TIMELINE-A year of unrest in Tibetan regions
March 14 (Reuters) - Tibetan regions are in lockdown this weekend, which marks the one-year anniversary of unrest in Lhasa and Tibetan regions across China.
(For related story see CHINA-TIBET/ or [ID:nPEK215454])
Following is a timeline of the largest and most sustained protests seen in Tibetan regions since Beijing crushed pro-independence demonstrations in 1989 and related events.
* March 10, 2008 : Five hundred monks from the Drepung monastery march into Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to mark the 49th anniversary of a quashed rebellion against communist rule. Monks from the Lhasa-area Sera and Gamden monasteries also protest.
* March 12: Thousands of Chinese security personnel fire tear gas to disperse more than 600 monks from the Sera monastery.
* March 14: Riots erupt in central Lhasa, and Tibetan crowds burn Han Chinese and Hui Muslim shops. China's official death toll is 18 civilians and one policeman.
China accuses the Dalai Lama of masterminding the unrest.
* March 15-25: Protests and marches occur in over 130 locations in parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, which form the Tibetan areas of Kham and Amdo.
In Machu, Gansu, protesters burn Han Chinese and Hui Muslim shops. Police stations and government buildings are burned in other areas. A police station in Chamdo is damaged by a bomb.
Many other demonstrations are peaceful.
Exile Tibetan groups say nearly 200 people died in the crackdown on protests in March, and in following months. Chinese media report the death of one paramilitary policeman and one protester in western Sichuan.
Tibetan university students stage silent sit-ins in Xining, Lanzhou and Beijing.
Tibet and Tibetan areas close to foreigners, and remain closed for most of the summer.
* March 15-18: Pro-Tibetan protests in Nepal, Paris, New York, Sydney and elsewhere.
* March 27: Monks at the Jokhang monastery in Lhasa burst in on a government-led tour of foreign journalists, screaming "Tibet is not free" and saying China is lying about the Dalai Lama.
* April 3: Police fire on protesters in Donggu Township, Ganzi Prefecture, in Western Sichuan.
* April 7: Pro-Tibet protester snatches the Olympic Torch from wheelchair-bound athlete Jin Jing. Pro-Tibet and pro-Chinese protesters dog the Olympic torch relay through Western Europe, Australia and San Francisco.
Chinese students picket Carrefour supermarkets in China.
* April 9: Monks at the Labrang monastery in Gansu surround a government-led tour of foreign journalists, crying "We have no freedom, we have no rights".
* April 28: A policeman and an alleged protest leader are killed in a shootout in Qinghai province.
* May 8: Amidst tight security, the Olympic torch is carried to the top of Mt Everest.
* Aug 8: The Olympic games open in Beijing. Pro-Tibet activists stage several small protests.
* Autumn: Lhasa and other Tibetan areas re-open to foreign tourists
* November. Rounds of talks between Chinese and envoys of the Dalai Lama end without progress.
Tibetan exiles meet in Dharamsala, India, and agree to continuing supporting the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way"
* Dec 6: French president Nicholas Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama, spurring China to call off a European Union Summit.
* January, 2009. Many Tibetans choose to mark the New Year, or Losar, in silence and mourning. Depending on the area, the Tibetan New Year fell in late January or late February.
* Jan 25: Xiahe, home to the Labrang monastery, closes to foreign tourists.
February: Security forces reinforced in Tibetan areas.
* Feb 25: Tibet closes to foreign tourists.
* Feb 27: A Tibetan monk sets himself on fire at the Kirti Monastery, Aba, Sichuan. He survives after police put out fire.
* March 9: Tibetan areas of Qinghai province close to foreigners.
* March 10: Dalai Lama marks the 50th anniversary of his exile saying Tibet had become a "hell on earth".
* March 13: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao says China is willing to meet with Dalai Lama's envoys as long as he renounces "separatism." (Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Valerie Lee)
(For related story see CHINA-TIBET/ or [ID:nPEK215454])
Following is a timeline of the largest and most sustained protests seen in Tibetan regions since Beijing crushed pro-independence demonstrations in 1989 and related events.
* March 10, 2008 : Five hundred monks from the Drepung monastery march into Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to mark the 49th anniversary of a quashed rebellion against communist rule. Monks from the Lhasa-area Sera and Gamden monasteries also protest.
* March 12: Thousands of Chinese security personnel fire tear gas to disperse more than 600 monks from the Sera monastery.
* March 14: Riots erupt in central Lhasa, and Tibetan crowds burn Han Chinese and Hui Muslim shops. China's official death toll is 18 civilians and one policeman.
China accuses the Dalai Lama of masterminding the unrest.
* March 15-25: Protests and marches occur in over 130 locations in parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, which form the Tibetan areas of Kham and Amdo.
In Machu, Gansu, protesters burn Han Chinese and Hui Muslim shops. Police stations and government buildings are burned in other areas. A police station in Chamdo is damaged by a bomb.
Many other demonstrations are peaceful.
Exile Tibetan groups say nearly 200 people died in the crackdown on protests in March, and in following months. Chinese media report the death of one paramilitary policeman and one protester in western Sichuan.
Tibetan university students stage silent sit-ins in Xining, Lanzhou and Beijing.
Tibet and Tibetan areas close to foreigners, and remain closed for most of the summer.
* March 15-18: Pro-Tibetan protests in Nepal, Paris, New York, Sydney and elsewhere.
* March 27: Monks at the Jokhang monastery in Lhasa burst in on a government-led tour of foreign journalists, screaming "Tibet is not free" and saying China is lying about the Dalai Lama.
* April 3: Police fire on protesters in Donggu Township, Ganzi Prefecture, in Western Sichuan.
* April 7: Pro-Tibet protester snatches the Olympic Torch from wheelchair-bound athlete Jin Jing. Pro-Tibet and pro-Chinese protesters dog the Olympic torch relay through Western Europe, Australia and San Francisco.
Chinese students picket Carrefour supermarkets in China.
* April 9: Monks at the Labrang monastery in Gansu surround a government-led tour of foreign journalists, crying "We have no freedom, we have no rights".
* April 28: A policeman and an alleged protest leader are killed in a shootout in Qinghai province.
* May 8: Amidst tight security, the Olympic torch is carried to the top of Mt Everest.
* Aug 8: The Olympic games open in Beijing. Pro-Tibet activists stage several small protests.
* Autumn: Lhasa and other Tibetan areas re-open to foreign tourists
* November. Rounds of talks between Chinese and envoys of the Dalai Lama end without progress.
Tibetan exiles meet in Dharamsala, India, and agree to continuing supporting the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way"
* Dec 6: French president Nicholas Sarkozy meets the Dalai Lama, spurring China to call off a European Union Summit.
* January, 2009. Many Tibetans choose to mark the New Year, or Losar, in silence and mourning. Depending on the area, the Tibetan New Year fell in late January or late February.
* Jan 25: Xiahe, home to the Labrang monastery, closes to foreign tourists.
February: Security forces reinforced in Tibetan areas.
* Feb 25: Tibet closes to foreign tourists.
* Feb 27: A Tibetan monk sets himself on fire at the Kirti Monastery, Aba, Sichuan. He survives after police put out fire.
* March 9: Tibetan areas of Qinghai province close to foreigners.
* March 10: Dalai Lama marks the 50th anniversary of his exile saying Tibet had become a "hell on earth".
* March 13: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao says China is willing to meet with Dalai Lama's envoys as long as he renounces "separatism." (Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Valerie Lee)
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