95 Bosnia war. Ashdown said that Covic would not be banned from activity in his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party. The party supported Covic in his early defiance but backed off from threats to pull out of government altogether if Ashdown dared sack him. Ashdown indicated he may also sack Transportation and Communications Minister Branko Dokic if he refuses to resign over an indictment accusing him of abuse of office while serving as a minister in the Serb Republic.