Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Michigan State Police are investigating the Committee to Aid the Vietnamese, a group of about 25 University of Michigan students who are raising money to aid Vietnamese civilians living in Viet Cong-controlled areas.
Stanely Nadel, ’66, chairman of the committee, said his group is sympathetic to the aims of the Viet Cong but that the purpose of the money the group is raising is to help supply medical aid for civilians wounded in Viet Nam fighting.
At least $70 was raised in a three day drive this semester through the sale of Viet Cong postage stamps and pins, he said.
The medical supplies and money obtained by the committee will be used to aid victims of the war in South Viet Nam, he added. The money is earmarked for non-military use only, but Nadel acknowledged that his group has no control over the funds once they are forwarded to the Viet Cong representatives in Algiers.
Detective Gordon Hurley of the State Police says “all possibilities” are being explored to determine whether there is any law which could prevent the group from aiding the Viet Cong.
Agents of the FBI in Detroit said “an investigation is being launched” but declined to reveal whether any violations of federal statutes might be involved in the case.
Ann Arbor city attorney Jacob F. Fahrner said last week that he had decided against investigating the committee. He had announced earlier that he would launch a probe on the grounds that the city’s charitable solicitation ordinance might be involved in the students’ activities.
However, last week, Fahrner reported that he had learned the University had given the group permission to operate a table in the Fishbowl. A city permit for solicitation activities would thus be unnecessary and no prosecution could take place, he said.
County Prosecuting Attorney William F. Delhey said that he is concerned by the activities of the student group. Although there are no applicable county statutes, the group may be violating federal laws, Delhey said.
