Lukashenko's Home Improvement

Will the last ambassador out of Belarus please turn off the lights? Actually, the diplomats needn't bother, since their homes have been taken over by their all-powerful neighbor and self-styled landlord, President Alexander Lukashenko. In an embarrassing bit of diplomatic burlesque, Lukashenko ordered most of the foreign ambassadors to his country to vacate their homes in the compound they share with his residence, ostensibly to facilitate plumbing repairs. Ambassadors responded that the plumbing was just fine. So Lukashenko had the gates welded shut . Then he had a plaque fixed to the front gate proclaiming the entire compound his residence. And that's exactly what it became today, as the U.S. ambassador followed the European Union's diplomats and others in leaving the country. That's one way to get that extra guest room.