For sale: One Egyptian president, slightly used

For sale: One Egyptian president, slightly used
Condition: Well used by previous owners. Free shipping worldwide (except to Qatar).
2 min read
24 Feb, 2016
The seller offered installment options and free shipping [ebay]

Egyptian social media users have put President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi up for sale on eBay after he said he was willing to sell himself to make up for Egypt's debts.

"Hey world, we decided to sell the infamous Egyptian Field Marshal and military coup leader Mr Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on eBay to bail out the Egyptian economy - so you don't have to," the item description reads.

"We are doing it for him, for us and for humanity," it continued. "Please, bid now to help Egypt gain its political and economic independence.

"And hey, maybe you can follow and sell your sell-out leaders on eBay like us. You will not regret it!"

The current bid has exceeded $100,000, offering installment options, payment facilitation, and free shipping around the world.

"Condition: used by the previous owners (Gulf royal families)," the seller said in the Q&A section.

"Item has no value so we rely on bidding for pricing."

The move came in response to Sisi's lengthy speech in a Wednesday ceremony held to launch the country's sustainable development strategy, Egypt's Vision 2030.

In a long-winded and rambling speech, Sisi said he would continue to build and develop the country until either the end of his life or his presidential term.

"Do not listen to anyone else but me," the president said in a loud angry voice, warning against testing his patience and vowing to "wipe off the face of the earth" anyone who attempts to "bring down the state".

Referring to his opponents, "I am telling you this as the whole of Egypt is listening. What do you think you're doing? Who are you?"

Russian airliner and terrorism

During the speech, which was broadcast on state-run television, Sisi acknowledged for the first time that "terrorism" caused a Russian plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 passengers on board.

"Has terrorism ended? No... Whoever downed that plane, what did he want? Just to hit tourism? No. To hit relations. To hit relations with Russia," he said.

Sisi had previously dismissed as "propaganda" a claim by the Islamic State (IS) militant group that it downed the airliner on 31 October.

The group said it smuggled a bomb on board the plane in the airport of Sharm el-Sheikh, a Sinai resort popular with Russian holidaymakers.

While Sisi's supporters have claimed that his autocratic regime has helped fight terrorism, terrorist activity has increased dramatically since he took power in a July 2013 coup.