This time last year, we ended 2004 on an extremely subdued note. The powerful earthquake and massive tsunami that killed over 160,000 people and rendered another half a million homeless in Aceh and Nias island towards the end of last year stunned the whole nation, and the whole world for that matter. New Year 2005 was understandably greeted everywhere around the globe with subdued fanfare, out of respect for the victims.

But we did begin 2005 with high hopes, secured in the knowledge that things could not possibly get any worse, and that there was only one direction: Forward. The global solidarity shown to the victims of one of the worst natural disasters on record also gave a sense of hope that things would get better in 2005.

And what a year 2005 turned out to be for Indonesia. It was a year filled with tragedies; some inflicted by Mother Nature, others man-made. If good news is not news and bad news makes headlines, there was never a shortage of headlines for this newspaper over the past 12 months.

We had two major plane crashes, in Surakarta and Medan. We had an outbreak of polio at the beginning of the year, and an outbreak of bird flu half way through 2005. There was starvation in places known to have food surpluses. Nias island, which suffered little damage in the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami, was hit by a more deadly and destructive earthquake in March. The government appropriately expanded the portfolio of the newly established Agency for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (BRR) to cover both Aceh and Nias island.

Economically, things also took a turn for the worse for the majority of us. Soaring international oil prices finally took their toll on the economy, forcing the government to launch two rounds of massive hikes in domestic fuel prices. The distribution of cash subsidies intended to cushion the poor from the impact of these increases turned into a sham.

The fuel price increases forced inflation to an annualized rate of more than 18 percent, leaving most people, particularly low and fixed-income earners, even poorer. The economy was still growing at around 5 percent (depending on whose estimate you use), but it was not enough to absorb the swelling ranks of the unemployed, including newcomers to the labor market.

There were, however, a few bright spots in 2005. And yes, they made it to the headlines, providing us with a welcome break from the constant stream of bad news. Ironically perhaps, the best news during the year came from Aceh, the very same area that caused us so much anguish and distress at the beginning of the 2005.

In Helsinki in August, the government signed a peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), ending nearly 30 years of bloody conflict, and thus allowing the massive post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction program to proceed without interruption. No doubt the tsunami, with more than a little prodding from the outside world, helped force both sides to come to the negotiating table in faraway Finland.

Thus far, both the government and GAM appear to have fulfilled their obligations under the Helsinki peace deal. The second half of the implementation of the peace agreement begins in 2006. From now on, much will be in the hands of the House of Representatives in reviewing laws to accommodate GAM demands.

After the hectic but peaceful three rounds of elections in 2004 to elect the House of Representatives and the president/vice president, many regions held their own local elections this year, to directly choose governors, regency chiefs and mayors. In another sign that democracy was taking root in Indonesia, the great majority of these elections went peacefully.

For President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, this has been a year of learning, after he won a strong mandate to rule in October last year. There have been times when the President and his administration could have handled situations better, such as in increasing fuel prices and in parceling out the cash assistance for the poor. But he has made adjustments, including reshuffling the economic team in November.

But to be fair to the President, the tragedies, many of which were completely beyond his control, took a lot of his time and attention so that he has not been able to focus more on the issues for which he was chiefly elected: Eradicating corruption and accelerating economic recovery.

So what do we have to be hopeful about in 2006? Tragedies, particularly natural disasters, are largely beyond anybody's control. But even if these disasters persist in different forms and scales, the nation has now grown more resilient in facing them. The year 2005 has been both a year of disasters and a year of learning.

Let us all look forward to a happier and more prosperous 2006.