Argentina's Senate voted early today to annul amnesties for military officers who tortured and murdered leftists during the 1976-1983 "Dirty War".
The vote leaves the Supreme Court to make the final ruling on whether new human rights trials can be held.
Following nearly eight hours of debate, the Senate approved the annulments in a televised vote one week after the lower house decided to do the same.
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Members of groups that represent victims' families linedthe hallways of the Senate chamber and cheered after the vote. But legal experts have questioned whether Congress has the power to nullify the laws.
Experts said the vote would be largely symbolic and moreimportant for adding to the pressure on the Supreme Court toreach a final verdict on amnesty laws passed in the 1980s.
About a hundred human rights activists gathered outsideCongress, waving flags and blocking traffic during the debate, which was broadcast over loud speakers.
"Today we are carrying out an act of moral andinstitutional reparation and reconstruction of Argentina," said Peronist Senator Cristina Kirchner, the wife of President Nestor Kirchner, just before the vote.
President Kirchner, who became the first Argentine head ofstate to oppose amnesty laws in two decades of democracy, has already annulled a decree that blocked the extradition of officers accused of rights crimes.
