Jayapura – Forty-two rebels in Indonesia's eastern Papua province surrendered Monday, vowing to end their struggle for independence, police said. It was not immediately clear what prompted the move.

The insurgents are members of one faction of the Free Papua Movement and it did not appear the surrender represented an end to the low-level insurgency that started when Indonesia took control of the former Dutch colony in 1963.

Indonesia's top Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, said in Jakarta, "This a signal of the end their struggle." But he admitted that questions had been raised whether the unusual surrender was legitimate. "There are doubts from the public whether it is true that the 42 that surrendered are really guerrillas fresh from the mountains ... but I believe that ... to be true," he told reporters.

The 42 rebels handed the police 235 guns and 56 hand grenades in a ceremony at police headquarters in the provincial capital Jayapura. One rebel leader, Papiri, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, then read a statement. "We hereby declare that we have ended our fight against the government of the Unitary State of Indonesia," he said. "We are aware that our struggle is so far useless."

Police Chief Maj. Gen. Budi Utomo said the formal surrender was arranged following negotiations between the police and the rebels operating in jungles around Jayapura. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya province, is on the western side of New Guinea island, about 3,700 kilometers east of Jakarta. Indonesia's sovereignty over the region was formalized in 1969 through a UN-sponsored referendum.

Critics say, however, that the vote was a sham. The rebels – armed mainly with bows and arrows and spears – have made little headway over the years, partly because it lacks the firepower and united leadership to challenge Indonesia's authority.