Former activist: Self-exiled opposition dreams of returning to Belarus

Former head of a regional branch of the opposition party Narodnaya Gromada Olga Tishkevich told the ONT TV channel why she decided to come back to Belarus from Lithuania and what the self-exiled opposition feels about its life away from Belarus, BelTA has learned.

“One gets a feeling of getting into a madhouse. They live in a different reality, their world is deranged. These people are indoctrinated, they act against Lithuania and Belarus. I have been to this cuckoo's nest, it feels insane,” Olga Tishkevich said.

According to the former activist, she arrived in Belarus by plane. When asked whether she was afraid to return, she said that she was only afraid of flying. Before returning, Olga Tishkevich went to the website of the Prosecutor General's Office and wrote to the special commission that reviews appeals from Belarusians living abroad in order to find out whether any legal proceedings were initiated against her.

“I don't consider it a weakness that I returned to Belarus. Everyone there dreams of returning home, absolutely everyone,” Olga Tishkevich added.