' is a ''long way away''. This has unfortunately been said before during the Howard ''benevolent dictatorship'' era. At that time and even more today, the much greater majority of Australians want the right to have a dignified death without unnecessary pain and terror. Unfortunately the power to grant the wishes of the majority of Australians rests in the ''fearful'' hands of our politicians.