Hadep wants greater cultural rights for ethnic Kurds

Even before it opened, the men said they had been threatened by the local security forces.

Hadep is by far the most popular party in the mainly-Kurdish south-east of the country.

But many members of the security forces regard it as the political wing of the Kurdish rebel movement, the PKK.

Mr Tanif and Mr Deniz were ordered to go to the local gendarmerie camp on 25 January.

Eyewitnesses confirm that they went inside, but they have not been seen since.

Police shootings

After Hadep officials complained to the Interior Ministry, the gendarmes in Silopi said the two men were not under arrest.

They had, the gendarmes said, left the camp after half an hour.

Hadep believes the two men have been abducted or worse, and the party holds the gendarmerie responsible for their safety.

Unexplained disappearances used to be all too frequent in the south-east, but an incident like this has not occurred for some time.

Mr Tanif and Mr Deniz disappeared the day after six police officers were shot dead in the nearby city of Diyarbakir.

Now Hadep says that there may be a deliberate attempt to destabilise the south-east, which has been enjoying its most peaceful period for many years.