Journalists whose names appear on a “to be assassinated” list - allegedly prepared in 2003 by a junta nested within the armed forces -- have asked civilian prosecutors to increase efforts to shed light on Turkey's dark past and the deep state so that Turkey's democracy can really improve, Today’s Zaman reported.

The journalists would have been killed due to their expected opposition to a planned coup, namely the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan. “Now that we have seen the ‘to be assassinated' list we have come to realize once again the existence of a ‘deep Turkey.' There are rumors that preparations for a coup d'état began in 2002. If we are still talking about a coup in 2011, then the thesis that a ‘deep Turkey' exists is correct,” stated Ahmet Tasgetiren, a columnist for the Bugun daily.

“Hrant Dink was not accidentally chosen as the first target,” Etyen Mahcupyan commented.

In the list are many leading intellectuals in Turkey, including slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. Among other “targets” of the junta were Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Bugun columnist Tasgetiren, Sabah columnist Nazli Ilicak, Star columnist Professor Mehmet Altan, Milliyet columnist Taha Akyol, Bugun columnist Toktamıs Ates and former Yeni Şafak columnist Fehmi Koru.

The junta planned to assassinate their targets using professional gendarmes under separate action plans. One of the plans, titled Orak (Grass Hook), detailed killing Armenian members of the Turkish press. Among them were Dink, Zaman columnist Etyen Mahcupyan and Taraf columnist Sevan Nicanyan. Dink was gunned down on Jan. 19, 2007 in broad daylight in front of the headquarters of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos, of which he was editor-in-chief.