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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.”