"August 9, 2021 marks one year since the presidential elections in Belarus. For the first time in the history of our nation we were faced with an unprecedented level of violence against our civil society, the killings of peaceful citizens, torture, abuse of the elderly and the vulnerable, arbitrary detentions and imprisonments, and a total breakdown of law and justice.
Today the Belarus Women’s Foundation is launching an exhibition entitled "Scream” aiming to show the world the struggle of the Belarusian people for democracy and freedom. One day after the collapse of the regime, we will set up a museum at the Okrestina detention centre – the most fearsome and inhumane prison in Belarus, where the screams and the cries of its prisoners were heard and are forever ingrained in our memories.
The day when the current regime falls will truly be a day of national celebration. It will be our Liberation Day, our Victory Day, a celebration mixed with tears.
We will never forget those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom in Belarus. To quote the American thinker George Santayana, “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
In our exhibition "Scream” we are striving to show the crimes of the dictatorship which all civilised countries must recognise as a terrorist regime!
We call on the International Criminal Court in The Hague to initiate criminal proceedings against all those who have committed and continue to commit, crimes against Belarusian people as crimes against humanity. We ask to bring peace and tranquillity to Belarus.
In the meantime, please visit our exhibition, many photos of which reveal the pain and suffering of the Belarusian people."