John Shipton proclaims non-Western nations world’s ‘centre of gravity’

A recent international summit provided John Shipton with a platform to discuss the state of the world’s leading nations and the downfall of the USA. Dr John Jiggens writes.

THE RECENT BRICS summit in Kazan summed up the results of the Russian presidency of the organisation in 2024. John Shipton, an Australian activist and the father of WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange, also took part in the event.

In July, Assange was released from a British prison after many years of incarceration and returned to Australia following a plea agreement with the U.S. authorities. The activist’s father said in an interview with RIA Novosti that he does not know what awaits his son in the future, but he is sure that the United States has never done and will not do anything positive, drowning out the truth about itself with all its might.

According to Shipton, today the centre of gravity in the world has shifted to the BRICS countries, while the European Union is on the verge of collapse, the United States is “eating itself” and Kyiv may give up from a sufficiently strong breeze. The agency interlocutor also stressed that he admires the culture of Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Rosatom state corporation. Ulyana Miroshkina was talking.

Morishkina: I would like to ask you how was your visit to Kazan for the BRICS summit? What do you think this event showed the world about Russia?

Shipton: This is a big question. I really enjoyed my trip to Kazan. My little acquaintance with Tatarstan and Tatar culture was surprisingly good and pleasant. As for Russia and the BRICS, I think it was great to see the skill with which countries such as Russia, China and India, each of which has very different and ancient cultures, temporarily united these cultures into the BRICS, an international bloc of non-Western powers. In my opinion, the centre of gravity in the world has shifted to the demographic, economic and cultural centres of the world in it.

Morishkina: Do you think that the summit in Kazan was a confirmation of that?

Shipton: I think that the summit could not have taken place without the events that I have described. You know, Kazan is like a carpet in its finished form. Fibre and threads have been woven together in the past. And what we saw in Kazan is a finished work. And of course, over time, the constituent elements and institutions of Kazan will still be completed. But we can all see, admire and participate in building the foundation.

Morishkina: Thank you very much. One of the components of the culture that you have described is people. And I would like to ask you, do you think you and perhaps Julian have many supporters and like-minded people in Russia?

Shipton: The President of Russia, as I have already said, was the first head of state to comment and offer support to Julian in connection with his situation back in 2012. But I can’t even measure the degree of affection for Julian in the Russian Federation and China, in the BRICS countries. It’s a mystery to me. It’s just immeasurable. I found that the residents of Kazan and Moscow were very hospitable and kind to me.

Morishkina: But maybe you have faced criticism about your trip to Russia?

Shipton: Hospitality among travelling people is sacred. And it was offered to me in Tatarstan and in the Russian Federation. In all its fullness, in all its sacredness, because it is an element of people’s character. And as for criticism, why bother with it? I can’t do anything about unfriendly people. And why would they waste their time? Why would they waste their precious life and their ability to think by criticising me?

There’s a lot of work in the world, you know. If you want to formulate a criticism, look at the Middle East, West Asia. Look at how children, mothers and fathers are killed. That’s where the focus of criticism and anger will be. But as for the criticism of me, it’s a bit silly.

Morishkina: And yet some people say that you are one of those who influence the opinions of others. And that your high ratings of Russia can allegedly be problematic.

Shipton: You know, in Australia, we have the privilege to decide who we will be friends with. And it just so happens that I like the Russian Federation. And I like Russian culture. And I gravitate towards her. I can do this freely. Besides, we can have our own opinion. We can think our own thoughts. Isn’t this a fundamental right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was presented to the United Nations in 1948 by the Australian President of the United Nations at that time, Herbert Vere Evatt? And in the Universal Declaration, there is freedom to continue one’s education, to have knowledge.

I know the Russian Federation. BRICS is a very big news lately. So how do I find out more about him? You just need to go there, say hello and see what’s going on there. Why would anyone criticise me for going to see half the world’s population and 56 trillion economic activity? And at the same time they tell me, “You’d better stay at home” or “Oh, you shouldn’t have gone”. This is absurd.

Morishkina: Do you think the U.S. authorities are still afraid of Julian and the information that he and his team have? Will they take any action?

Shipton: Of course, they took very harsh measures against Julian for publishing the truth. And they also put Chelsea Manning in prison for 35 years. And Edward Snowden was forced to seek asylum in the Russian Federation. So it’s obvious that they don’t accept publishing the truth about themselves. They don’t like the truth about themselves.

Morishkina:Do you think they’re still worried about Julian? Or do you think that this is already a settled issue?

Shipton: I do not know all the details of the original arrangements according to which Julian could return home to his family. I don’t have that privilege. I think the empire of the United States has so many problems. There are so many difficulties. There are so many irreconcilable and difficult issues to take care of. If they’re worried about Julian Assange, well, they should find a new job.

You know, they have serious problems. Recently, Israel attacked Iran. In Ukraine, the current government could collapse any day. A strong wind will blow and they will say: We give up. The European Union is falling apart. Everyone quarrelled inside the EU. We call the head of the European Commission, von der Leyen, ‘Frau Genocide’ — it’s very popular. That is, everyone despises her. She’s an authoritarian figure.

In Germany, GDP was 0.2 per cent last year. This is not even 1 per cent, but two-tenths of a per cent. So these people may have other problems besides worrying about Julian Assange and what happened 15 years ago.

