Editing 1997 (section)

===March===
* [[March 4]] – U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] bans federal funding for any research on [[human cloning]].
* [[March 7]] – In [[Sri Lanka]], the [[Tamil Tigers]] [[1997 Vavunathivu Offensive|overrun a military base]] and kill over 100 Sri Lankan troops.
* [[March 9]] – American rapper [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] is [[Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.|murdered]] in [[Los Angeles]].
* [[March 13]]
** India's Missionaries of Charity chooses [[Sister Nirmala]], to succeed [[Mother Teresa]] as its leader.
** The [[National People's Congress]] of the People's Republic of China creates a new [[Chongqing]] Municipality, out of part of [[Sichuan]].
* [[March 16]] – [[Sandline affair]]: On [[Bougainville Island]] in [[Papua New Guinea]], soldiers of commander [[Jerry Singirok]] arrest [[Tim Spicer]] and his [[mercenary|mercenaries]] of the [[Sandline International]].
* [[March 18]] – The tail of a Russian [[An-24]] charter plane [[Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia Flight 1023|breaks off while en route to Turkey]], causing the plane to crash, killing all 50 on board, and resulting in the grounding of all An-24s.
* [[March 21]] – In [[Zaire]], [[Étienne Tshisekedi]] is appointed prime minister; he ejects supporters of [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] from his cabinet.
* [[March 22]] – The [[Comet Hale–Bopp]] makes its closest approach to Earth.
* [[March 24]] – The [[69th Academy Awards]], hosted by [[Billy Crystal]], are held at the [[Shrine Auditorium]] in [[Los Angeles]], with ''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. During the event, the [[DVD]] format is launched in the United States.
* [[March 24]]–[[March 26|26]] – In [[San Diego]], 39 [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]] cultists commit [[mass suicide]] at their compound.
* [[March 26]] – [[Julius Chan]] resigns as prime minister of Papua New Guinea, effectively ending the [[Sandline affair]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 26, 1997 |title=Papua New Guinea Head Steps Down After Mutiny |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/26/world/papua-new-guinea-head-steps-down-after-mutiny.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308051336/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/26/world/papua-new-guinea-head-steps-down-after-mutiny.html |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=December 29, 2021 |website=New York Times|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>