1987–89 Tibetan unrest

The 1987–1989 Tibetan unrest were a series of pro-independence protests that took place between September 1987 and March 1989 in the Tibetan areas in the People's Republic of China: Sichuan, Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, and the Tibetan prefectures in Yunnan and Gansu. The largest demonstrations began on 5 March 1989 in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, when a group of monks, nuns, and laypeople took to the streets as the 30th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising approached. Police and security officers attempted to put down the protests, but as tensions escalated an even greater crowd of protesters amassed. After three days of violence, martial law was declared on 8 March 1989, and foreign journalists and tourists were expelled from Tibet on 10 March.^[1] Reports of deaths and military force being used against protesters were prominent.^[2] Numbers of the dead are unknown.

Timeline

1987

• September 27 — A demonstration in Lhasa was broken up on the first day by Chinese authorities. This night was reported as the black night.^[3]
• October 1 — Riots took place in Lhasa. Six people died, including a monk from the Sera Monastery, and two other Tibetans were injured. Official said 19 policemen were hurt during the conflict^[4] The demonstrators stoned the police and set a police station afire. After one rioter try to snatched guns from policemen, officers opened fire on the crowd in front of the Jokhang Temple in self-defense.^[5]

1988

• March 5 — A revolt took place at the celebration of the Great Prayer (Monlam Prayer Festival). The riots cost the lives of three persons according to Chinese sources; thirty according to the Tibetan opposition.
• June — The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, muted his demands to the Chinese government.
  In his speech at the European Parliament on June 15, 1988, the Dalai Lama proposed a solution for Tibet " in association with the People's Republic of China."
• December 10 — Further riots in Lhasa. According to official sources one person died; unofficial sources spoke of twelve.

1989

• January 19 — Sentences were pronounced in consequence of the arrests made during the riots of 1988 with deterrent harshness. The sentences extended from three years imprisonment to the death penalty (with delay of execution).
• January 28 — The death of the Panchen Lama of Tibet, the second authority after the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government took initiative to search for his successor (reincarnation). Tibetans attributed the death to murder by Chinese authorities and have been concerned about the unprecedented interference in a centuries-old tradition of succession.
• February 6 — Riots around Monlam and the Tibetan new year (Losar). Chinese authorities cancelled the celebration of Monlam Chenmo, which precedes Losar each year. Losar took place in 1989 on February 7.
• March 5 — A religious event ended in a massacre. Official sources speak of eleven deaths and one hundred wounded. The occasion for the massacre, according to Chinese sources, was the stoning of a Chinese police officer; Tibetan sources claim that the event was attacked by the Chinese police.
• March 6 — Riots spread to the center of Lhasa. Chinese stores were wrecked and as a result a state of emergency was called. This enlarged the power of Chinese authorities.
• March 7 — All foreigners including journalists were evacuated. This signified an end to the provision of information to the rest of the world on the riots. Five people died in two days according to official sources. However, Tang Daxian, a former Chinese journalist present in Lhasa during that period, claims 387 civilians plus 82 religious people have been killed, and 721 people have been injured, according to a report he saw from Public Security Bureau.^[6]
• April 15 — China's former Secretary-General (until 1987), Hu Yaobang died. Hu was a supporter of the withdrawal of the Chinese army from Tibet and his death led to a student protest in Beijing. The Tiananmen Square protests a few months later on June 4, 1989, was crushed.

See also

• Incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China
• 1959 Tibetan uprising
• 2008 Tibetan unrest
• Sinicization of Tibet

References

Further reading

• Shakya, Tsering Wangdu (2000). The Dragon in the Land of Snows : A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-019615-3. 
• Sperling, Elliot (2004). The Tibet-China Conflict: History and Polemics (PDF). Washington: East-West Center. ISBN 1-932728-13-9. ISSN 1547-1330. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.  - (online version)
• Carlson, Allen (2004). Beijing’s Tibet Policy: Securing Sovereignty and Legitimacy (PDF). Washington: East-West Center. ISBN 1-932728-07-4. Retrieved 14 August 2008.  - (online version)

External links

• Chronologie orientée, Tibet 1987-1993 (in French)
• Essay: The Tibetans by Robert Barnett
• Thunder from Tibet by Robert Barnett
• Account of 1987 riot in Lhasa