Who are the Peace Provocateurs?
An interfaith group with no formal structure, the Peace Provocateurs are as ambitious in their goal as they are simple in their method. After watching some in Ambon use SMS and social media to whip up fights, exaggerating or simply inventing incidents to spark trouble, they decided they could respond in kind with reverse intent.
“If provocateurs could use the new technology to incite violence, we could use it to undermine their incitement”, says Jacky Manuputty, a Protestant minister and one of the leaders of the group.
The movement emerged organically in September 2011, when the suspicious death of a Muslim motorcycle taxi driver in a Christian area led to attacks, counter-attacks and fears of a repeat of the mass killings of a decade ago. A diverse network of students, lecturers, religious leaders, activist journalists and others who had strong connections across the religious divide contacted each other after the electronic rumour mill started churning, and they realised what they could do.
(source: The Independent)
November 2012: The two leaders of this movement, imam Abidin Wakano and reverend Jacky Manuputty, were in Holland to speak with several organisations about their activities. A team of Dutch contributors followed them and put the outcomes on this blog.
Contributors:
Fitrah Umarella
Simone Dekkers
Sasha Persulessy
Ephraïm Patty
Peter Faber
Joram Lawalata
Henry Timisela (editor)
ppih 