BEIJING, Dec 17 (AFP) - One of the first non-governmental organizations (NGOs) allowed to work in Tibet is to close its two medical assistance projects in the region following years of administrative problems, an official said Tuesday.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors without Borders) will leave the roof of the world after 14 years working on humanitarian and medical projects, Laura Lau, an MSF China project manager in Beijing said.

"I have to say that for MSF to leave Tibet, it was not a political decision at all," Lau told AFP.

"It has been a difficult decision to make as Tibet is a very special place, but MSF felt that we needed to focus on the issues where we felt we were the most relevant and in this case it is HIV-AIDS."

However the London-based Tibetan Information Network (TIN) said in a statement: "Relations between the authorities in Tibet and MSF have frequently been tense, partially due to the charity's stated mandate of undertaking advocacy positions when dealing with specific abuses of endangered populations."

According to TIN, two senior MSF members in 1997 had their permits briefly withdrawn, while over the past few years authorities in Tibet have reduced the geographical scope of MSF's operations.

"The difficulties with the authorities experienced by MSF over the years reportedly contributed to the final decision of the charity to leave Tibet," it said.

MSF's two major projects, one on Big Bone disease and another on water sanitation, will be taken over by other NGOs now operating in Tibet.

The two projects will formally sever ties with MSF at the end of the month.

Other MSF programs in China would continue, while the group was also gearing up a project aimed at helping those who have contracted the HIV virus that causes AIDS, she said.

"Sure we had challenges in Tibet, besides the logistical difficulties in setting up programs, there are also a lot of administrative challenges," Lau said.

"We will continue to face these challenges wherever we are in China."

China, which has ruled Tibet since 1951, has been accused of trying to wipe out its Buddhist-based culture through political and religious repression and a flood of ethnic Chinese immigration.

Beijing has also tried to control and restrict Western access to the region, in an apparent effort to prevent Westerners from inciting Tibetans into greater calls for autonomy in the region.

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