YESTERDAY, we said goodbye to 2004 with a heavy heart. Nature dealt us a severe blow, at the very fag end of 2004 perhaps to expose the utter helpless of man against its fury which often strikes unannounced. Bangladesh was spared the wrath of the earthquake and the tsunami that it caused. While we count our blessings, we should spare our thoughts and prayers for those that perished and for those that have survived, but only just, and help them to come out of this terrible and distressing situation. It has reinforced our conviction that we have often articulated, of stronger cooperation regionally and internationally, in forecasting and tackling disasters.

At home we witnessed a continued hiatus between the government and ruling party. The parliament virtually remained a one-party show with the leading opposition party choosing to stay out of the parliament while the ruling coalition, even with the vast majority in the Jatiyo Sangshad, unwilling to give adequate time to the opposition in the Sangshad to ventilate their views.

The most significant political occurrence in Bangladesh was the grenade attack on the AL meeting, which cost 20 lives including that of a senior member of the AL It was also disconcerting to witness more and more journalists being made the targets of killings and assaults.

There has been an apparent improvement in the law and order situation from what the country witnessed at the beginning of the year. But the manner and means of tackling the deteriorating law and order has given rise to moral, ethical, and legal questions that the government must address, sooner rather than later.

The New Year will usher in the quota-free regime that will expose our garment industry to stiff competition that will need planning and ingenuity to make us stand on our own feet.

A significant feature has been a rejuvenated interest of foreign investors in Bangladesh with Tata pledging to invest more than two billions apart from some Middle Eastern countries seeking avenues to invest. We hope the same vein continues in future.

The most welcome parting gift of 2004 was perhaps our win over India in cricket, first win on home soil.

Internationally the negative effects of the war on terror continue to impact the globe while regionally, we note with optimism the two big powers moving away from confrontation.

As we welcome the New Year we do so with hope and aspirations and not a little bit of trepidation on sevaral counts.

While we pray that 2005 holds all the very best for us, our one and only wish would be to see an end to the confrontational politics in Bangladesh.