"Don't turn this (strike) into a blackmail," Erdogan said at an annual meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), referring to the 53-day prison hunger strike in support of Abdullah Ocalan by hundreds of inmates nationwide.

Police meanwhile fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse several Kurdish demonstrators throwing firebombs and stones during a protest in southeastern Kurdish-majority Diyarbakir in support of the hunger strikers.

At least 20 protestors were detained during the clashes, said an AFP reporter at the scene.

The strikers are calling for the release of Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence in a remote island prison since 1999.

Ocalan was captured by Turkish agents in Nairobi, brought back to Turkey and sentenced to death in 2009.

His death penalty was lifted as part of Turkey's campaign to join the European Union and commuted to life in prison.

"We will not release the terrorist chief just because you say so or resort to such an action," added Erdogan.

The Turkish government is under increasing pressure over how to tackle the hunger strike by around 700 detainees at more than 50 prisons across the country.

"Right now a lot of people say in public surveys that capital punishment should be reintroduced because the relatives of the dead get hurt while others enjoy themselves at kebab parties," said Erdogan, referring to Kurdish rebel leadership and its followers.

Among the strikers are several leaders of the chief Kurdish party, the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

They are accused of ties to the outlawed rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has for decades sought autonomy for the Kurds.