The Argentine President, Carlos Menem, has ordered the destruction of a building in Buenos Aires used as a torture centre by the former military regime.

Mr Menem said the site would be turned into a park, which, he said, would be a monument to national unity.

The Argentine navy's mechanical school gained notoriety during the years of military rule in the 1970s and 1980s as a place where suspected opponents of the military were tortured and killed.

The building was feared by many

Relatives of some of the victims have already attacked the plan to pull down the building, saying it should be turned into a museum testifying to the savagery of the military.

At least 10,000 people disappeared during the so-called Dirty War, which ended with the return to democracy in 1983.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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