Tibetan officials warned to maintain stability or 'face dismissal, criminal charges'

Beijing, Feb 7 (ANI): The Tibetan regional government has warned its officials that failing to maintain stability ahead of the Tibetan new year could result in job loss or criminal prosecution.

The notice posted on the regional government website follows a series of deadly protests in Sichuan province in January and the self-immolations of 19 ethnic Tibetans in the past year in apparent protest against Chinese rule.

According to the Tibet Daily newspaper, officials were warned in the notice that they "must put all their efforts into maintaining a stable, unified social situation in our region".

They were also urged to "have a clear head and fully recognise the extreme importance and urgency of the job of maintaining stability," The BBC reports.

Tibet will celebrate its new year on 22 February, with the anniversary of the deadly 2008 riots in Lhasa falling shortly afterwards, on 14 March.

The ethnic Tibetan areas of Sichuan province are said to remain extremely tense.

Since March 2011, at least 19 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in apparent protest against China's rule. The three most recent cases happened on Friday in Seda county in Sichuan province, activists said.

Last month, three violent protests were reported in the same province. One protester was killed on 23 January in a confrontation with security forces in Draggo county. (ANI)