JAKARTA, May 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia's former military chief, blamed by critics for failing to quell a wave of violence in East Timor after it voted to break away from Jakarta in 1999, is due to testify on Saturday at a truth commission probing the mayhem.

General Wiranto was armed forces commander when pro-Jakarta militiamen went on a violent rampage before and after East Timorese voted for independence in August 1999.

The Commission of Truth and Friendship, set up by Indonesia and East Timor to establish the truth of what happened around the referendum, is to open a third round of questioning on Wednesday.

Commission co-chairman Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said Wiranto would have the chance to tell his side of the story on Saturday.

"This is a good opportunity for him. I'm sure he will not pass this up," Mangkoedilaga told a news conference.

Human rights groups say Wiranto was at least morally responsible for the violence and should face justice.

Wiranto has denied this, saying he did his best to stop the violence.

The commission has no power to punish those responsible or recommend prosecution.

Wiranto stood unsuccessfully in Indonesia's 2004 presidential elections and is expected to run again in 2009. He has set up a new political party called Hanura.

The United Nations estimates that about 1,000 East Timorese died during the post-vote mayhem, which was blamed largely on pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements of the Indonesian army.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 at the end of Portuguese colonial rule and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and sometimes harsh military presence as it fought rebels for more than two decades.

East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to split from Indonesian rule but some pro-Jakarta voters and officials argued that the referendum had been rigged by the United Nations, although independent observers concluded the ballot was largely fair.

Militia leader Eurico Guterres, the only person jailed in Indonesia for the violence, is serving a 10-year sentence at a Jakarta prison.

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