An ethnic Karen girl claps as she dances at a welcome dinner for the ceasefire talks at
Hotel Zwekabin in Hpa-an, capital of Karen state in eastern Burma. January 11, 2012
(Reuters)

Aung Min (L) chairman of the government negotiation team, General Mutu Saipo from
the KNU (C) and Minister of Industry Soe Thein look at a photograph at a welcome
dinner for the ceasefire talks (Reuters)

Aung Min, chairman of the government negotiation team, dances at a welcome dinner
for the ceasefire talks at Hotel Zwekabin in Hpa-an, capital of the Karen state in eastern
Burma. January 11, 2012 (Reuters)

Major General Saw Jawni, from the Karen National Union (KNU) and member of a
negotiation team, speaks to reporters at a welcome dinner for ceasefire talks in Karen
state (Reuters)

Delegates from the KNU and government toast at a welcome dinner for the ceasefire
talks Hpa-an, Karen state (Reuters)

Representatives from Burma's government and the Karen National Union (KNU) shake
hands during peace talks at Hotel Zwekabin in Hpa-an, capital of the Karen state in
eastern Burma. January 12, 2012 (Reuters)

The Karen National Union today signed its first ceasefire with the Burmese after more than six decades of conflict, thought to be the world’s longest-running civil war. The signs in the volatile state in eastern Burma appear promising, but scepticism remains at the pace of the deal, and what it will entail for the Karen population. “A quick ceasefire now would be tantamount to surrender – that’s what the people are worried about,” David Thackabaw, the KNU’s vice president, said earlier today. “We will be very cautious and look at the problem from all angles.”