YESTT evolved out of another civic group – The Keith Noel 136 Committee – which was established as an anti-crime lobby following the brutal murder of Keith Noel on May 26th, 2005.

We immediately organized a petition, collecting more than 112,000 signatures, and staged one of the largest non-political marches in Port of Spain, which attracted over 20,000 citizens.

There was little or no reaction from the State to these actions, so a follow-up nationwide referendum was organized. This was the first time in the history of Trinidad and Tobago that such an action was taken. Over 900,000 ballots were sent out to registered voters, but the response was not overwhelming. This emphasized to us how few people really understood the power of a referendum, the power of a direct vote.