TIMELINE: One week of Tibet protests around the world

(Reuters) - Tibet's largest anti-China protests in almost two decades broke out on March 10, sparking riots in Lhasa, demonstrations in nearby ethnic Tibetan provinces, and daily pro-Tibet protests around the world.

Here is a timeline of the largest and most sustained protests Tibet has seen since Beijing crushed pro-independence demonstrations in 1989.

* Monday, March 10: Five-hundred monks from the Drepung monastery defy Chinese authorities to march into Tibet capital, Lhasa, to mark the 49th anniversary of a quashed rebellion against communist rule. Monks from Lhasa-area Sera and Gamden monasteries also protest.

* March 12: Thousands of Chinese security personnel fire tear gas to try to disperse more than 600 monks from the Sera monastery taking part in another day of street protests.

* March 14: About 300-400 residents and monks take to the streets in Lhasa. Violence sees shops and cars set on fire. Chinese authorities seal off Drepung, Sera and Gamden monasteries. China says 10 people killed in the unrest in Lhasa, and that it was masterminded by the Dalai Lama. A spokesman for the Dalai Lama rejects the latter claim as baseless.

* March 15: Chinese authorities say Lhasa rioters will gain "leniency" if they give themselves up by midnight on Monday. Tibet's top government official, Qiangba Pingcog, denies Lhasa is under martial law on sidelines of government meeting in Beijing. Protesters in Sydney remove the Chinese flag at China's consulate building and try to raise a Tibetan flag.

* March 16: Armed police patrol streets of Lhasa. China suspends foreign travel permits to Tibet. Protests spread to ethnic Tibetan areas in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Tibetans hurl petrol bombs and set a police station and market on fire in Sichuan's Aba region. In Gansu's Machu town, a crowd of 300-400 carry pictures of the Dalai Lama, in defiance of authorities. Tibet's government-in-exile, in Dharamasala, India, says 80 people have been killed in the riots. French riot police use tear gas to disperse about 500 pro-Tibet protesters by the Chinese Embassy in Paris. New York police say protesters throw stones at officers outside the Chinese consulate in Manhattan. March 17: Tibet governor Qiangba Puncog says security forces exercised "massive restraint" and did not use lethal weapons against protesters, but 13 "innocent civilians" were killed in the riots. He says unrest was engineered by the Dalai Lama.

March 18: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao dismisses calls for a boycott of Beijing Olympics, and says unrest was incited to sabotage the August 8-24 Games. He accuses Dalai Lama of orchestrating the riots. In Australia, about 100 pro-Tibet protesters clash with police outside Chinese consulate in Sydney.

Source: Reuters

(Writing by Gillian Murdoch, Singapore Editorial Reference Unit)