Chile is intensifying its campaign to secure the release of its former military leader, General Pinochet, who is being held in Britain pending extradition proceedings to Spain.

The Chilean Foreign Minister, Jose Miguel Insulza, is meeting Spanish leaders in Madrid to try to rally support for the General's release -- though the BBC correspondent in Madrid says the government has already made it clear that the General's fate is a matter for the courts.

A Spanish judge is seeking the General's extradition to face charges of torture and gencocide during Chile's period of military rule in the 1970's and 1980's.

A senior adviser to the Chilean President John Biehl says Chile is lobbying other countries to press Britain to release the general instead of extraditing him to Spain.

In Washington, the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, said the demands of the Chilean people should be respected.