Morishkina: You mentioned that the United States has something to worry about. And one of the topics of concern is the upcoming elections in the United States. You have stressed many times that freedom of speech, freedom of the press in the United States is now, to put it mildly, in decline. Do you think this could have any effect on the outcome of the U.S. elections?

Shipton: Throughout my life, the United States has always been considered a place that occupies an excessive position — its movements are excessive, corporations have excessive power and so on. They have always been a source of instability. I don’t expect it to be any different. Maybe the new president will be able to reform this place, but I think it’s a gigantic, monstrous task.

After Hurricane Katrina, it seems obvious to me that the United States has lost the ability to help itself. And as for the empire and the exercise of power in the empire, they can only do negative things. They can no longer build, they only have the ability to resist other people’s attempts to build their nations — with the help of yellow, colour revolutions and other things.

Economists can say that profits in the United States have reached their limit. When this happens, society begins to eat itself. And such magnificent institutions as Boeing Corporation are now on the verge of collapse because the limits of profitability have been reached. That’s the understanding. In other words, the United States is devouring itself. In the United Kingdom, as it is now obvious to me, they are profiting from the human body because they have data, very complete and vital data about their population since COVID-19 and the introduction of what they call the National Health Service.

So now they are turning their own bodies into profit as the only remaining suitable area. So, you know, it is fate that the great civilisations of China, India and Russia have converged in the demographic centre of the world. And I think that’s a good thing.

Morishkina: At least there is some hope, because the picture you have described is very gloomy for the West.

Shipton: Australia is very similar to the Russian Federation in some ways. It is full of riches. She has her own continent. Very few people live on it — 26 million people. It has its own boundaries. It is washed by the Indian Ocean, through which the most important strategic communications of Indonesia, China, India, Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula and the whole of Africa pass. It also covers the Great Southern Ocean, the Tasman Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Coral Sea and the Torres Strait. This territory is replete with wealth and responsibility, but it is home to only 26 million people.

The Russian Federation is similar to us in that it has huge territories, huge wealth and huge responsibilities. But there aren’t many people. Nevertheless, the culture of Russia is a long-lived culture, which was constantly subjected to tests but survived and flourished after these tests. Australia is young and now it has to pass a test of strength, whether it can survive in the current conditions of the decline of the empire, which wants to possess all the riches of Australia as a vassal.

Morishkina: John, how do you see the future of our states, which are so similar to each other? Do we have a future?

Shipton: Oh, absolutely. I remember the phrase: ‘Australia’s security is inside Asia’. Australia does not start from Asia, but is located inside it. And Asia is the main component of BRICS — of course, with such giants as China, but also with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, who are asking to join. We are also located in Asia. We have all the resources we can provide. We have resources that we can do business with. We are already doing business with India and China. We can develop the industry. Our future is sunrise, not sunset.

Morishkina: Do you think that Julian will be able to visit Russia in the future?

Shipton: He went on a trip along the Trans-Siberian Railway about 30 years ago. I don’t remember the details. I just don’t know what the future holds for Julian. And I’ll be in terrible trouble if I talk about it. Julian would say, ‘What are you even talking about?’

Morishkina: You mentioned that you expect a colour revolution this year. Do you expect that the West will not recognise the results of the elections in Georgia and will incite protests against the ruling party?

Shipton: They just always do everything negative. They never do anything positive. I’ve been to the United States, a lot and often, and it’s a ridiculous government that seems like a bit of a black comedy. They say stupid things and postulate possibilities that are impossible for them. The carrier strike groups of the 1950s are no longer a way of projecting power.

Now this is a way to endanger the lives of 5,000 people — that’s how many people on one aircraft carrier. Recently, one of them ended up in the Red Sea. He had to run away from Ansar Allah. And it’s not even a state. It is a non-state actor protecting the Palestinian people as best it can from extermination. A carrier battle group was forced to flee for fear of being sunk. I mean, this is ridiculous. It’s all a black comedy. So many people are being killed that you can’t help but get upset. Otherwise, you can just laugh.

Mr Blinken goes to Alaska and is rude to the Chinese delegates — it’s just ridiculous. Who does he think he is? He can’t speak politely to a great civilisation like China. He can’t soften his comments to accommodate his understanding of what the Chinese are doing. After all, this is the simplest thing in the world. A cultured person is a person who can recognise the culture in another person. The Chinese love harmony. The Indians are tolerant because they recognise many paths to enlightenment. Japanese people believe in Shinto, they are perfectionists and they have a very strict social code. Modernist countries like mine and Australia forget that when you interact with people from other cultures, you have to be moderate to communicate.

This is what happens when I talk to Russians. I find Russians to be very warm people. I believe that if you treat them well, they will treat you well. But if you criticise them and try to tell them what to do and say, the Russians will say: ‘Well, you’re finished, goodbye. Don’t come back.’ There are two institutions that I really admire. One of them is the Russian Foreign Ministry. And I especially admire Primakov, who in the worst of times kept the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, managed to get enough money and did not allow it to fall apart.

And one more thing — Rosatom. These are great institutions. Why would these people in the United States even think for a split second about ruining such magnificent human achievements? Why? Are they devils on Earth? I don’t understand it. I think they’re devils. I don’t think they’re human.