Belying expectations of a possible change in the opposition's tough stance after arrival of CPA Secretary General Denis Marshall in the city, the AL remained unbending on its position to skip the CPA conference first ever in Bangladesh.

Upon arrival in Dhaka yesterday morning, Marshall tried to make an appointment with Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina through an aide.

CPA Director (Finance and Administration) Mahbub Alam talked to Hasina's Assistant Private Secretary Dr Awlad Hossain who told the aide to contact AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil for an appointment.

But Jalil said he did not get any call from any CPA headquarters official until 10:00 last night.

Alam hoped a dialogue would be held with the AL chief today and its outcome be positive to pave the way for the opposition to join the meet. Alam had also a meeting with Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui, coordinator of the conference, yesterday.

Hasina is learnt to have not given her message until last night for publication in the CPA supplement to be brought out in a few days.

CPA Executive Committee Chairman Bob Speller also arrived in Dhaka with Marshall, two days ahead of the October 4-12 conference to be attended by 526 delegates from around the world.

Although the conference starts tomorrow with a CPA working party meeting, vice-patron of the conference, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, will inaugurate the Commonwealth lawmakers' meet at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on October 7.

Given the AL does not change its stand before the start of the meet, the boycott by the opposition in any host country will be the first such instance in CPA's 92-year history.

Advised by Hasina, senior AL leaders Abdus Samad Azad, Suranjit Sengupta, Jalil, SAMS Kibria and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim met at the Sangsad Bhaban over an hour, discussing the updates on the CPA conference.

"We are no way going to join the conference," Jalil told reporters. Asked if Marshall meets AL leaders, Jalil said, "We will explain why we decided to boycott. It's clear that a meeting with the CPA secretary-general will not make any difference."

Earlier in the day, Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar, president of the 49th CPA conference, and the deputy speaker, met Speller and Marshall and discussed the arrangements for the event of the largest forum of lawmakers.

The AL took the hard line as it was left out of the preparatory work for the conference and only two of its lawmakers were included in the 25-member steering committee on the event. The opposition also protested the inclusion of two non-MPs, who happen to be political secretaries to the prime minister, on the committee.

After a long wrangle and interventions from the CPA headquarters, the government and the speaker conceded to many of AL demands over the last couple of weeks but again included five AL lawmakers in Bangladesh's official delegation to the conference without consulting the party.

As many as 526 delegates, including 53 speakers from national and regional parliaments of 48 member countries, are expected to attend the conference, themed "Partnerships for Global Peace and Prosperity". The delegates will start flying to Dhaka from today.

The conference will have seven workshops on various topics: Parliament and Executive: Building a More Effective Partnership, Do We Have Adequate Peacekeeping Mechanism for Preserving World Order, Are the Millennium Goals Achievable, Reconciling Human Rights with Cultural Diversity, How can the Doha Round Contribute to Increasing Trade and Investment Opportunities for Developing Nations, Antiterrorism Legislation: Have We Achieved any Tangible Result.

The final plenary will focus on balancing multilateral support and national sovereignty: managing the interface between the international community and local interest.

President Iajuddin Ahmed will accord a reception to the delegates from home and abroad on October 10, and Dhaka Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka will host a civic reception to the conference participants on October 11.