Istanbul , Turkey ( CNN ) -- Turkey 's government made an emotional plea Wednesday to hundreds of hunger-striking Kurdish prisoners -- some who have n't eaten in more than a month -- to end their protest . Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin made the televised appeal Wednesday during a visit to Sincan prison in the Turkish capital . `` I am telling the prisoners and detainees who are on this action : On the eve of this holiday , for the sake of your own body , your own health , the people who love you and whom you love , stop this action , '' the minister said . The holiday Ergin is referring to is the Islamic `` Feast of the Sacrifice '' or Kurban Bayrami , which will be observed in Turkey starting Thursday . It 's the celebration that marks the end of Hajj , the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca . The justice minister said at least 680 prisoners are currently on a hunger strike in prisons across the country , but Turkey 's Human Rights Association , which closely follows the country 's long-simmering Kurdish conflict , said 715 inmates are striking in 48 prisons . Some of the protesters have been without food for 43 days , and there are fears about their deteriorating condition . `` Their health is in bad condition , '' said Gonul Sonbahar , a member of the Human Rights Association 's Prison Commission , in a phone interview with CNN . `` Some of their symptoms include vertigo , trouble walking , violent headaches , bruising on fingers and eyes , nausea , nose bleeds , trouble swallowing water , blood in stool , '' she added . Sonbahar said the protesters had three main demands : the release of imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan , the right to Kurdish language education and the use of Kurdish in Turkish courts . Ocalan is one of the founders of the Kurdistan Workers Party , or PKK , which has waged a 30-year guerrilla war against the Turkish state . Though he has been in a Turkish prison on an island in the Marmara Sea since his capture in 1999 , PKK fighters have continued their war against the Turkish government . Throughout the long conflict , which has claimed more than 30,000 lives , the PKK has modified its goals from demanding a separate Kurdish state to fighting for the expansion of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights , as well as the release of Ocalan . For decades , the Turkish state discriminated against the Kurds , Turkey 's largest ethnic minority , which now makes up roughly 20 % of the population . The Kurdish language was banned , and Kurds were long referred to as `` mountain Turks . '' During Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's 10 years in power , the government has made historic outreaches to the long-oppressed population , an effort that included secret talks with PKK leaders in 2005 . Erdogan 's Justice and Development Party , or AKP , also made a number of overtures toward the Kurds , relaxing bans on Kurdish language education , appearing to apologize for past discriminatory policies and launching a state Kurdish-language TV station . But PKK-related violence has spiked recently , reaching death tolls unseen in more than 13 years , according to a report published by the International Crisis Group , a non-profit conflict mediation organization . The ICG argues Turkey 's arrest and detention of more than 7,000 Kurdish activists over the past several years has contributed to the radicalization of some . Erdogan `` actually did more for the Kurds than anyone up until now , '' said Hugh Pope , senior Turkey analyst with the ICG , in a CNN interview last month . `` ( But ) when a wave of massive arrests of legitimate Kurdish politicians began , that 's when I think young people especially lost hope and the PKK 's arguments for the legitimacy of armed struggle became persuasive to them . '' In his appearance before journalists at Sincan prison , Ergin tried to draw attention to previous reform efforts . `` There has been progress in Turkey for a long time on expanding democratic rights , '' the justice minister said , adding that the government had made a pledge to try to allow the use of Kurdish language in Turkish courts . Ergin did not address the demand for Ocalan 's release . Sonbahar of the Human Rights Association told CNN the hunger-striking prisoners were determined to continue their protest , even if it results in illness or worse . `` This is a perpetual and irrevocable hunger strike , '' she said .
A Turkish human rights group says some of the prisoners have n't eaten in 43 days . The justice minister asked the hunger-strikers to stop their action . Erdogan 's government has made overtures to the Kurdish population .